600 Participants Including Peace and Human Rights Activists
Seeking Human Rights and Peace in the Face of War and Violence
Plenary Session: "Global Solidarity for Peace"
Global peace and human rights activists will gather in Gwangju for three days starting May 15 to explore ways for human rights cities to unite against all anti-peace situations, ensuring that everyone can live peacefully and safely.
On May 6, Gwangju City announced that the '2025 World Human Rights Cities Forum' will be held from May 15 to 17 at the Kimdaejung Convention Center. Marking its 15th year, the World Human Rights Cities Forum is co-hosted by Gwangju City, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UNESCO, and other international organizations. Starting this year, the event has been moved from October to May to coincide with the 5·18 Commemoration Week, allowing more people to visit Gwangju and reflect on the values of democracy, human rights, and peace in May.
This year's forum theme is 'Peace and Solidarity: Human Rights Cities Resisting War and Violence.' As a global human rights platform, the forum will bring together human rights cities and activists from around the world to seek ways to protect human rights and peace in the face of war and violence.
The forum will consist of 27 programs across seven categories: opening and closing ceremonies, plenary sessions, thematic sessions, special sessions, networking sessions, international human rights training, and special and side events. Not only domestic and international human rights experts, but also speakers well-known to the public will participate.
The World Human Rights Cities Forum will open at 2 p.m. on May 15. The opening ceremony is expected to be attended by approximately 600 people, including Mayor Kang Gijung, Gwangju City Council Chairperson Shin Sujeong, domestic and international human rights officials, invited guests, university students, and citizens.
The keynote speech at the opening ceremony will be delivered by Seo Seung, Distinguished Professor at Woosuk University. Professor Seo is an international human rights and peace activist and is regarded as a symbolic figure for peace in East Asia and the anti-torture movement. In 1971, while studying at Seoul National University as an international student, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and served 19 years in prison after being implicated in the 'Zainichi Korean Student Spy Ring Incident.' In 1974, Professor Seo was recognized as a 'Prisoner of Conscience' by Amnesty International, drawing international attention.
Immediately following the opening ceremony, a plenary session titled 'Global Solidarity for Peace' will be held. Shin Hyungsik, Director of the National Sovereignty Research Institute, will chair the session, and Choi Jaechun, Professor at Ewha Womans University, will give a presentation on 'Anti-Peace Situations and the Future of the Human Rights Community.' Professor Choi, an animal behaviorist and ecologist, is a world-renowned authority in biodiversity and ecosystem conservation. Through his presentation, Professor Choi will highlight the intersection of human rights, ecology, and peace, and present a vision for the future of coexistence between humans and nature.
Following Professor Choi's presentation, there will be open proposals and discussions including 'Key Issues and Alternatives for Peace in Korean Society' by Lee Daehoon, Director of the Peace MOMO Peace Education Research Institute, and 'Bangladesh Peace Movement: Past and Present' by Farhana Binte Zigar Parina, a human rights activist from Bangladesh.
The forum will continue until May 17 with thematic sessions, special sessions, networking sessions, international human rights training, and various special and side events. Thematic sessions will bring together various human rights organizations to discuss seven topics: children and youth, disability, migration, communities, women, social economy, and the spread of a global culture of nonviolence. The international human rights training will target public officials from the Asian region, sharing Gwangju's human rights policies and administrative cases, and will include field education where participants can experience democracy and human rights firsthand by joining the 5·18 Democratization Movement Eve Festival and the Democratic Peace March.
A 'special session' will also be held to highlight the courage and solidarity of cities striving to uphold human rights amid war and oppression. This session will feature city officials and human rights activists from resistance cities, including those fighting against human rights violations and violence following the military coup in Myanmar, who will share their efforts to resist violence and protect citizens' dignity and freedom.
Various side events will allow citizens to experience and empathize with the value of human rights. These include a book talk concert by actor Cha Inpyo titled 'If We Ever Look at the Same Stars,' a screening of the human rights film 'Alone,' and a plant-based one-day class called 'Peace Table for All.' Applications can be made in advance through the official World Human Rights Cities Forum website.
International participants in the forum will also have the opportunity to directly experience the significance of the 5·18 Democratization Movement. During the forum, they will attend the 5·18 Eve Festival and the Democratic Peace March, experiencing firsthand the spirit of democracy and human rights of Gwangju citizens and joining in solidarity.
Park Yongsoo, Director of the Department of Democracy, Human Rights, and Peace, said, "We hope more citizens will participate in the World Human Rights Cities Forum and have the opportunity to experience and empathize with the value of peace together."
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