Many people see Africa as a continent that relies on aid or charity, but I don’t think that way,” South Korean legislator Young Sung Song told representatives from 40 nations at the opening of the Global Peace Convention in Nairobi. “Africa is the continent of the future, a continent of hope, a vast reservoir of natural resources and warm hearted people with extraordinary potential for development.”
Song spoke to delegates on the Convention theme, “Conflict Prevention, Peace and Development," and passionately described Korea’s emergence from crushing poverty to become one of the world’s leading economies. The November 2010 Convention was sponsored by the Global Peace Festival Foundation and supported by Kenya’s President, Mwai Kibaki, who delivered a welcoming address. Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Ethiopian President Gilma Wolde Giorgis also addressed the Convention.
“50 years ago Korea was a devastated, poverty-stricken country, far worse than today’s Kenya in terms of economic development,” said Song, a veteran military analyst and member of the influential National Defense Committee in Korea’s National Assembly. “Many of my friends disappeared during lunch hour because they didn’t have anything to eat. They filled their stomaches with water. At that time Korean President Park Chung-hee’s dream was focused on one thing: ‘How can I feed my people three meals a day?’”
Song spoke to delegates on the Convention theme, “Conflict Prevention, Peace and Development," and passionately described Korea’s emergence from crushing poverty to become one of the world’s leading economies. The November 2010 Convention was sponsored by the Global Peace Festival Foundation and supported by Kenya’s President, Mwai Kibaki, who delivered a welcoming address. Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Ethiopian President Gilma Wolde Giorgis also addressed the Convention.
“50 years ago Korea was a devastated, poverty-stricken country, far worse than today’s Kenya in terms of economic development,” said Song, a veteran military analyst and member of the influential National Defense Committee in Korea’s National Assembly. “Many of my friends disappeared during lunch hour because they didn’t have anything to eat. They filled their stomaches with water. At that time Korean President Park Chung-hee’s dream was focused on one thing: ‘How can I feed my people three meals a day?’”
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