On November 5, former Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon (Department of International Relations, Graduating Class of 1970) gave a special lecture on “Sports and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals” at the SNU Sports Education and Research Building. Professor and Director of the Dream Together Master Program Kang Joon-ho (Department of Kinesiology) introduced Ban to over 200 participants at the event.

Former Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon speaks at SNU Sports Education and Research Building

The Dream Together Master Program is a state-run project to train the next generation of sports administrators in developing countries in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Oceania and Latin America through the sponsorship of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation. Since 2013, a total of 141 students from 50 countries have been admitted to the program.

In this special lecture, Ban, who is currently serving as the Chair of the Ethics Commission at the International Olympic Committee, emphasized the role and value of sports in achieving the 17-point Sustainable Development Goals that the UN presented as a common blueprint of the international community from 2016 to 2030. He particularly stressed the potential of sports in helping to construct a lasting international peace regime.

This was a meaningful message for Korean students, particularly in the wake of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games which was universally lauded for having helped foster a spirit of peace on the Korean Peninsula.

In his opening address, Professor Kang praised the ability of sports to “contribute to creating a sustainable global community.”

Dream Together Master and SNU students engage in a Q&A session after the lecture

The Dream Together Master Program has received favorable reviews both at home and abroad as a landmark international development corporation project in the sports sector, demonstrating that South Korea is becoming a sports powerhouse, contributing to sports development on the global stage.

Source: http://now.snu.ac.kr/49/1/1506
Written by Minju Kim, SNU English Editor, minjukimm@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Professor Travis Smith, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, tlsmith@snu.ac.kr