뉴스레터

The International NGOs Conference on History and Peace, a communication forum for the sake of historical reconciliation, intends to seek the role of the global civil society for historical reconciliation and develop a peaceful discourse for the international community. This conference, a core project of the NGO History Forum, was created to lead the historical conflict in East Asia to a reconciliation through confidence and cooperation. There have been eight conferences so far with the participation of 750 people from 55 countries.

Opening of forum for Discourse on History, Reconciliation, and Peace

On July 22-23, the 2019 8th International NGOs Conference on History and Peace was held under the theme of “East Asian Implications of 1919: Historical Reconciliation and Peace” on the Seoul Campus of Korea University, focused on indoor activities. On July 24-26, there was a field-centered exploration of history and culture. The conference was prepared in order to seek ways of inheriting and expanding Asian values surrounding the March 1st Movement, aligning with the centennial of the March 1st Movement and the Provisional Government, as well as civil society’s joint response to East Asia’s historical conflicts and issues through the reinforcement of exchanges between civil society and cooperative networks for the sake of East Asia’s historical reconciliation. Forty historians and activists from 15 countries, including Japan, China, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States, participated in the conference in which about 200 people from 30 domestic organizations also participated. During the opening ceremony on July 22, Lee Jang-hui, president of the NGO History Forum, emphasized the solidarity and cooperation among international civic groups on history and peace for historical reconciliation and peace. Yoo Jin-hui, executive vice president for academic affairs at Korea University, delivered his welcoming speech, followed by congratulatory speeches by Kim Do-hyung, president of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, and Paolo Ceccoli, president of the European Association of History Educators (EUROCLIO). Then Seoul’s Mayor Park Won-soon made a speech, followed by an address by Kim Won-ung, president of the Heritage of Korean Independence, and video messages from Canada’s ALPHA Education, the overseas counterpart of the NGO History Forum, and Germany’s Foundation for Remembrance, Responsibility and Future.

During the international symposium that followed the opening ceremony, experts from eight countries that had been affected by the self-reliance and peace spirit of the March 1st Movement or had had similar experiences, presented views on their academic analyses of the March 1st Movement from the position of their own countries. At the symposium, moderated by emeritus professor Ahn Byung-woo of Hanshin University, experts representing Korea, Japan, China, the U.S., India, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Britain made presentations and held discussions about the historical implications of the March 1st Movement in 1919 and their experiences and positions concerning interrelations and influences involving historical events that occurred in each country.

Small-scale workshops on various topics took place simultaneously on July 23, the second day of the conference. Topics varied from those continuously pushed by the NGO History Forum to those pushed by individual member organizations and programs. These topics were divided into workships hosted by overseas organizations and programs for teenagers and young people. The central themes of the forum included, “International Norms and Civil Society Charter,” “East Asian Grassroot Civil Historical Dialogue,” and “Territorial Problems and Peace.” Special lectures by overseas participants were made by Mr. Hideto Kimura, an activist of the “Gathering to Defend Ethnic Koreans in Nagasaki,” and Prof. Hope May of the Central Michigan University in the U.S.

Mr. Kimura gave a lecture under the theme, “War and Peace: Atomic Bombs and Compulsory Mobilization.” Having been involved directly in the problems of forced labor, comfort women, and the human rights of atomic bomb victims, he vividly recounted the voices from the field based on his direct experience. Prof. May gave a lecture themed, “The March 1st Movement and Red Thread of the History of International Peace.” She provided new information about Korea’s overseas independence movement because she had secured a lot of precious data thanks to her research into foreigners who had contributed to Korea’s independence during Japan’s occupation and the activities of patriots who devoted themselves to Korea’s independence in the U.S. in 1919.

The conference declaration committee announced the draft of the 2019 International NGOs Conference on History and Peace declaration, which was written based on the 8th conference’s purposes and background, and obtained approval from the participants. The declaration mentioned the spirit and remembrance of the March 1st Movement on the occasion of its centennial and underscored the inheritance of the movement’s spirit of nonviolence and democratic principles. The declaration also proposed creating a social environment conducive to people-centered regional peace and prosperity by civil society and NGOs of the international community, stating that the problems of peace and reconciliation cannot be left in the hands of the state alone.

After two days of indoor activities, the overseas delegations visited historical sites related to Korea’s modern history to learn about Korean history. They had time to think about the problems of national division and peace by taking part in the DMZ Peace Tour.

Peace Network Created by International NGOs Conference

The biggest achievement of the 8th conference was the solidification of cooperative networks with influential overseas groups. The delegations from the 15 countries evaluated that the programs of the conference were very helpful and executed well. They also said that the conference was an important place where like-minded experts met to exchange information and work towards peace. The NGO History Forum certainly deserves praise for its service and efforts in hosting the international conferences continuously despite difficult conditions.

The newly launched exploration of history and culture also produced satisfactory results. Although only a few of the overseas delegations took part in the program, the participants exchanged in friendly relations while experiencing and learning about Korea’s modern history and culture for three days. It was meaningful, too, that the participants, including those from Japan, visited the Dokdo Experience Center of the Northeast Asian History Foundation and had opportunities to learn about the truth concerning Dokdo.

To sum it up, the International NGOs Conference helped strengthen the establishment of networks among historical NGOs at home and abroad, as well as develop the private-public-academic cooperation model in historical reconciliation and peace movement. It was also noticeable that the conference created a forum for exchanges and public debate among civic groups from both home and abroad for historical reconciliation. It contributed not only to merely expanding the status of domestic historical NGOs and their capabilities, but also to nurturing the world’s future generation through the participation of teenagers and young people.

However, regrets and tasks for the next year are inevitable every time the conference ends. We should have made more efforts to concretely contemplate ways of and preparing for linking participating overseas organizations with Korea’s civil society. Also, there should have been more efforts to publicize and connect so that young people could take part in workshops and programs more actively rather than doing so as mere volunteers. We will have to figure out ways of forming public opinion in the international community by exploiting the base of the human network built through the eight conferences and contributing to the promotion of historical reconciliation and peace in East Asia. Like EUROCLIO regularly gathered history educators and experts to develop history education and programs in Europe, I look forward to seeing the International NGOs Conference develop into a forum for public debate that could contribute to historical reconciliation and a peaceful society.