Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to Deliver Speech at Harvard Kennedy School Graduation Next Month

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be a speaker at the Harvard Kennedy School graduation ceremony next month.

According to the Harvard Kennedy School on the 9th (local time), former Secretary-General Ban accepted the school's request to deliver a speech at this year's graduation ceremony. The Kennedy School is Harvard University's graduate school specializing in public policy, renowned in fields such as public administration and international politics.

Douglas Elmendorf, Dean of the Kennedy School, said, "We are very pleased that Ban, a distinguished alumnus, will be speaking," adding, "Graduates aspiring to be social leaders and policymakers will be able to learn a great deal from Ban, who has dealt with various global issues."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former Secretary-General Ban's speech is scheduled for May 24th during the three-day Kennedy School graduation event. It is known to be the first time a Korean has been invited as a speaker at the Kennedy School.

Ban said, "As an alumnus, I know well how challenging it is to graduate from the Kennedy School," and added, "I am pleased to be able to encourage graduates as they take their first steps on a new journey." He earned his degree from the Kennedy School in 1984 and, shortly after deciding not to run for president in 2017, served as the 'Angelopoulos Global Public Leadership Fellow' at the Kennedy School. This fellowship is regarded as an honorable position within the Kennedy School, as all previous fellows were former presidents.

The Kennedy School recently noted that past Harvard Kennedy School graduation speakers have included Maia Sandu, President of Moldova; Peter Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO); and Manuel Santos, former President of Colombia.

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