30th Anniversary of Gwangju Uprising: FORUM-ASIA to jointly organise forum on democracy in Asia
2 May 2010 11:16 pm

In conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the May 18 democratic uprising in the Republic of Korea,  the May 18 Memorial Foundation will organise a forum at the Kim Dae Jung Convention Center, Gwangju, Republic of Korea, from 17-23 May 2010. The theme of the forum is “Democracy Past, Present and Future” and will be participated by about 500 local, regional and international civil society activists.

During this forum, FORUM-ASIA, People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), Solidarity for Democracy Movements in Asia (SDMA), Asian Regional Exchange for New Alternatives (ARENA), Korean Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (KISEAS) will organise a workshop, from 19-20 May, under the title “Democracy in Asia: Progress or Crisis?”.

Background:
The first May event was held in 1999 as a joint gathering of organizations supporting victims of national violence in Asia. The meeting continued to grow in scale until in 2004 it was renamed Gwangju International Peace Camp. The camp included not only victims’ support organizations but also human rights experts, pro-democracy activists, academics from relevant fields and other movement representatives from across Asia. The May event has become a valuable opportunity for activists to exchange and network with one another in workshops relating to peace, human rights and democracy. This year is of particular significance since 2010 marks the 30th Anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising.

For those who are interested to attend this forum, please contact:

The May 18 Memorial Foundation
Culture and Solidarity Team
Address: 518 Memorial Culture Hall, Naebangro 409, Seo-gu, Gwangju
Republic of Korea: 502-250
Tel:  062 457 0518
Fax: 062 456 0519
Email: [email protected]
Web:  http://eng.518.org/eng/html/main.html