Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla and International Peace Foundation (IPF) Chairman Uwe Morawetz officially introduced the upcoming event series “Bridges – Dialogues towards a Culture of Peace” in October.
The event, already in its sixth edition and a cooperation between ASEAN and IPF, will be held from January to March 2017. It will feature seven Nobel laureates — including Portuguese HE Jose Manuel Barroso, American economist Prof. Eric Stark Maskin, American physician and molecular biologist Dr. Peter Agre — will deliver speeches and presentations at dozens of Indonesia’s prominent universities such as Universitas Indonesia, Universitas Padjadjaran and Universitas Prasetiya Mulya, free of charge for students and the general public. They will cover issues relating to politics, economy, science, culture, media, health, globalisation and regionalism.
Since science, technology and education are among the main pillars of peace and development, it is only fitting that the event series will take place at educational institutions. The main aim of “Bridges” is to facilitate and strengthen the dialogue and communication among South East Asian countries as well as to promote better understanding and trust in the world.
“It is a dialogue between the East and the West. We have to expand our horizon. The world today is full of problems, terrorist acts, recession, but we are also hopeful. We have to remember though that conflicts can only be solved through dialogues, not wars,” Kalla said at the press conference at The Dharmawangsa hotel.
