Korean Olympic Host City launches Dialogue on the Earth and its Citizens

SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The first PyeongChang Forum on the Earth and its Citizens, featuring world renowned scientists and educators, and named for the host city of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, will be held in Seoul, February 7 and 8, leading up to the opening of the Games. 

The first session entitled, "The Future of Earth and Humans," will help establish a benchmark on the state of earth's environment, with presentations by keynote speaker Dr. D. Eric Smith, Principal Investigator of the Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, joined by professor?experts from Seoul National University (SNU), Yonsei University Korea, and the Korea Polar Research Institute.  The second session on global citizenship will bring together innovators on international education.

The PyeongChang Forum will be held annually in PyeongChang from 2019 going forward to bring together global citizens, including youth, to discuss environmental issues and to share collective climate-change efforts.

"PyeongChang Dream for the Future," the third and final session, will offer a vision of the legacy of the Olympics by bringing together leading futurists from Oxford, England; UC San Diego; and Ewha Women's University, Korea, led by Dr. Sang-Mook Lee, of SNU, Chair of the Organizing Committee of PyeongChang Forum.

PyeongChang is located in Gangwon province, the only divided province in the world.  As such, the province has remained a nature lover's paradise over the years, relatively untouched by industrialism, and determined to contribute in a major way to achieving environmental sustainability. Gangwon Governor Moon-soon Choi said, "I fervently desire to open a place for discussion of pending environmental issues in the period leading up to the Games."  

In preparation for the Winter Games (Feb. 9-25, 2018), organizers focused on environmental sustainability:  minimizing carbon emissions, creating a recycling infrastructure, constructing environmentally friendly buildings, using renewable energy and creating "green" infrastructure, including a high-speed train connecting Seoul and PyeongChang.

For detailed information, go to the Forum website at pcforum.webworker.co.kr/eng/index.htm

SOURCE Gangwon Province Republic of Korea