The 17th annual Forum 2000 Conference will be held September 15–17, 2013 in Prague and other cities. More than 100 global leaders from politics, academia, civil society, media, business and religion will discuss challenges and threats related to democratic transitions. This year’s conference is inspired by the legacy of Forum 2000 founder, Czech President Václav Havel, who dedicated his life to both the struggle for freedom and human dignity against totalitarianism and the transition of his country to an open and thriving democracy.
The conference aims to explore the challenges, opportunities, and risks in transitional processes from the post-Soviet region and the Arab World to Latin America and Asia. The goal is to deepen our understanding of what is necessary to move from authoritarianism to democracy and the causes of the cessation or reversal of these processes. Discussions will target institutional, constitutional and societal developments, political party dynamics, transitional justice, media, education, foreign policies, as well as cultural factors including religion and historical memory.
Confirmed participants include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, India/Tibet; Aung San Suu Kyi, opposition leader, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Burma; Frederik Willem de Klerk, former President, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Republic of South Africa; Joan Baez, singer, activist, USA;Gareth Evans, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Australia; Kinga Göncz, Member of European Parliament, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hungary; Yoani Sánchez, blogger and activist, Cuba; Roger Scruton, philosopher, political scientist, United Kingdom; and Jianli Yang, dissident, President and Founder, Initiatives for China, USA/China.
More information: www.forum2000.cz