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| Ban Ki-moon, left, former UN Secretary-General and chairman of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future, poses for a photo with Song Hyun-joon, first prize winner of the foundation's essay contest on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, at the foundation's headquarters in central Seoul, Aug. 3. Courtesy of Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future held an essay contest to raise awareness of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The foundation, established by former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, aims to promote values such as integration, communication and coexistence and dedication.
During the award ceremony held at the foundation's headquarters in central Seoul, Aug. 3, Ban told the winning students to cultivate a mindset of global citizenship as they are the ones who will solve the problems for future generations.
Ban recalled his first-ever visit to the United States through the Red Cross' VISTA (Visit of International Students to America) program during his words of encouragement.
"I hope this contest motivates you to become future world leaders like the VISTA trip and meeting with John F. Kennedy during my trip inspired me to become a diplomat," Ban said.
"You are in a more advantageous position than I was 60 years ago, but you also are in a more fierce competition. The advice I can give you is to be a global citizen beyond borders. The world is getting smaller through development of science and transportation. Breaking away from the idea of ethnicity and thinking from the global perspective is important," he said.
Among the 17 SDGs, this year's competition focused on young leadership to make the Net Zero 2050 vision a reality.
The first prize went to Song Hyun-joon, an 11th grader at St. Mark's School of Texas.
Song said his experience of living in China when young led him to take interest in environmental issues. He witnessed a nearby school's success in achieving net-zero emissions and explained his vision for a climate action plan.
"I was looking at the sustainable development goals because those are one of the more prominent issues that are persistent in the world right now," Song said, adding that he hopes to create a group of young environmental ambassadors to reach a larger audience and share the importance of achieving net zero by 2050.
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