외교부

Statement
by

H.E. Mr. Shin Kak-soo

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Republic of Korea

at the
The Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilizations

September 24, 2010
New York

Mr. Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Mr. High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great honor to attend this Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilizations. I would first like to express my sincere appreciation to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations Jorge Sampaio(조르지 삼빠이우) for all their noble efforts in taking this important initiative forward.

As a strong supporter of the Alliance, my delegation would like to offer a few reflections on the way forward for the Alliance, as we further consolidate this initiative.

The Alliance, with its innovative and action-oriented approach, has evolved as a sustainable platform for good governance of cultural diversity. What is required now is full and more effective implementation on the ground. To this end, the efforts for implementation by the member states of the Group of Friends at the national level shall be imperative in further bolstering the Alliance.

In this regard, as the High Representative has strongly emphasized in the revised Second Implementation Plan, it is crucial that each state push ahead with specific activities, particularly though the creation of National Plans for cross-cultural dialogue. The Government of the Republic of Korea has also embarked on sincere efforts to draw up National Plans of the Alliance and these will be submitted to the Alliance in the second half of this year.

Another issue that requires our attention is to improve various projects pursued by the Alliance. My delegation welcomes that the Alliance is placing a priority on the further expansion of the Alliance-led projects in its four main areas of action ? media, youth, education and migration. Among these four fields of activities, an area for action, I believe, that is of utmost importance is education and youth. We firmly believe that the best way to build and achieve the Alliance’s goals is to shape future generations for responsible global citizenship. A key element in this is instilling in them the values of tolerance and respect for “others,” and providing them with more opportunities to gain a better understanding of “other cultures.”
We therefore welcome the tireless endeavors by the Alliance to encourage concrete action for cross-cultural education, through practical projects such as the “Youth Strategy,” “Education about Religions and Beliefs clearinghouse,” and “Youth Solidarity Fund.”

Lastly, I would like to underline the importance of the consolidation of the Alliance. With its growing membership and enhanced role, consolidating the network has emerged as a tough challenge for the Alliance. In order to strengthen the sense of ownership by the members and improve the decision-making procedures, it is imperative to identify the role, functions and mandates of all the stakeholders, through limiting overlap and duplication of activities.

I believe that the work we do here shall indeed be of great value in nurturing the Alliance of Civilizations into a genuine global initiative for cross-cultural cooperation. And I wish to reaffirm Korea’s commitment to the noble cause of the Alliance of Civilizations.

Thank you.