The Urgent Peace Call from Universiade Gwangju 2015

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A few days before the launch of Universiade Kazan 2013, Tatarstan, Russia, I was there visiting the Universiade village where preparations were going on to host the continental sportive event.

Let me refresh my memories with the smiling faces I met in each and every spot I crossed, as they were all eager to welcome the youthful energy of participants in the sports event held every 2 years, where games played in 4 areas of Kazan, and some of them in downtown.

It was very clear that the continental event reshaped the historical city, which is more than 1000 years old, with shining colours, and bright smiles, as well.

Two years passed, and a few days later, GwangJu; another Asian city will host the only summer multi-sport event in the world that connects students at both academic and athletic levels, for 12 days of sports competitions, with more than 12,737 student-athletes and officials from over 145 countries, competing in compulsory disciplines and optional sports, where volunteers and participants are students, generally of the same age, watched by the world via more than 100 TV channels broadcasting.

In such a huge human field, there is a rare chance to convey a good human message. And it must be the urgent message of peace.

I got the good chance to visit GwangJu; the city that spread the seeds of culture as flowers spread their petals, and so the buds of Asian cultures blossom. GwangJu is not only considered the hub city of Asian cultures, but is also seen the oasis of democracy in South Korea, the city which witnessed the birth of the 18 May Democracy Movement and paved the way for transformation in the country, though that was fulfilled years later.

In 1993, President Kim Young-Sam pointed out his position in a speech saying, “The bloodshed in GwangJu in 1980 is the cornerstone of the democracy of this country”.

In GwangJu 2015 there will not be blood, instead there will be the tears of winning joy, and the drops of sweat for thousands participating in this Summer Universiade. GwangJu is ready to add its touch in the history book of the Universiade. It is standing for ‘Eco-friendliness, IT, Culture and Peace’, and we will witness – beside Universiade – Ecoversiade, ITversiade, Cultureversiade and Peaceversiade.

The Gwangju Universiade has formulated a strategy that combines the reduction of costs and the preservation of the environment by minimising the number of new constructions, to minimise the financial burden while enhancing economic efficiency through the implementation of eco-friendly and sustainable methods.

GwangJu will have ITversiade, as well. The Gwangju Universiade will be the most efficient sporting event in terms of IT equipment since it will use the cutting-edge telecommunication technology of the Republic of Korea and the state-of-the-art photonics representing Gwangju.

Korea’s representative city of art, Gwangju has welcome quite a number of renowned artists. Held since 1995 with the vision of passing on the tradition of art, the Gwangju Biennale is considered one of the world’s three major biennales. With the opening of the Asian Culture Complex in 2014, Gwangju is poised to take a quantum leap forward as the cultural hub of the world. The 2015 Gwangju Universiade will become a sports and cultural festival for university students worldwide. It will offer them the opportunity to experience the diverse culture and art of Korea, and share and enjoy the diverse culture of the world by integrating the cultural contents of the Asian Culture Complex.

And there will also be Peaceversiade.

I hope North Korea participation to be confirmed positively, to announce another historic landmark in GwangJu. Let the one people reunited under the sky of sports. In front of the Memorial of victims of 18 May, I prayed to spread the peace over the Korean Peninsula. The sun went behind a cloud, causing slight drops of rain to fall onto the huge, green statues of the wounded young men and women who raised Korea’s banners and flags that marked the birthplace of democracy. The flags of the Koreans, from the North and South, could be waved in all stadiums to mark the success of Gwangju Peaceversiade 2015.