Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo (이장우) said, "Let's establish future milestones through unanimity and cooperation of local governments."
The "7th UCLG General Assembly" opening ceremony was held at 10 a.m. on the 3rd day of the general meeting at the Daejeon Convention Center's 2nd Exhibition Hall with 1,400 key figures from South Korea and abroad attending.
The opening ceremony was attended by President Yoon Suk-yeol, Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo, 8th UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (반기문), Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin (박진), University President Lee Sang-min (이상민), local lawmakers and city councilors, local municipal governors and mayors, and international organizations.
Representatives of general cooperation and exhibition organizations such as Daejeon Tourism Organization, Korea Aerospace Research Institute, Korea Land and Housing Corporation, Korea Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, K-Water, KT, Daejeon Shinsegae, Hanwha System, Hana Bank, Gyeryong Construction, and academic officials from all over the country also attended the opening ceremony.
Starting with the opening declaration, the event announced the opening of the general meeting with creative performances and demonstrations of theme videos containing the theme of the Daejeon World Congress, "The City of Shipping Overcoming the Crisis and Moving Forward to the Future."
In his opening speech, Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo said, "I would like to welcome and express my gratitude to everyone who attended, citizens and foreigners, and I hope that the five-day cooperation in Daejeon, a metropolitan city, will set a milestone for a bright future."
Following Mayor Lee, the Mayor of The Hague of The Netherlands and Secretary-General Emilia Saiz thanked Mayor Lee Jang-woo and Daejeon City for their perfect preparation for the event, respectively, and proposed to establish a new direction for UCLG with the Daejeon World Congress.
In the following keynote speech, the 8th UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented the perspectives of people, the world, and the government as three pillars for continuous growth (SDGs) and emphasized the importance of local cities for sustainable development.
Following UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's keynote speech, President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the venue to celebrate the opening of the Daejeon General Assembly. He said, "The role of local governments is important in solving the global crisis and problems," and added, "We hope that the solidarity and exchange of global local governments will be strengthened through this meeting." President Yoon also welcomed overseas participants' visits to Daejeon and hoped they will make wonderful memories in Daejeon.
Meanwhile, the organizing committee was established in cooperation with the World Secretariat and the organizing committee along with overseas cities that could not attend the Daejeon General Assembly due to COVID-19. Using the hybrid conference system, the opening session (organized by the UCLG Secretariat) will be held online and offline at 16:00 (considering overseas time differences) to inform the world that the general meeting has begun. Unlike the other gatherings, the Daejeon World Congress applies a hybrid conference system to 26 meetings, including court meetings, keynote lectures, and Daejeon tracks, securing quarantine at the venue and providing a convenient meeting environment for participants.
