Forum 2000 Is Looking Back at 2011

In 2011, the Forum 2000 Foundation continued all its long-term projects and also produced several other note-worthy events.

The Shared Concern Initiative released three joint statements this year. Early in the year, the Initiative issued an appeal for the elimination of discrimination against people affected by leprosy and in the summer, it focused on the deteriorating state of democracy and the rule of law in Ukraine. In March, members of the Initiative issued an urgent statement in reaction to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and called for international solidarity with the Japanese people. The Forum 2000 Foundation was engaged in helping the victims of the catastrophe and launched a public fundraising campaign.

At the end of April, we organized the 12^th annual NGO Market, a non-profit fair which connected the general public to more than 150 non-profit organizations and highlighted opportunities for them to engage with the sector through volunteering. This event was strengthened by various seminars within our educational activities, which aim at assisting the development of civil society.

 

In October, the 15^th annual Forum 2000 Conference took place and was devoted to the relationship between democracy and the rule of law. The rich conference program included more than 50 events, which were attended by over 120 delegates and 3000 observers. Among the guests were the Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics Joseph Stiglitz, Prince of Jordan El Hassan bin Talal and President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga. During the conference, several events were organized as part of our other long-term projects, the Interfaith Dialogue and the Water in the Middle East.

At the end of the year, His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Prague. He met with Václav Havel and, along with other leaders in the field of human rights, participated in a discussion about democracy and human rights in Asia. His Holiness also gave a public talk on “Searching for Happiness in a Troubled World”.

This year, we cooperated on a number of other projects, including an international workshop on the Egyptian transition. We also supported several concerts to help victims of the Japanese earthquake, discussions held by the New York University in Prague and projects with the Potala civic association.

You can find more information about all of our activities on our website. You can watch video recordings and view photographs from all the projects, as well as read brief summaries of discussions, with complete transcripts coming soon.

2011 did not end happily. In December, former President and founder of Forum 2000, Václav Havel passed away. His legacy will be the emphasis on the importance of freedom and democracy for the successful development of society, insistence on the universality of human rights and the imperative need of moral basis for all kinds of human endeavor. We believe that we will be able to continue in our activities based on his legacy.