Prague Crossroads hosted once again the opening of Forum 2000
As it is already a nice annual tradition, also this year’s Forum 2000 conference was opened at the Prague Crossroads. This year’s meeting is subtitled as “The World We Want to Live In”. The ceremonial opening was taken by President Václav Havel, under whose auspices the conference is held annually, at the ceremony. Remarks were also given by European Commissioner Štefan Füle and Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of Japan’s Nippon Foundation.
Mr. Havel expressed his belief that the recent financial crisis has brought attention to the alarming state of today’s global community.
Mr. Füle also proclaimed the need to work together for a better world in which people would free themselves of fear, maintained by a constant barrage of bad news. In his speech, Mr. Sasakawa indicated that conflicting ideas about what kind of world we want to live in lie at the root of many problems facing our world today. Seeking the common vision of a better world is therefore the greatest challenge.
The musical performance of internationally known Persian guitarist Shahab Tolouie and his band concluded the opening ceremony. The Forum 2000 Conference will cover topics such as urbanism, architecture, religion, business interlinking with environment, ethics, as well as other global issues. It will take place in Prague until October 13. The conference will host over ninety great figures of the cultural and political scene world-wide. Among the guests speaking at the conference include one of America’s leading political scientists Fareed Zakaria, sociologist Zygmunt Bauman and Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi.
