In commemoration of the 42nd United Nations International Day of Peace, Vice President Prof. YOKOI Atsufumi was invited by the Rector KIM Won-soo of Kyung Hee University, who is a former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs under the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, to speak at the 42nd Annual Peace BAR Festival on 21st September, hosted by Kyung Hee University in Soul, Korea.

Under the theme of “Path to Global Citizenship-Toward Post-SDGs,” Vice President Prof. YOKOI comprised the following world’s renowned experts discussed at the roundtable.

Liberato Bautista (President)- CoNGO (conference of NGOs)
Yao Yao (Director)- Center for National Soft Power at Communication University of China (China)
Daeshik Jo (Secretary General) – KCOC (Korea NGO Council for Overseas Development Cooperation)
Woo-Kyun Lee (Co-Chair) – SDSN Korea (UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network Korea)
Dongju Choi (President)- KACUNS (Korea Academic Council on the United Nations System)

Vice President Prof. YOKOI, as a panelist represented Japan for a roundtable, also delivered a keynote speech on “Cooperation over Competition” through Internationalization at Higher Education for Society (IHES) to co-create a new path for a transitional civilization, planetary society.

In his speech, he delivered strong messages of:
“We need to turn global citizenship into *planetary* citizenship for planetary wellbeing of all.”
“Education is not subordinate to the SDGs or sustainable development. Education itself is sustainability.”
“I do not want to work *for* young people. I do want to work *with* young people.”

International Day of Peace
Kyung Hee University and the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) proposed the International Day of Peace, submitted by the Costa Rican government and adopted in 1981 at the UN General Assembly. Since 1982, Kyung Hee University has organized the Peace BAR Festival every September to commemorate the International Day of Peace.