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Dignitaries kick off Forum

Participants debate themes of freedom and responsibility

By Beth Potter
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
October 10th, 2007 issue

VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST
Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean called for "collective humanity" at the opening of Forum 2000 Oct. 7 at Prague Crossroads.
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VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST
Václav Havel greets former U.S. Secretary of State and keynote speaker Madeleine Albright Oct. 7.
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Former President Václav Havel used a biblical reference to kick off Forum 2000 this year, the annual globalization conference that has been attended by the likes of the Dalai Lama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and even Joan Baez.
“In the beginning, there was the word,” was Havel’s apparent reference to the relevance of the conference and what its participants do with the information they learn, said Paul Wilson, translator of Havel’s new book, To the Castle and Back.
Now in its 11th year, the well-regarded conference, this year held Oct. 7–9, may not always meet the aspirations of its participants, Wilson said.
“I’m suspicious of chat fests like this, where people talk and talk and talk,” Wilson said. “Havel said we know there are not always results, but in the background of all of this is the notion of regime change and how to do it.”
This year’s attendees included Paul Wolfowitz, immediate former president of the World Bank, and Madeleine Albright, former U.S. secretary of state, talking on the theme of “freedom and responsibility” with other global leaders.
Keynote speaker Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean, who followed Havel in speaking Sunday, Oct. 7, was vast in her pronouncements.
“We should be worried, because today’s challenges face the entire world,” Jean said. “We need to humanize humanity. We need collective responsibility.”
Jean pointed to the rapid change in societies and highlighted the importance of getting young people involved, her voice ringing out in the hall of Prague Crossroads, an international spiritual and cultural center in St. Anne’s Church in Old Town.
“I have met remarkable young people who have told me that solidarity is a responsibility, that civic engagement is a promise for the future,” Jean said. “Young people don’t want to follow in our footsteps. In fact, they are one step ahead of us.”

What do you think is the biggest issue facing us today?

“My focus is going to be on how to engage religion and politics in a substantive way. The secular nature of U.S. foreign policy hinders religious engagement in ways that hurt us... [But] there is a large cohort of religious leaders in the United States and elsewhere who offer a great opportunity to make peace with the rest of the world. We have to find a way for religion to be included in the diplomatic structure as well. There's always this dilemma - if there's a religious ideology, what would happen to [issues concerning] gays and lesbians, for example? Our idea is to have resolution of that one-sided foreign policy that relies way too much on one approach."

Hussain
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Azhar Hussain, vice president, International Center for Religion and Diplomacy in Washington D.C.
“In a world in which our fates are irrevocably linked, we should be very wary of leaning toward a commercial logic without any safeguards, one in which ‘everyone for himself’ or ‘for his clan’ would make the rules.”
Michaelle Jean, governor general of Canada
“The biggest issue is the lack of responsibility and double standards in challenging the problems and dangers of our globalizing world. Great powers often behave without regard to anything else than their own perception of their national interests — by refusing to participate in a common strategy on global warming, for example. There is a lot of talk about values of Western civilization, the rule of law and human rights. However, international, human rights and war laws are often violated under the pretext of the so-called war on terrorism. The result is that extremism is gaining ground in the developing world, by using the discrepancy between words and deeds.”
Jiří Dienstbier, chairman, Czech Council on Foreign Relations
“Water is the theme for us, and it is a very important theme. The panels that come out of this, from the social front and the economic front to the political front are sustained as problems facing the world — by water. These problems are persisting.”
Haddadin
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Munther Haddadin, former water and irrigation minister of Jordan
“We talk a lot about rights in society, but not our responsibilities. I would expect the conference to create a code of obligations of what people have to do to move forward. We need to look to God to give us the strength to do this. The Scriptures say that we can’t just give orders to people. They need to be helped, too.”
Vlk
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Miloslav Vlk, Catholic archbishop of Prague
“The future really does depend on freedom — free economies and democratic governments. I’m focusing on Africa now. In Africa, about 70 percent of the people have been left behind.”
Wolfowitz
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Paul Wolfowitz, former U.S. deputy secretary of defense, former World Bank president and current visiting scholar to the American Enterprise Institute
“If there is any relevance in a meeting about freedom and responsibility, it only works if you relate it to the Czech experience and to Václav Havel. Against all odds, the Czech people managed to break free. See what’s happening now in Burma and in Russia and elsewhere? That’s why we’re still at it, holding these conferences.”
Rupnik
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Jacques Rupnik, political scientist and professor
Comments gathered by Beth Potter at the Forum 2000 opening reception and from e-mail communication.

Beth Potter can be reached at bpotter@praguepost.com


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