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2008 Global Peace Forum
WHOLISTIC PEACE INSTITUTE REPRESENTS PORTLAND IN SOUTH KOREA
Executive Director, Gary Spanovich, and Press Secretary, Ali Koch Participate in the
"2008 Global Forum on Peace and Civilization"
Hosted by the Academy of Korean Studies
The Conference Focused on the Theme of "Peace with Environment and Ecology"
Gary Spanovich was the Keynote Speaker
Seoul Television Appearance
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The President of the Academy of Korean Studies, Kim Jung Bae, welcomed the Executive Director of the Wholistic
Peace Institute (WPI), Gary Spanovich, as a keynote speaker at the Academy's annual conference, held May 27-29th,
this year entitled "2008 Global Forum on Peace and Civilization". Other keynote speakers included South Korea's
Prime Minister Han Seung-su and Dr. Robert M. Gould, former President of Physicians for Social Responsibility,
an organization which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985. Dr. Gould was invited by the WPI, an organization
that works with Nobel Peace Laureates, to participate in the conference. The conference was held on the Academy
of Korean Studies' campus, just outside of South Korea's capital, Seoul. The conference was first inaugurated in
2005 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Korea's Liberation and the founding of the Republic of Korea. For the
past four years, the Global Forum has served "as a meeting place where people are encouraged to engage in dialogue",
said Academy Pres. Kim Jung Bae.
The focus of this year's conference was "Peace with Environment and Ecology" and focused on topics such as:
"Preservation and Restoration of the Environment and Ecology"; "Dialogue among Civilizations after 9/11";
"Environment and Ecology in the 21st Century" and "Environment and Ecology from Asia Perspective". Gary Spanovich
and Dr. Gould opened the conference with their keynote speeches: Mr. Spanovich discussing the work of the
Wholistic Peace Institute, a nonprofit organization he founded in Portland in 1999; and Dr. Gould discussing
the work of Physicians for Social Responsibility and their focus on the prevention of nuclear war and global warming.
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Meeting with President Kim Dae Jung
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Gary Spanovich and the WPI's Press Secretary, Ali Koch, also met with Nobel Peace Laureate and former South
Korean President Kim Dae-jung at his Presidential library in Seoul. The WPI hosted President Kim in Portland,
this April, to discuss his Sunshine Policy, which served to take war off the table between North and South Korea
during his presidency, earning him the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2000. Spanovich and Koch were warmly greeted
by President Kim and his staff, and were privileged with a one-hour private interview with the former President.
President Kim acknowledged the efforts of the WPI and thanked Spanovich for hosting his successful visit in
Portland. Spanovich also invited President Kim to be apart of a conference the WPI will be hosting later this
year in Jerusalem, Israel. This conference will feature key Nobel Laureates and examine possible new approaches
to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, using methods which have already had successful implementation by Nobel's
in other parts of the world.
The Wholistic Peace Institute's mission is to "Stop the Killing" and, since its formation in 1999, has worked
with over 12 Nobel Peace Laureates including: Dalai Lama; Betty Williams; Lech Walesa; Adolfo Esquivel; Amnesty;
Physicians for Social Responsibility; Oscar Arias and Kim Dae Jung.
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