24th Forum 2000: “A New World Emerging? Restoring Responsibility and Solidarity”

 "Of course, after this crisis, there will be thousands of theorists who will try to describe precisely how and why it happened and how to prevent it next time. But this will not be a sign that they have understood the message that this crisis has provided." - Vaclav Havel, Forum 2000, 2010

Over the past 24 years, Forum 2000 has organized an annual gathering to focus on pressing international issues. This year's Forum 2000 Conference theme “A New World Emerging? Restoring Responsibility and Solidarity” will be a virtual conference held from October 12 - 14, 2020.

It coincides with the United Nations General Assembly voting several dictatorships with terrible human rights records onto the UN Human Rights Council, and takes place in the midst of a pandemic that was made worse by one of these candidates, the People's Republic of China that has been aided and abetted by the dictatorship in Havana.

Therefore it is no small coincidence that Tsai Ing-wen, President of the Republic of China (Taiwan), will be opening the Forum 2000 Conference. The Conference kicks off on Monday, October 12, at 2 PM (CET). This is a courageous stand rooted in truth challenging a powerful dictatorship at a time of crisis. Communist China has threatened retaliation against the Czech Republic for their solidarity with Taiwan.

We are honoured that the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Tsai Ing-wen @iingwen will open the #Forum2000 Conference on Monday, Oct 12. Join us for the live stream at 2 PM (CET)! #NewWorldEmerging
👉https://t.co/XpHXRTyUbf pic.twitter.com/tHgc63Da9p

— Forum 2000 (@Forum_2000) October 9, 2020

This act of defiance is very much in the spirit of the founders of Forum 2000.  Forum 2000 is a joint initiative of the late Czech President Václav Havel, Japanese philanthropist Yohei Sasakawa, and the late Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel. In 1990 in his book, Disturbing the Peace, President Havel presented a definition of hope that is relevant to the moment the world is traversing today.

“Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed. The more unpromising the situation in which we demonstrate hope, the deeper that hope is. Hope is not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.

This is why Forum 2000 will be taking place later today and pushing for the restoration of solidarity and responsibility in the world that is emerging out of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Ten years ago at Forum 2000 Vaclav Havel spoke of the financial crisis that had shaken the international community, but his words were not heeded and unfortunately are even more relevant for today. 

 The former Czech president observed that "the crisis is a call to humility. We should not take things for granted." This was true when he said it in 2010, and even more so today in 2020.