'G-DRAGON 創立' Jisipsis 基金會，正式推動世界遺產基金市民宣傳活動

[E-Today / Reporter Jang Yu-jin]

(Photo provided by Galaxy Corporation)

Taking the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, held in Busan for the first time in the Republic of Korea, as an opportunity, the Justice Peace Foundation, founded by G-Dragon, will fully promote the global civic campaign 'HERITAGE IN PEACE' to protect world heritage.

The Justice Peace Foundation signed a business agreement with the Korea Heritage Service in April and has been carrying out promotional activities to publicize the holding of the World Heritage Committee. Starting this month, under the cooperation of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, it will launch a citizen fundraising campaign for the World Heritage Fund.

(Photo provided by the Justice Peace Foundation)

Under the philosophy that 'protecting heritage is the work of creating peace for the future,' this campaign aims to expand voluntary citizen participation and donations to restore heritage damaged by war and climate disasters and to protect world heritage sites that are in crisis due to financial difficulties, urbanization, and other factors.

In particular, the Justice Peace Foundation plans to develop this project not as a simple fundraising campaign, but as a 'City Campaign' led by citizens of the host city. It is proposing a new model of international civic movement in which citizens and businesses in the host city of the World Heritage Committee join together to protect world heritage and carry that spirit forward to the next host city.

To this end, the foundation has launched a task force made up of private-sector experts and plans to expand nationwide participation starting with Busan. The donations collected through the campaign will be delivered to the UNESCO World Heritage Fund through the Justice Peace Foundation 'in the name of the citizens of Busan, the host city, and the people of the Republic of Korea.'

The first citizen-participation program will be carried out with Modusign, a leading IT company in Busan. Starting on the 10th, both sides will launch a donation campaign through an online petition in support of protecting world heritage sites at risk, and it will be operated so that any citizen can participate.

This campaign will run for about one year, starting with the 48th World Heritage Committee held in Busan this year, and aims to expand its meaning and participation to the host city of next year's 49th World Heritage Committee.

Choi Yong-ho, chairman of the Justice Peace Foundation, said, "Protecting world heritage goes beyond preserving the past; it is about safeguarding peace for future generations," adding, "We hope the citizen participation model beginning in Busan will spread as a new international cooperation model for the World Heritage Committee."

Meanwhile, the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee being held in Busan is the first World Heritage Committee ever held in the Republic of Korea. As UNESCO's representative intergovernmental meeting that decides on world heritage inscriptions and conservation policies, the significance of this year's Busan meeting stands out as the issue of preserving world heritage has recently emerged as a key agenda item in the international community amid war and climate crises.

The Korea Heritage Service recently appointed G-Dragon as an ambassador for the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee. The Justice Peace Foundation stated that G-Dragon is expected to deliver a message at the opening ceremony that conveys the importance of world heritage conservation and the need for citizen participation.

[E-Today / Reporter Jang Yu-jin([email protected])]