1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 2018 UNESCO Strategy Forum at a Lotte Hotel, Seoul, on November 13 to discuss UNESCO’s reform direction and ways that the Republic of Korea can increase its contribution in this regard. The event was co-hosted by the Ministry of Education and the Korean National Commission for UNESCO with the support of the Cultural Heritage Administration.

° The Forum brought together some 200 people, including Deputy Director-General Xing Qu and other major officials of UNESCO; officials of such key member states of UNESCO as the Russian Federation, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Kingdom of Sweden; policy researchers on UNESCO; members of UNESCO-related organizations and groups at home; and general public.

2. In his opening remarks, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the ROK Lee Tae-ho urged UNESCO to make strong reform efforts, including de-politicization of discussions on the improvement of the Memory of the World Programme and in the full range of matters related to managing its world heritage and other key projects as well as the organizational structure. He went on to announce that the ROK will take an active part in discussions on pursuing reform in an objective and transparent way.

° In addition, the Vice Minister suggested that the UNESCO conduct such reform tasks as focusing on its basic functions, as well as scaling down the organization and strengthening its networks to achieve that. 

※ The transcript of the opening remarks attached

3. The Forum, organized as an opportunity to discuss the direction of the reform efforts currently underway at UNESCO under the leadership of the ROK, a key contributor to UNESCO and chair of the UNESCO Executive Board, is seen to have helped affirm the ROK’s leadership at UNESCO and pave the way for increasing the country’s influence over the organization's key agenda items.

° The Forum featured presentations and discussions on various topics, including the necessity and strategies for UNESCO reform; reform efforts by other international organizations; ways to contribute to peace on the Korean Peninsula through UNESCO; and ways for the ROK to step up contribution.

※ In 2017, the amount of the ROK’s contribution to UNESCO’s regular budget ranked 13^th and that of its voluntary contribution 5^th among the 195 member states of UNESCO.

※ The ROK’s Ambassador to UNESCO Lee Byong-hyun is serving as Chairman of the Executive Board of UNESCO from 2017 to 2019.

4. In particular, on October 16, President Moon Jae-in held a meeting with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, the first since her inauguration, creating momentum toward stronger cooperative ties between the ROK and UNESCO; for UNESCO’s contribution to the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula; and for cooperation in promoting correct historical perceptions. In this light, the Forum is seen to have served as a significant opportunity to broaden the scope of the ROK’s contribution to UNESCO to include various areas.

* unofficial translation