Preview of the 10th World Human Rights Cities Forum 2020

The Future of Human Rights Cities - Local Memories and Global Sharing

This year, marked its 10th anniversary, the 10th World Human Rights Cities Forum (WHRCF) will be held for 4 days under the theme of “The Future of Human Rights Cities - Local Memories and Global Sharing” from October 7th to October 10th at the Kimdaejung Convention Center in Gwangju, South Korea. The 10th Forum will be further enriched by the presence of two organizations: UN OHCHR and UNESCO as co-hosts for the first time. 

The 10th WHRCF is paying a special attention to the temporal arrangement of the human rights cities with reflection on the history of human rights at a local level being shared on the global level. It will assess the present while planning for the future of human rights cities - all within the flow of time, as an effective way to enhance the sustainability of human rights cities. Therefore, it will be a place to discuss how we can inherit and incorporate historical memories and legacies of the past into a future human rights city through human rights education as a modern form of remembrance.

Under the theme of “The Future of Human Rights Cities - Local Memories and Global Sharing”, the ways to broaden the Human Rights City movement and to build the post COVID-19 world by local governments will be discussed during the Plenary Sessions. In the International Human Rights Training Center Workshop, an advisory meeting will also be held to talk about overall management of Gwangju International Human Rights Training Center and to find ways to cooperate with other organizations. In addition, Thematic sessions will examine issues and tasks to promote human rights for all citizens, including the elderly, women, the disabled, and other minority groups. Citizens can also participate in the Special Events and Side Events such as Human Rights Discussion Group and Transcribing Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

In particular, this year’s forum will be a Hybrid Conference, combining a “live” in-person event with a “virtual” online component, to prepare for post-coronavirus era. The Forum will be managed with the safety as the top priority with preventive measures and social distancing. In addition, this year's forum has been selected to “Call for Projects of the Meeting Technology”, organized by the Korea Tourism Organization. The keynote speaker will be introduced with hologram and Virtual Reality (VR) experience program will be operated. Related information can be found during the event through mobile app (Guidebook) and smart display as well.

The 10th WHRCF is co-hosted by the Gwangju Metropolitan City, UN OHCHR, UNESCO, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and is co-organized by the UCLG Committee on Human Rights (UCLG-CSIPDHR), the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI), and the Gwangju International Center (GIC).