From April 21 to 22, 2015, Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Peace Price laureate in 2001 and Chairman of Kofi Annan Foundation visited Peking University and engaged in exchanges with Peking University. Lamin Sise, Senior Advisor of Mr. Annan, Zaw Win, High Level Official from Office of the UN Secretary-General, accompanied Mr. Annan during the visit.
On the morning of April 21, Ke Yang, Executive Vice President of Peking University, met with Mr. Annan and his company at Lakeside House. Ke Yang extended her warm welcome to Mr. Annan’s third visit to Peking University and recollected the strong connection between Mr. Annan and Peking University. Ke Yang thanked Mr. Annan for the sharing of his decades of experience in global governance and insightful observations with teachers and students from Peking University. She gave the photo of Mr. Annan during his visit to Peking University in 2006 as a present.
Ke Yang presents photo of Mr. Annan during his visit to Peking University in 2006 to him
Later on, Mr. Annan had a seminar with scholars and students from Peking University around “Some Key Points in the World Order”. Prof. Yuan Ming, Deputy Dean of Institute of International and Strategic Studies of Peking University, presided over the seminar. Jia Qingguo, Dean of School of International Studies and Director of Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding, Fu Jun, Executive Dean of School of Government, Wang Peiyu, Deputy Dean of School of Public Health, Li Anshan, Director of Center for African Studies, Lv Zhi, Director of Center for Nature and Society, as well as representatives of scholars in history and laws, and students from Peking University Student Model United Nations Association and Students’ International Communication Association participated in the seminar.
The seminar
At the seminar, Mr. Annan talked about the great changes this world faced in recent years and the efforts made by the United Nations in coping with these challenges from his own experience. Grounded on their research fields and interests, the participating professors shared their views of the current world order and engaged in an extensive and profound discussion with Mr. Annan. The discussion covered improvement of the global governance mechanism, the role of China in the construction of the new order, development prospects of Africa, response to the extremist threat, and cultivation of young leadership and other topics. According to his rich experience working in the United Nations and mediating international disputes after leaving the office, Mr. Annan gave his opinions and suggestions on these issues. He stressed the importance and necessity of governments’ improving their capabilities and enhancing multi-dimensional international cooperation. At the same time, he indicated that there remain lots of difficulties in solving these problems, and more cooperation and efforts from the international community are required. In the end, a few student representatives made their voices as the shaper of the future world order. Mr. Annan answered questions from these students and expressed his encouragement and blessings to young students at Peking University.
On the morning of April 22, Zhu Shanlu, Director of the School Administration Committee of Peking University, met with Mr. Annan and his company. Zhu Shanlu welcomed Mr. Annan to revisit Peking University, and thanked the UN’s care and support for Beijing Forum. He also expressed his wish that Mr. Annan could join this year’s Beijing Forum. Mr. Annan said that he was honored to be invited as a guest for the Peking University Global Fellowship and the Beijing Forum series high-end speeches. He clearly remembered the seminar with teachers and students of Peking University, and he saw the concerning and thinking of youth in the 21st century of international affairs and the progress of human civilization from the students’ questions. He also expressed his wish to revisit Peking University and that the Beijing Forum could thrive. At the end of the seminar, Zhu Shanlu, on behalf of Peking University, presented Mr. Annan with the commemorative mail cover jointly issued by United Nations Post Office, Beijing Forum and China National Philatelic Corporation.
Zhu Shanlu meets with Mr. Annan
In the afternoon, Lin Jianhua, President of Peking University, met with Mr. Annan at the Overseas Exchange Center, and awarded Mr. Annan with the bronze medal and certificate of Peking University Global Fellowship. After that, Mr. Annan, as a scholar of Peking University Global Fellowship and a guest of the Beijing Forum high-level speeches, delivered a keynote speech themed “Towards a More Harmonious World Order” at the Sunshine Conference Hall. The speech was presided over by Prof. Yuan Ming, and over 300 teachers and students of Peking University participated in the event.
Lin Jianhua presents the bronze medal of Peking University Global Fellowship to Mr. Annan
When giving an address before Mr. Annan’s speech, Lin Jianhua said that Mr. Annan is concerned with the destiny of humans in the future and focuses on university development and youth cultivation. During that process, he established an indissoluble bond with teachers and students of Peking University. During his 10-year office as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Annan made important contributions to eliminating poverty, stopping conflicts, and promoting democracy. The international community will always be grateful and remember his contributions.
In his speech, Mr. Annan first mentioned that both ancient China and Africa had proverbs about “harmony”, which indicated the importance of “harmony” to social development. However, as human society develops, people are often blinded by their pursuit of wealth and power. The construction of a harmonious society is an art. In his decades of work in the UN, Mr. Annan had profound understandings of the hardship in it. In Mr. Annan’s opinion, harmony has three pillars: peace and security, sustainable and compatible development, as well as human rights and the rule of law. Only combined can these three pillars lay a foundation for the harmonious and prosperous development of the society. With its rapid economic development, China cooperates with Africa more frequently. Both sides wish to see a peaceful and stable global pattern. In the end, Mr. Annan summarized that today’s world is constantly changing. Wealth and power are no longer the privileges of certain regions. Therefore, countries, regions and institutions must adapt to these changes. Thanks to its reform and opening up policy, China gets to return to the center of international affairs. By sticking to the three pillars of a harmonious society, China will play an important role in the reconstruction of world order. In the Q&A session, Chinese and international students of Peking University had heated discussions with Mr. Annan on climate change and technology transfer, the pros and cons of peacekeeping operations and other important issues.
Mr. Annan gives a speech themed “Towards a More Harmonious World Order”
During his visit to China, Mr. Annan also attended the release of the Chinese translation of his two books: his memoirs Interventions: A Life in War and Peace and We the Peoples: A UN for the Twenty-First Century, and accepted an exclusive interview by “Dialogue” program of CCTV International Channel.
Background link:
Born on April 8, 1938 in Kumasi, Ghana, Kofi Annan is the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations, and also the first Secretary-General elected from the United Nations staff. Annan studied at Kumasi College of Science and Technology. Later, he studied in the US and Switzerland and obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Macalester College, Minnesota and Master of Management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Annan is proficient in English, French and several African languages. In 2001, as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Annan won the Nobel Peace Prize together with the United Nations.
Annan joined the United Nations in 1962 and worked in United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, United Nations Headquarters, United Nations Office at Geneva, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization. In 1997, Mr. Annan was elected the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations. He served another term of office five years later. Annan is recognized as the United Nations Secretary-General with the strongest reform spirit. During his eight-year term of office, Annan tirelessly pushed forward the reform of the United Nations and devoted himself to making this huge institution with a declining reputation an authoritative international organization capable of coping with new challenges in the new era with effective measures, and won the respect of the entire world.
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