The world today requires stronger and more diverse multilateral cooperation to meet mounting global challenges such as the climate crisis and the recent COVID-19 pandemic, and to secure a sustainable future for mankind. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015 represent our commitment to that end, but their implementation is far from being on track. Global citizenship education is becoming a key issue in the UN and the international community at large, not least with its great implications for sustainable development. Why do countries in the world appear to continue to fight for their narrow national interests rather than joining forces together to address the common problems we have in our world? How do the two core elements of global citizenship education – universal values and respect for diversity – fit into the SDGs? How can global citizenship education, as promoted by the UN and UNESCO, help change the mindset of the next generation in prioritising global common good? Answers to these questions are sought from the perspective of South Korea, the country known for its emphasis on education in its process of national development and for the efforts to expand its global role in recent years.

Speaker Biography

Joon Oh

Joon Oh is an Eminent Scholar Professor of United Nations Studies at Kyung Hee University and a Visiting Professor at the KDI School of Policy and Management, both located in South Korea. He currently serves as Chair of Save the Children Korea and President of the Korea Council of Children’s Organizations. Professor Oh received his Master’s degree in International Policy Studies from Stanford University, United States, and a diploma in International and Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom.

Professor Oh is a former diplomat of the Republic of Korea, having served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Korea to the United Nations from 2013 to 2016. During this time, he served as President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and as President of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). He has also served as Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Singapore (2010-2013) and Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs in Seoul (2008-2010).

Currently, Professor Oh works with several civil society organisations both in Korea and internationally, including with the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and Rehabilitation International (RI). In 2018, he served as an Honorary Ambassador for the Paralympic Winter Games held in Pyeongchang, Korea. His work has received numerous awards, including the Order of Service Merit (1996, 2006), the Global Korea Award (2018), Rehabilitation International's Global Presidential Award (2016), and the Youngsan Diplomat of the Year Award (2014); he also published his first book, For Mica, Who Contemplates Life, in 2015.

About the Presenter(s)
Joon Oh is an Eminent Scholar Professor of United Nations Studies at Kyung Hee University and a Visiting Professor at the KDI School of Policy and Management, both located in South Korea.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule

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