뉴스레터

The purpose of establishing 'International NGO History Forum’

In 2007, on the first anniversary of NAHF's establishment, NAHF and history-related NGOs collaborated to hold international conferences. At that time, 60 domestic NGOs related to history and 200 activists and researchers from NGOs in 20 countries around the world gathered in Seoul to hold various events such as workshops, cultural events, festivals, presentations for youth, and moving schools. Until the forum was organized, NAHF and history-related NGOs formed the Organizing Committee of International Conference. However, a permanent consultative body was needed to continue the conference, develop agendas, and lead solidarity and cooperation with domestic and foreign historical NGOs. So we formed ‘The International NGO History Forum for Peace in East Asia’ in April 2009.

The purpose of the international conference, which is the main project of 'International NGO History Forum', is as follows. ① Expanding the Role of History-related NGOs for Peace Settlement in East Asia ② Strengthening the network of NGOs active in various areas ③ Training of Global Future Generation through Education on Peace ④ Building a peaceful community on the historical awareness based on cooperation

Major Activities and Experiences

We have been holding 'International Conference' and 'International NGOs Forum on History and Peace' alternately since 2007. In 2010, we co-hosted the '1st the International NGOs Forum on History and Peace' in Toronto, Canada, with the civic group Toronto Alpha. Through this event, we shared the issue of East Asian history with Canadian civil society and participated in the activities of Toronto Alpha during the event to strengthen our network with NGOs in North America.

Since 2011, Korean universities interested in history and civil society have participated as co-hosts and have developed into a structure in which private, public, and academic cooperate. In addition, we selected the following four core agendas to enable efficient operation and continuous development of the conference. : ① Discovering Activity Cases of Citizen Organizations and Disseminating Best Practices ② Establishment of International Standards and Principles for Historical Reconciliation ③ Cooperation between the State and Civil Society for the Historical Reconciliation of East Asia ④ Integration and Application of History Education and Peace Education

In 2014, the 3rd International NGOs Forum on History and Peace was held in Tokyo, Japan under the theme of ‘Overcoming the Korea-Japan Agreement in 1965 and Peace in East Asia’. We reexamined the historical issues between Korea and Japan and sought solutions. In 2016, the 4th International NGOs Forum on History and Peace was held in Hague, Lyden, Utrate and Amsterdam, Netherlands, in cooperation with EUROCLIO. It addressed international relations, history education and civil society in establishing sustainable peace in East Asia in a dialogue with Europe.

This year, NAHF and University of Social Sciences and Humanities, and Viet Nam National University in Hanoi held the '2020 Vietnam International Conference of NGOs on History and Peace'. The theme of the conference was 'History Perception and International Cooperation for East Asian Peace Community'. The conference, which has been operated offline only, has been held both online and offline so that presenters and field participants can communicate as much as possible. From August, we held an international workshop on history and global citizenship with experts and NGO representatives from all over the world(Holding online every Thursday). In particular, we have published a joint statement of the Global Citizens Network on the international response of COVID-19.

Performance and Future Tasks

In the meantime, 'International NGO History Forum' has held 'International Conference' and 'International NGOs Forum on History and Peace' steadily. In the early days, they mainly worked in Korea, China and Japan. However, since 2012, we are expanding our activities to the world. We have achieved the following results: Strengthening network between domestic and foreign NGOs related to history, Finding a private, public, and academic cooperation model on solving historical conflicts, Expanding exchanges and cooperation between domestic and foreign civil society for historical reconciliation, Activity as a venue for historical dialogue for common historical awareness, Various programs for sharing historical awareness, Strengthening the status and capabilities of domestic NGOs related to history, Fostering global future generations through youth and youth participation, Offering a Code of Conduct, Conference White Paper and Collected Papers published and distributed.

However, as the domestic and international situation changes, the International NGO History Forum is also facing new challenges. It is necessary to find ways to secure finances, to envision various projects, and to develop and cooperate with organizations abroad on the next agenda related to peace and history. In the post-corona era, everyday life is expected to change into a non-face-to-face, non-contact phase. So we will provide a variety of on-line and off-line programs. I hope that the International NGO History Forum will contribute to the realization of peace, historical reconciliation and historical justice in East Asia.