PYEONGCHANG, South Korea, Feb. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Following an announcement covered by Herald Business, PyeongChang Peace Forum 2022 (PPF 2022) will take place as an online and offline hybrid event (www.ppf.or.kr) for three days from February 22 to 24, 2022, at PyeongChang Alpensia Convention Center. The Gangwon Provincial Government, the PyeongChang County, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) jointly host this annual forum, and the PyeongChang 2018 Legacy Foundation organizes it.
Marking its fourth anniversary this year, PPF 2022 will be held under the theme 'The Declaration to End the Korean War and Beyond" and discuss five key agenda items: Economy, Sports, DMZ Peace Zone, UN SDGs, and Peace Public Diplomacy.
At PPF 2022, "Meta DMZ Peace Zone", an independent platform developed with metaverse technology, will provide online participants with a venue without physical, time and space limitations. People can gather in the Meta DMZ Peace Zone and engage in various meetings and networking activities, and this Zone will be open as a space that anyone around the world can visit.
The PyeongChang 2018 Legacy Foundation said, "We will present the possibility of the PyeongChang Peace Forum's growth into a global peace platform through the Meta DMZ Peace Zone. And we will later donate this platform to leave it as a legacy to continuously expand the PyeongChang Spirit of Peace."
Meanwhile, PPF 2022 runs various programs to encourage the so-called "MZ generation", referring to millennials and Generation Z born between 1981 and the early 2010s, to participate in active and creative discussions about peace. They include a program for training teenage residents in Gangwon Province, PyeongChang Youth Peace Challenge 2022 (YPC 2022), and Youth Committee for Pyeongchang Peace Forum.
Significantly, YPC 2022 aims to provide a foundation and opportunity for the world's youths to establish peace and grow together. Young people aged 15 to 28 from around the world are currently participating in YPC's preliminary round.
Essays and group discussions are being held under the theme of suggesting ways to implement this year's UN Secretary-General's "Our Common Agenda" paper from the perspectives of participants' national or international peace agenda. 99 out of a total of 1,769 applicants (1,369 individuals, 200 groups) from 108 countries will be selected to reflect the voices of the world's young people.
On February 15, YPC 2022's final round will be held online, and after the final, ten winning individuals (or teams) will be selected. The awards ceremony will take place on February 22 at the Meta DMZ Peace Zone.
The winners (or the winning teams) will become the Pyeongchang Youth Peace Ambassadors (YPA) and play a role in promoting the "PyeongChang Spirit of Peace" internationally for about a year.
Choi Moon-soon, Governor of Gangwon Province, said, "It is a challenging situation due to COVID-19, but we cannot stop the discussions for a peace settlement. We will set the stage for peace of the Korean Peninsula and that of the World in this very Gangwon Province, the only divided province in the world. I ask for your interest and participation in the 2022 PyeongChang Peace Forum."
