Peace BAR Festival seeks new path for humanity

In celebration of the 42nd United Nations International Day of Peace, Kyung Hee University System is holding its annual Peace BAR Festival (PBF) on Sept. 21. To commemorate the UN’s seminal day, the annual PBF discussion sessions will take place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., deliberating how to create a new path for a transitional civilization.

The event will be hosted at the Kyung Hee University Grand Peace Palace. There will also be a webcast for participants not able to attend in person.

Kyung Hee’s initiatives for peace began as Dr. Choue Young-seek, the founder of the Kyung Hee University System (pen name, Miwon), first proposed and led the creation of the International Day and Year of Peace, which was approved in the 36th UN General Assembly in 1981.

Since 1982, Kyung Hee University has been organizing the Peace BAR Festival every September to commemorate the International Day of Peace, positioning the festival as a dedicated symbol of Kyung Hee’s attempts to promote peace and mutual prosperity.

BAR is an acronym that reflects Kyung Hee’s interpretation of worthwhile values of the 21st century. The term BAR comprises of three values: “spiritually Beautiful, materially Affluent and humanly Rewarding.” Embracing such values, the Peace BAR Festival endeavors to deliver the significance of arriving at a harmonious consensus with assistance from diverse organizations including the UN.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Peace or Collapse, Planetary Society at an Inflection Point.” Participants will discuss related matters which are of great significance considering the timely concerns humanity faces. The climate, AI, nuclear threats and UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon) are matters inseparable from modern industries.

We now inhabit an era where no one is free from moral hazards and existential risks arise from this complex crisis. It is inevitable for everyone to explore a new paradigm of consciousness and politics for the future of global society and this is where the Peace BAR Festival 2023 steps in.

PBF 2023 reflects on the 42-year history of the International Day of Peace and calls for a peaceful mind that goes beyond political reality. With the advancement of science and technology, the event hopes to create a new civilization that will solve the global challenges that have become imminent threats. It seeks to explore other options for peace beyond hardened consciousness and political practices to pursue a solution to create a future where human values are assured while utilizing science and technology as tools.

The program details of the Peace BAR Festival 2023 are as follows:

The commemoration for the International Day of Peace will begin at 9 a.m. on Friday Sept. 21. The opening announcement will begin with Kim Won-soo, a rector at Kyung Hee University Global Academy for Future Civilizations, who will be giving an updated report on the International Day of Peace. After the report, Choue In-won, the chancellor of the Kyung Hee University System, will deliver a commemorative address under the title “Humanity at a Crossroads: Another Chance for Peace.” Celebrating the finale of the first section, a song will be performed by students of Kyung Hee University College of Music.

The second session will begin at 9:30 a.m. and the 2023 lecture will feature Nick Bostrom, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, to discuss the future of AI. The title of the lecture is "Challenges Along Path to AI Utopia.” Dr. Bostrom will discuss how to make science and technology compatible with universal human values and ethics, alongside how to contribute to the realization of peace in human society beyond specific countries and corporations.

The next session will begin with the PBF 2023 official video screening at 10 a.m. In this program, world-renowned scholars including Choue In-won, Chancellor of Kyung Hee University System, Nick Bostrom, Professor of Philosophy at Oxford University, and G. John Ikenberry, Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University, will discuss what they believe is a new paradigm for consciousness and politics. This pivots around the festival's main theme and is titled “Peace or Collapse, consciousness and politics at an inflection point”. The session will last for 90 minutes.

To encourage interactive and active discussions, the last session will take the form of a roundtable discussion, starting at 14:30 p.m. It will cover the theme “Path to Global Citizenship — Toward Post-SDGs” and speakers will discuss answers to the ultimate question of the modern era. Ryan Song, professor of law at Kyung Hee University, will host the discussion. Presenters and discussants will be comprised of the best experts in the field of international cooperation. The roundtable will be the longest of all the sessions, projected to take around 2 hours.

BY KIM SU-HYEON [kim.suhyeon4@joongang.co.kr]