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Prague Hosts the first day of the Forum 2000 Conference
12th October 2009
Monday, 12th October 2009
The working part of the Forum 2000 Conference “Democracy and Freedom in a Multipolar World’ started on Monday morning in the Zofin Palace in Prague. Panel discussions focussed on a variety of topical issues such as multipolarity and instruments of international influence in today’s world or more specific issues of security in Asia, the state of Russian civil society, or the rights of wormen in Muslim societies. Running parallel to the Conference panels were associated events consisting of various debates and workshops. Two photography exhibitions were opened to the public in the Laterna Magika and the Zofin Palace.
Former President Václav Havel opened the first Conference day by welcoming all guests. In his speech he urged people not to give up “on those spiritual values […] that form the foundations of our community.” Vaclav Havel warned of the dangers connected to politicians from the Euro-Atlantic region mistakingly superimposing economies and material interests over human rights. Speaking of the world in general, he stressed that while democratic institutions may be in place, it does not necesarilly follow that citizens are enjoying freedom.
Laterna Magika, the new scene of the National Theatre, hosted two business and economic roundtables on “Shifting Values in Capitalism” and “Sustainable Business”, discussing current attitudes of businesses and corporations towards social responsibility.
A debate analyzing the role of philanthropists in today’s globalized world was held in the Goethe Institut, attended, among others, by the Japanese philanthropist Yohei Sasakawa or musician and political activist Bob Geldof.
In the afternoon panel “Instruments of International Influence” delegates agreed that the prevalent paradigm in international relations has to be multilateralism, and that the UN Charter and the UN in general should be at its the basis. Jan Kubiš, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe pointed out that this “was one of the key messages of the Nobel Peace Prize granted to president Obama.”
Discussing the state of Russian civil society, former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar and other guests working with Russian NGOs agreed that civil society does exist in Russia, but it is “not sufficiently developed”. Pavel Chikov, a lawyer defending nongovernmental activists, asserted that only obedient non-political NGOs receive state support. Speaking about the Russian state propaganda, Pavel Lukashevskiy, expert on former Soviet dissent and human rights in Russia, added that anti-Americanism forms its part.
“I fully believed in the potential of women! It is time for women to take the lead,” proclaimed the esteemed Middle East peace activist and candidate for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish. Jana Hradilkova, founder of NGO Berkat, reminded us in the “State of Women’s Human Rights in Muslim Countries,” panel that the everyday experience of these women is “very hard to communicate to the world” and though we may never truly know the extent of these problems, action must be taken. Afghani journalist Freshta Jalalzai called on local and international media to act as a catalyst to promote education and other initiatives to further the women’s rights movement.
On the fringes of the Conference a meeting of the Shared Concern Initiative members took place, bringing together the co-founders of Forum 2000, Yohei Sasakawa and Vaclav Havel and other personalities to discuss the pressing issues of water shortages, the situation in Georgia or womens’ rights in Iran.
For the duration of the conference two photography exhibitions, the “L.A.F. Project: Laughter and Forgetting Exhibition” and the “Nepal 2009 Expedition” are on display at the Zofin Palace and Laterna Magika, respectively. The “Laughter and Forgetting Exhibition” presents fourteen photographers’ portrayals of the effects of the introduction of democracy and a free market on their society. The second, organized in cooperation with the NGO Atma Do, depicts the Tibetan struggle for teachers and financial and medical aid.
The working part of the Forum 2000 Conference “Democracy and Freedom in a Multipolar World’ started on Monday morning in the Zofin Palace in Prague. Panel discussions focussed on a variety of topical issues such as multipolarity and instruments of international influence in today’s world or more specific issues of security in Asia, the state of Russian civil society, or the rights of wormen in Muslim societies. Running parallel to the Conference panels were associated events consisting of various debates and workshops. Two photography exhibitions were opened to the public in the Laterna Magika and the Zofin Palace.
Former President Václav Havel opened the first Conference day by welcoming all guests. In his speech he urged people not to give up “on those spiritual values […] that form the foundations of our community.” Vaclav Havel warned of the dangers connected to politicians from the Euro-Atlantic region mistakingly superimposing economies and material interests over human rights. Speaking of the world in general, he stressed that while democratic institutions may be in place, it does not necesarilly follow that citizens are enjoying freedom.
Laterna Magika, the new scene of the National Theatre, hosted two business and economic roundtables on “Shifting Values in Capitalism” and “Sustainable Business”, discussing current attitudes of businesses and corporations towards social responsibility.
A debate analyzing the role of philanthropists in today’s globalized world was held in the Goethe Institut, attended, among others, by the Japanese philanthropist Yohei Sasakawa or musician and political activist Bob Geldof.
In the afternoon panel “Instruments of International Influence” delegates agreed that the prevalent paradigm in international relations has to be multilateralism, and that the UN Charter and the UN in general should be at its the basis. Jan Kubiš, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe pointed out that this “was one of the key messages of the Nobel Peace Prize granted to president Obama.”
Discussing the state of Russian civil society, former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar and other guests working with Russian NGOs agreed that civil society does exist in Russia, but it is “not sufficiently developed”. Pavel Chikov, a lawyer defending nongovernmental activists, asserted that only obedient non-political NGOs receive state support. Speaking about the Russian state propaganda, Pavel Lukashevskiy, expert on former Soviet dissent and human rights in Russia, added that anti-Americanism forms its part.
“I fully believed in the potential of women! It is time for women to take the lead,” proclaimed the esteemed Middle East peace activist and candidate for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish. Jana Hradilkova, founder of NGO Berkat, reminded us in the “State of Women’s Human Rights in Muslim Countries,” panel that the everyday experience of these women is “very hard to communicate to the world” and though we may never truly know the extent of these problems, action must be taken. Afghani journalist Freshta Jalalzai called on local and international media to act as a catalyst to promote education and other initiatives to further the women’s rights movement.
On the fringes of the Conference a meeting of the Shared Concern Initiative members took place, bringing together the co-founders of Forum 2000, Yohei Sasakawa and Vaclav Havel and other personalities to discuss the pressing issues of water shortages, the situation in Georgia or womens’ rights in Iran.
For the duration of the conference two photography exhibitions, the “L.A.F. Project: Laughter and Forgetting Exhibition” and the “Nepal 2009 Expedition” are on display at the Zofin Palace and Laterna Magika, respectively. The “Laughter and Forgetting Exhibition” presents fourteen photographers’ portrayals of the effects of the introduction of democracy and a free market on their society. The second, organized in cooperation with the NGO Atma Do, depicts the Tibetan struggle for teachers and financial and medical aid.