Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, will visit Jeju Island to attend the 13th Jeju

Forum for Peace and Prosperity, becoming the first incumbent head of UNESCO to do so.

Her visit is expected to provide the momentum to further develop cooperative ties between

UNESCO and the Jeju Island, which was designated as Biosphere in 2002, World Natural

Heritage in 2007 and Global Geopark in 2011, and whose folk ritual, Chilmeoridang

Yeongdeunggut, and traditional hanyeo (women divers) culture were inscribed as Intangible

Cultural Heritages.

Director-General Azoulay will speak in the special dialogue session with the theme of

“UNESCO’s Unique Mandate for Peace and Development: Multilateral Cooperation through

Education, Culture and the Sciences” at 10:50-11:40 a.m. on June 28 with the Governor of

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Won Hee-ryong, who is also chairman of the Jeju

Forum Organizing Committee. She will discuss how to build peace on the Korean peninsula,

as well as sharing her views on the future value of Jeju Island and the role of UNESCO. The

dialogue will be moderated by Bak Sangmee, dean of the Graduate School of International

and Area Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Prior to the dialogue session, the

Director-General will hold a press conference at 10 a.m.

Upon the inter-Korean summit meeting on Apr. 27, the Director-General has said in her

tweet, “I welcome the historic statement issued today by the Korean leaders. My hope is that

it paves a way to lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. UNESCO stands ready to contribute

through active cooperation in all its fields of competencies.”

Given the main theme of the Jeju Forum, “Reengineering Peace for Asia,” and the eased

tension following the inter-Korean summit meeting this year, it is noteworthy how the

Director-General will address the peace issue, and the roles of UNESCO and Jeju Island in

that context.

The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province is planning to propose in 2019 to establish the

“Global Research and Training Center for Internationally Designated Areas” under the

auspices of UNESCO. The province will submit the application for the UNESCO center next

January.

At the moment of its foundation after World War II, UNESCO was entrusted with a unique

mission inscribed in its Constitution: “it is in the minds of men and women that the defences

of peace must be constructed.” UNESCO has been carrying out this mission for over 70 years

now, through education, culture, and the sciences, reaching out to local populations in every

region of the world. The challenges faced by humanity at the beginning of this 21st century

are no longer the same as those in 1945. But the need for multilateral cooperation is just as

urgent. It is crucial to maintain and reinforce this cooperation, and to find original and

innovative means to guarantee peace and sustainable development. There is no other

alternative.

UNESCO was established in 1945 as a United Nations organization to contribute to peace

and progress of humanity. In 1942-1944 during World War II, the education ministers of the

allied countries held meetings in London and agreed to set up an international organization

to reconstruct the educational system and build world peace. The representatives of 37

countries adopted the UNESCO Charter in London on Nov. 16, 1945. As of December 2017,

UNESCO is composed of 195 member states and 11 associate member countries. UNESCO’s

mission is to contribute to world peace and sustainable development by promoting

international cooperation.