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UNITED NATIONS W8m NATIONS UNIES MESSAGE to the FORUM 2000 CONFERENCE Prague, 3-7 September 1997 It Is a Special Pleasure To

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UNITED NATIONS W8m NATIONS UNIES MESSAGE to the FORUM 2000 CONFERENCE Prague, 3-7 September 1997 It Is a Special Pleasure To UNITED NATIONS W8m NATIONS UNIES < 8 MESSAGE TO THE FORUM 2000 CONFERENCE Prague, 3-7 September 1997 It is a special pleasure to convey a message to the "Forum 2000 Conference", which will discuss the urgent ethical, ideological and religious issues that confront humankind at the start of a new millennium. President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, two great figures of our age for whom I have the highest admiration, have displayed exceptional foresight and inspiration in convening this important gathering. We have arrived at the end of a tumultuous century that has witnessed both the best and worst of human endeavour. Can we now, as a global community, with so much at stake for the world's people, achieve the goals we share and hold dear? Can we stop ourselves from descending again into the bloody depths of hatred, discord and violence? The very existence of the United Nations gives hope. Itself born out of the horrors of two world wars, the United Nations is an experiment in international cooperation -- and an instrument for common progress -- unique in human history. In five decades, it has more than proved its worth. The new century and new millennium are upon us. Everything we know about the next 25 years or so -- demographic trends, rates of economic growth, dislocations in the biosphere and more — suggests that far-reaching changes and threats lie ahead, as well as unprecedented promise and possibilities. "The Earth is not ours," an African proverb teaches us. "It is a treasure we hold in trust for future generations." At this moment of great promise, I am committed to ensuring that the United Nations can play its part in meeting the challenges of tomorrow, and in laying a new foundation of peace, progress and development. That is our obligation, today and to all succeeding generations. In that spirit, please accept my best wishes for a successful conference. Annan Secretary-General 19/08 '97 TU. ..,., i-Ai +420 2 24310851 OZP KPR KANCELAR PREZIDENTA REPUBLIKY Qdbor zahranitnt potitiky OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC Foreign Policy Department Pro/To: pan Srimek Od/From: Lukas Martin Datum/Date: 19. srpna 1997 PoCet stran/No. of pages: 1+&* frslo faxu/Fax no: (00-1-212) 772 0586 Vazeny pane Sramku, po dneSnf telefonnicke dohode si Vam dovoluji zaslat kopie korespondence pana prezidenta a genera"!niho tajemnJka OSN K. Annana. S pozdravem, .artin 119 08 Praha 1 - Hrad, Czech Republic, Td: (420 2) 2437 2244, Fax:(420 2) 2431 0851 19/08 '97 TUB 15:14 FAI +420 2 24310851 OZP KPR il°02 V Praze dne 12. unora 1997 Vase Excelence, dovolte v uvodu meho dopisu, abych Vam znovu pogratuloval k VaSemu zvoleni generalnim tajemnikem Organizace apojenych narodu. Jsem si jist, ze Vase pochopeni globalnich problerau lidstva se brzy projevl v nove koncepci OSN. V teto souvislosti pevne vSrim, ze sdilime podobne obavy a nadeje do budoucna a myglim si, ze nastal cas vaSne se zamyslet nad cestou, jak tyto probl€my v bliakS budoucnoeti reiit. Rad bych Vis seznamil s projektam, kter^- bych rad spole5ne s mym pritelem Eliasem Wieaelera, nositelem Nobelovy ceny mini, realizoval v druix6 polovine tohoto roku. Jiz pfed casern jsme se s Elie Wieselem zamysleli nad vyznamem pfelomu tisiciletl. DoSli jsme k nasoru, ze konec tisiciletl a pocatek noveho pfed! nas klade radu otazek a vyzev a ahodli jsme se na spolecn^m projektu. RSdi bychom pozvali skupinu lidi z celSho sveta, ktefl jsou znami pro eve lidsk^ a obcanske' postoje, na konferenci nazvanou "Forum 2000: Starosti a nadeje na prahu novSho tislcileti" . Pfi pohledu na pfitomnost a perspektivu naS£ lidsk€ civilizace se casto pozastavujame nejen nad tim, ceho lidstvo v poslednim tisiciletl dosahlo, ale i nad tim, co bylo bohuzel zmafeno, a piremyslime o torn, co nam priatlch tisic let chysta. Konference by mela vyuzit bllziciho se konce druMho tisicileti k zamysleni nad teraito ekutecnostmi z pohledu nlznych kulturnich a civilizacnich okruhii. TridennI konference se bude konat na PraSskem hrade v Ceske republice ve dnech 3. as 7. zafi 1997. pane generalni tajenrniku, velice rad bych Vas v Praze pfi prile2itogti teto konference pfivital a seznamil se s Vaaimi nazory na mimilost i budoucnost lidstva. Va§i pritomnosti na konferenci pfikladam valky vyanam a nepochybuji, ze pfispeje k jejimu. t3.sp£chu. Se srdefinym pozdravem, (Vaclav Havel) Jeho Excelence Kofi Annan generalni tajetnnlk OSW 19/08 '97 TIE 15:15 FAX +420 2 24310851 OZP KPR i]003 TRANSLATION Prague, T2th of February 1997 Your Excellency, Allow me to begin my letter by congratulating