Bangkok--18 Mar--Ogilvy Public Relations
Prof. Romano Prodi, former President of the European Commission, former Prime Minister of Italy and currently the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Mali and the Sahel, will visit Bangkok on March 20 as a keynote speaker in the 4th ASEAN event series “Bridges — Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace”. The visit is facilitated by the Vienna-based International Peace Foundation and will include President Prodi’s public keynote speech on “Politics and peace — worldwide cooperation in the age of globalization” on March 20 at 2 pm at Plaza Athene Hotel’s Grand Ballroom, which is co-hosted by the Stamford International University. He will also visit the International School of Bangkok in the morning of the same day for a non-public event and will address the Foreign Correspondents’ Club at 8 pm on March 20. Prof. Romano Prodi is the final keynote speaker in the 4th ASEAN “Bridges” program after Nobel Laureates for Economics, Medicine, Physics and Chemistry have visited Bangkok since November.
The 4th ASEAN “Bridges” event series follows the "Bridges" series with a total of 450 events which the International Peace Foundation has already hosted in Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Cambodia since 2003. 38 Nobel Laureates as well as 18 other keynote speakers and artists including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Dr. Hans Blix, Jackie Chan, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Vanessa-Mae, Jessye Norman, Dame Anita Roddick, Oliver Stone and Dr. James Wolfensohn participated in these events aimed to support education in the ASEAN region. Events in Thailand were presided over by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and reached a total audience of 140,000 participants.
Having started in November the 4th ASEAN “Bridges” series involves several major public events which continuously run in Thailand until March. The program deals with the overall theme of "building a culture of peace and development in a globalized world", bridging Thai and foreign perspectives. The topics cover a wide range of issues in the fields of politics, the economy, science, culture and the media and especially highlight the challenges of both globalization and regionalism and its impact on development and international cooperation. The events include the participation of keynote speakers such as Nobel Laureates for Economics, Peace, Physics, Chemistry and Medicine. HE Prof. Romano Prodi, former Prime Minister of Italy and former President of the European Commission, will also be part of the program.
The aim of “Bridges” is to facilitate and strengthen dialogue and communication between societies in Southeast Asia with their multiple cultures and faiths as well as with peoples in other parts of the world to promote understanding and trust. The events build bridges through Nobel Laureates with local universities and other institutions in Southeast Asia to establish long-term relationships which may result in common research programs and other forms of collaboration. By enhancing science, technology and education as a basis for peace and development the events aim towards a better cooperation for the advancement of peace, freedom and security in the region with the active involvement of the young generation, ASEAN’s key to the future.
All “Bridges” events in Thailand are open and free of charge for the general public and are made possible through the generous support of sponsors including the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation, Mercedes Benz, the Millennium Hilton Bangkok and Thai Airways International.
The detailed program of all “Bridges” events is available on the website www.peace-foundation.net.