Focused Discussion on the Current Status and Challenges of East Asian Democratization Movements
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The May 18 Memorial Foundation announced on the 14th that it will hold the ‘Gwangju Democracy Forum’ from the 17th to the 21st in line with the May 18 week.
The Gwangju Democracy Forum’s main theme is ‘COVID-19 AND Glocal Democracy ? Impact, Challenges and Opportunities.’
It plans to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on democracy and democratization movements and to focus on discussing the current status and challenges of democratization movements in East Asia, led by Myanmar.
The subtopics include ▲State violence, impunity, and transitional justice ▲Crisis and challenges of Asian democracy ▲Inclusive participatory democracy ▲New challenges and opportunities for democracy ▲International democratization movements and civil society.
The forum consists of a total of 28 sessions, including an opening session (opening keynote speech and panel), the Gwangju Democracy Summit, 7 planned sessions, and 19 participatory sessions. Due to the impact of COVID-19, it will be conducted both online and offline.
The forum has been revamped, innovating the content and format of the past ‘Gwangju Asia Forum’ held by the May 18 Foundation. It introduced ‘participatory sessions’ where network organizations of the foundation directly organize sessions.
The forum opening ceremony will be held on the 18th together with the 2021 Gwangju Human Rights Award ceremony.
At the closing ceremony (on the 21st), the Gwangju Democracy Forum declaration will be adopted, and selected works from the contest for the establishment of ‘May 18 World Day for the Prevention of Militarism and Authoritarianism’ will be introduced.
Manuscripts and presentation videos for each session can be found on the Gwangju Democracy Forum website.
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