Section IV, World University Presidents’ Congress

Organized by President Sun Jo Hwang of Sun Moon University, the World University Presidents’ Congress addressed two large questions, “What Will the University Do for World Peace?” and “How Should University Education Change in the Next 100 Years?” After congratulatory remarks by Dr. Heon-Young Kim, Chairman of the Korean Council for University Education, the theme of universities and world peace was explored in a roundtable of Prof. Aaron Benavot, Pres. Woo-Seung Kim, and Dr. Jae-Shin Park, with Rector Victor Andrushchenko, Minister Besa Shahini, and Vice Chancellor Suresh Raj Sharma as discussants. There was general agreement on the importance of promoting interest in peace education.

After a keynote speech by Hon. Doh-Yeon Kim, Former Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Korea, the second roundtable on how university education should change consisted of Innovation Cases presented by Director Youngbin Cho of Dassault Systèmes Korea, Director Kenn Ross of Asia Minerva Schools, Advisor Minu Ipe from Arizona State University and Prof. Ki-Yong Yoon of Sun Moon University. Overall, it was agreed that universities all have a role to play in the development of a new academic culture responding to the challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Closing Plenary and IAAP Resolution

After summary reflections representing each of the several sections, special remarks were given by Dr. Sung-Bae Jin as an orientation for future academic projects. Then, the shared resolution to form the IAAP as a new network of scholars committed to peace-building, under the auspices of the Universal Peace Federation, was read by Dr. Thomas Selover. Dr. Thomas Walsh of UPF offered congratulatory remarks, and the signing of the Resolution for IAAP was led by Nobel laureate in chemistry, Dr. Mario J. Molina, thus concluding the World Peace Academic Conference.