- The Holding of the Inaugural Yeoju Eco-Forum on the Theme: Interfaith Dialogue for Ecological Civilization
- 2019-11-03
The 2019 Yeoju Eco-Forum, held from October 3-5 at SunValley Hotel in Yeoju City, was regarded as a great success. The event was hosted by the Yejou Eco-Forum Organizational Committee and supported by Yeoju City, Daesoon Jinrihoe Yeoju Headquarters, Daejin University, and IPDC (Institute for Postmodern Development of China). The Yejou Eco-Forum Organizational Committee was led by Co-chairs, Yun Eun-Do, President of Daesoon Jinrihoe Yeoju Headquarters, and Dr. John Cobb, Professor Emeritus of Claremont School of Theology, President of the IPDC, and an environmental movement activist. Supporting them, were the Vice Co-Chairs, Lee Myeon-Jae, President of Daejin University, and Dr. Wang Zhihe, Director of IPDC. During the forum, there were about 500 participants and attendees including major speakers such as Audrey Kitagawa, the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Parliament of the World Religions (PWR), Lee Hang-Jin, Mayor of Yeoju City, and Lee Hyeon-Yeong, Chair of the Korea Religions Association. There were also individuals affiliated with the Korea Environment Corporation, scholars of ecology and environmental studies, religious leaders, professionals in fields related to the environment, and regular Yeoju citizens. All participants from both at home and abroad showed their great interest in
During his opening address, Dr. John Cobb remarked, “This forum aims to build an integrative interfaith movement to deal with global environment crisis. The most important question that we have to ask ourselves is: ‘What if we stop competing against one another and begin to work together for the common good?’”His address was followed by a welcoming address from President Yun Eun-Do who said “In this forum, I hope that we can make a foundation for a civilization where people and nature live in Sangsaeng.” He further expressed his appreciation by saying, “It is our honor to hold the Yeoju Eco-Forum in Yeoju city where Daesoon Jinrihoe headquarters is located, and to have renowned scholars and religious leaders from all over the world and Yeoju citizens share their valuable thoughts on ecological civilization.”On the first day, Dr. John Cobb presented a keynote speech wherein he claimed that “... religions can grow together while they learn from each other.” 27 additional presentations took place in the afternoon in parallel sessions. Among those, Dr. Wang Zhihe presented a paper on the theme “Chinese Tong Thinking and its Relevance to Interfaith Dialogue and Ecological Civilization,” and Park In-Gyu of Daesoon Jinrihoe Yeoju Headquarters presented paper on “Ecological Thought of Daesoon Jinrihoe.”Later during the banquet, Dr. Philip Clayton of Claremont School of Theology spoke about “The Religions of Nonviolence and Ecological Civilization.” Then, several members of the Caodai Youth Orchestra performed both liturgical and traditional music and then a Miao (Hmong) musician from China also played some music on a traditional instrument. One particular highlight occurred when the Caodai musicians played ‘Arirang,’ a representative traditional Korean song, to celebrate the grand opening of the Yeoju Eco-Forum.On the second day, religious leaders from Buddhism, Caodai, American African Church, Orthodox Church, Hindu American Foundation, and Weixin Shengjiao delivered congratulatory messages. It was followed by 28 presentations during the afternoon’s parallel sessions. One special event that day was the tea ceremony performed by a Chinese Miao leader. On the last day, Co-Chairs, President Yun Eun-Do and Dr. John Cobb announced the closure of Yeoju Eco-Forum and promised further harmony and cultural exchanges among western and eastern religions as they read the Yeoju Eco-Forum Declaration.
