Korean Foundation for Mental Culture Closes 'Humanities Value Forum' ... Announces 'Cultural Diversity' Andong Declaration

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun Attends Opening Ceremony... Chairman Chey Tae-won and Former Minister Kim Myung-ja Draw Attention with Lectures

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] The 7th 21st Century Humanities Value Forum, hosted by the Korea Foundation for Mental Culture and held under the theme "Social Values in the Era of Cultural Diversity," concluded on the evening of the 1st.

This year's forum, held over three days from October 30, was elevated in status by the attendance of Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun at the opening ceremony. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, keynote and special lectures by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and former Minister of Environment Kim Myung-ja drew significant public interest.

The academic sessions, which featured more active discussions than ever before, were praised for presenting concrete and practical methods to realize many values to be pursued in the era of cultural diversity. These sessions attracted considerable interest not only from the older generation but also from younger generations, culminating in the final selection of six outstanding papers.

Lee Hee-beom, Chairman of the Korea Foundation for Mental Culture, expressed his gratitude in the closing remarks to the many participants who responded to the efforts to create a human-centered society.

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group delivering the keynote speech.

In the subsequent Andong Declaration, it was emphasized that "The crisis posed by COVID-19, which humanity faces, has made the inequalities, discrimination, and hatred in our society more apparent. Just as an ecosystem composed of a single species cannot survive, a society that does not recognize diversity isolates itself and inevitably enters a path of decline," and that "the social value of cultural diversity is a powerful demand of our times."

In the closing special lecture, Kim Myung-ja, the 7th Minister of Environment, stressed, "To overcome the complex crises currently facing the global community, including climate, environment, and ecosystems, we must shift the paradigm to a development perspective that benefits the survival of humans as individuals while preserving the life of the entire Earth."

Meanwhile, the Korea Foundation for Mental Culture plans to fully preserve all forum content until December and establish an online archive of the forum to spread living humanities values to a wide audience even during the forum's off-periods. All information regarding the next forum's schedule, theme, and speakers will be disclosed through the forum's official website.

Singer Insooni is greeting on stage at the Humanities Value Forum.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.