International Leadership Conference

Toward the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula

in Europe & Middle East

Welcome!

Our virtual International Leadership Conference (ILC) is part of UPF’s Northeast Asia Peace Initiative, dedicated to exploring the prospects for peace on the Korean Peninsula through constructive dialogue between the two Koreas and with the other stakeholder countries of the region. 

On May 9, 2021, UPF launched Think Tank 2022, a worldwide alliance of experts from a wide range of professional fields—government, academic, civil society, faith-based organizations, the media, business, and the arts— who will work together and pool their best insights as to how peaceful reunification can be accomplished in the coming years.

our previous PROGRAMs

August 2021

I - Prospects for Economic Development and Peace

Session I

The Japan-Korea Tunnel: Toward Northeast Asian Prosperity and a Connected World of Peace

Session II

The Bering Strait Undersea Tunnel Project

Session III

Prospects for a Northeast Asian Economic Union

Session IV

The Potential and Benefits of Trade and Business Activities with North Korea

II - Ideologies, Worldviews, and International Relations

Session V

Competing Worldviews concerning Korean Reunification: How much will they be a factor in the outcome?

Session VI

The Korean People’s Common History and Culture: Resources for Peace on the Korean Peninsula

Session VII

The Role of the Media in contributing to Peace on the Korean Peninsula

July 2021

Session I

Track 1.5 Diplomacy Initiatives with North Korea

Session II

Resources and Tools of Faith Based Organizations in Support of Reuniting the Korean People

Session III

The Power of Humanitarian Initiatives in Overcoming the Division of the Korean Peninsula

Session IV

The Emerging Power of Women’s Diplomacy toward Sustainable Peace

Session V

The Potential of Private Sector Initiatives to Boost the North Korean Economy

Session VI

Talking to the Heart: Culture as Peacemaker

Session VII

Imagining a Unified World: The Youth’s Contribution to Peace on the Korean Peninsula

Session VIII

Beyond Borders: The Peace Road Initiative

june 2021

Session I

The State of Relations Between USA, China and Russia

Session II

Commemorating the 71st Anniversary of the Korean War (co-organized with UPF USA)

Session III

Europe and Russia’s Relations to the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)

Session IV

Biden Administration Strategies for Northeast Asia (co-organized with UPF USA)

Session V

The United Nations and the Korean Peninsula

Session VI

Europe and the Korean Peninsula & Think Tank 2022 Recommendations

APRIL 2021

Pre-session

Toward an Undersea Tunnel connecting Japan and Korea: Lessons from the Eurotunnel and the Marmaray Tunnel

Opening Plenary

Toward a Peaceful Reunification on the Korean Peninsula: Creating the Foundation for a Unified World

Session I

Toward an Undersea Tunnel connecting Japan and Korea: Lessons from the Eurotunnel and the Marmaray Tunnel

Session II

The forgotten Pain of a divided People – New Prospects for Peace and Reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula

Session III

The Role of Parliamentarians in contributing to Peace on the Korean Peninsula

Session IV

The Role of the Media in contributing to Peace on the Korean Peninsula

Session V

Women in International Peacemaking and Reconciliation Processes

Session VI

The Role of Culture in the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula

Session VII

Toward a Northeast Asian Economic Community? What can be learned from the history of the European Union

We resolve to work collaboratively toward the goal of peace on the Korean Peninsula

Toward Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula: Creating the Foundation for a Unified World

The Korean War began in 1950, 70 years ago.  The war concluded not with a peace treaty but with an armistice, leaving the once unified Korean peninsula divided, despite being populated by a people with a common history, culture, and language. The fate of the peninsula has been controlled not only by the people themselves, but by the wider geopolitical environment, known for decades as the “Cold War.”

This peace initiative of UPF Europe and the Middle East is dedicated to the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula. With this in mind, UPF organizes a variety of programs that bring together leading experts from a wide range of professional fields—government, academic, civil society, faith-based organizations, the media, business, and the arts—to explore the prospects for improved relations not only between the two Koreas, but among the other stakeholder countries of the region.

The main goal of this “soft power” or “track two” approach to peace is to contribute to the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula through dialogue, scholarly research and civil society initiatives that build personal connections.  Political, military, economic and civil society factors are considered.  Civil society initiatives include conferences, tourism, humanitarian projects and various forms of people-to-people engagement.

Over the next two years, 2021-2022, UPF will carry out a very ambitious slate of programs and projects for peaceful reunification, working through its primary associations: ISCP, IAPP, IAPD, IMAP, IAAP, IAED, IAFLP, IAACP.