PyeongChang Peace Forum 2021 will open Sunday for a three-day run in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, featuring discussions on recent challenges to peace on the Korean Peninsula and the world amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marking the third anniversary of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, the PyeongChang 2018 Legacy Foundation will hold its third annual forum at the PyeongChang Alpensia Convention Center from Sunday to Tuesday under the auspices of Gangwon Province, PyeongChang County and the Korea International Cooperation Agency.

Under its slogan of “Peace! Here and Now,” the international forum will bring together world leaders, peace builders and participants from all over the world in Gangwon Province, the world’s only divided province -- as its northern section, Kangwon Province, lies across the border in North Korea.

Under the theme of “Action Plan: Peace New Deal,” the forum will address five core topics: Economy and Peace; Sports and Peace; DMZ Peace Zone; UN Sustainable Development Goals and Peace; and Public Diplomacy and Peace -- as well as action plans.

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, will give a welcoming address at the forum’s opening ceremony Sunday, followed by special remarks from investment expert and author Jim Rogers, who is serving as co-chair for the PyeongChang Peace Forum.

On the first day of the forum, special sessions will be held on the Middle East peace process and the outlook for a peace agreement on the Korean Peninsula. A sports session will also take place to discuss strategies for the successful hosting of the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

On Monday and Tuesday, prominent speakers including David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020, and professor Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Dhaka, Bangladesh-based Grameen Bank and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, will take part in the plenary sessions discussing the five main topics.

To allow access to a wider audience, PyeongChang Peace Forum 2021’s opening and closing ceremonies, as well as its 33 sessions, will be streamed live on its official website (http://ppf.or.kr/en/) and YouTube channel, using the “Peace Platform” that embraces both online and offline formats.

The forum’s organizer said that it will take this opportunity to raise the issue of the Korean Peninsula and world peace amid the pandemic and will strive to expand its reach so that the conclusions from these discussions could be put into practice and receive support from the international community.

By The Korea Herald staff (khnews@heraldcorp.com)