As part of SHAPE's mission to expose the perils of confrontation in the nuclear age and explore pathways to a safer, just and sustainable future, this webinar explored the rising militarism in the Asia Pacific region, and the threat it poses to regional and global security. Importantly, the webinar went beyond analysis. It offered creative ideas on what can be done to avert a major disaster and move the Asia-Pacific region from confrontation to cooperative coexistence.
Special guests:
Professor Jeffrey Sachs is the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Co-Chair of the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition, and academician of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at the Vatican. He is SDG Advocate for UN Secretary General António Guterres. He previously served as Special Advisor to UN Secretaries-General Kofi Annan (2001-7) and Ban Ki-moon (2008-16). He has authored and edited numerous books, including three New York Times bestsellers: The End of Poverty (2005), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008), and The Price of Civilization (2011).
Dr Alison Broinowski was an Australian diplomat until 1996. She served as Director, Japan Section, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and then Director, Australia-Japan Foundation, and later Chargé d'Affaires with the Australian Embassy in Jordan. Her last overseas assignment was at the Australian Mission to the UN in New York. Her PhD is in Asian Studies (Australian National University). She has written or edited 14 books and many articles on Australia’s relations with Asia, with the United Nations, and the world. She is the President of Australians for War Powers Reform.
Professor Chung-in Moon is Distinguished University Professor of Yonsei University. He previously served as the Special Advisor to President Moon Jae-in of South Korea for Unification, Foreign Affairs and National Security. He has also served as Executive Director of the Kim Dae-Jung Presidential Library and Museum and Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Northeast Asian Cooperative Initiative of the Roh Moo-hyun government, a cabinet-level post. He was also an Ambassador for International Security for the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and attended the first (2000) and second (2007) Korean summits as a special delegate. Currently, he is the Co-Convener of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, and Editor-in-Chief of Global Asia.
Professor Victor Gao is Vice President of the Beijing based Center for China and Globalization, and Chair Professor of Soochow University. He has extensive experience in government, diplomacy, securities regulation, legal affairs, investment banking, private equity, and corporate management. He was Deng Xiaoping’s English interpreter, and has worked with the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the UN Secretariat, and the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. He has held senior positions with Morgan Stanley, China International Capital Corporation, Daiwa Securities, PCCW, Henderson Group and CNOOC Limited. He holds advisory and board positions with major national and international institutions.