you on your election to the post of Secretary- General of the United Nations. I am certain that your understanding of global problems of the world's population will soon make its mark in your leadership of the organization. In this respect I strongly believe that we have similar concerns, as well as hopes for the future and that the time has come to examine a possible way to solve global problems in the near future. Allow me to introduce to you a project that 1 would like to realize together with my friend Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, at the second half of this year. Some time ago, Elie Wiesel and I de/iberated together on the significance of the end of millennium. We both agreed that it presents us with multiple questions and many challenges and we have agreed on a joint project. We would like to convene a selected group of individuals from around the globe, known for their positive human and civic attitudes, in a conference entitled "Forum 2000: Concerns and Hopes on the Threshold of the New Millennium." Looking upon the present state and the perspectives of our civilization, we are often struck by what humanity has achieved during the last thousand years, but also by what has gone astray, and by what the next thousand years may hold. The purpose of the conference is to mark the close of the second millennium as a time to take stock of the issues from the viewpoint of the world's diverse cultures and spheres of civilization. The three-day conference will be held at Prague Castle in the Czech Republic between the 3rd and the 7th of September 1997. 19/08 '97 TUB 15:15 FAI +420 2 24310851 OZP KFR Dear Secretary General, it would be a privilege to welcome you in Prague at the time of the conference, and to hear your thoughts on the past and the future of humankind. Your presence here is of a great importance to me and will without any doubt add to the success of the conference. With warm and sincere wishes, (Vaclav Havel) His Excellency Kofi Annan Secretary-General of the United Nations TRANSLATION EXECU'IVE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL Prague, 12th of February 1997 Your Excellency, Allow me to begin my letter by congratulating you on your election to the post of Secretary- General of the United Nations. I am certain that your understanding of global problems of the world's population will soon make its mark in your leadership of the organization. In this respect I strongly believe that we have similar concerns, as well as hopes for the future and that the time has come to examine a possible way to solve global problems in the near future. Allow me to introduce to you a project that I would like to realize together with my friend Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, at the second half of this year. Some time ago, Elie Wiesel and I deliberated together on the significance of the end of millennium. We both agreed that it presents us with multiple questions and many challenges and we have agreed on a joint project. We would like to convene a selected group of individuals from around the globe, known for their positive human and civic attitudes, in a conference entitled "Forum 2000: Concerns and Hopes on the Threshold of the New Millennium." Looking upon the present state and the perspectives of our civilization, we are often struck by what humanity has achieved during the last thousand years, but also by what has gone astray, and by what the next thousand years may hold. The purpose of the conference is to mark the close of the second millennium as a time to take stock of the issues from the viewpoint of the world's diverse cultures and spheres of civilization. The three-day conference will be held at Prague Castle in the Czech Republic between the 3rd and the 7th of September 1997. •t . Dear Secretary General, it would be a privilege to welcome you in Prague at the time of the conference, and to hear your thoughts on the past and the future of humankind. Your presence here is of a great importance to me and will without any doubt add to the success of the conference. With warm and sincere wishes, (Vaclav Havel) His Excellency Kofi Annan Secretary-General of the United Nations "FORUM 2000" CONFERENCE {Concerns and Hopes on the Threshold of the New Millennium) To be held under the auspices of Vaclav Havel, President of the Czech Republic, and Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, at Prague Castle on 3 - 7 September 1997 As we approach the end of the twentieth century, surely a historical watershed, it is incumbent upon us to reflect on the opportunities and dangers we are about to face. FORUM 2000 will serve that purpose. Its goal is not to propose Utopian solutions to urgent, albeit eternal, problems dealing with the human condition but, following Kierkegaard's advice, to examine them diligently in the light of past experiences.
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