Forum 2000

The Forum 2000 Foundation was founded in 1996 as a joint initiative of the Czech President Václav Havel, Japanese philanthropist Yohei Sasakawa, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel.

Mr. Havel based his idea for Forum 2000 on the principle that, “it would be good if intelligent people, not only from the various ends of the earth, different continents, different cultures, from civilization's religious circles, but also from different disciplines of human knowledge could come together somewhere in calm discussion.”[1] The main objective of the Forum 2000 conferences is “to identify the key issues facing civilization and to explore ways to prevent the escalation of conflicts that have religion, culture or ethnicity as their primary components.”[2] Forum 2000 aims to provide a platform to discuss these important topics openly and to enhance global dialogue.

The mission of these conferences is to “map the globalization process and to note its positive results as well as the perils encountered by an increasingly interconnected world.”[4] Since 1997, the Forum 2000 Conferences have attracted a number of prominent thought leaders, Nobel laureates, former and acting politicians, business leaders and other individuals, whose common denominative is experience with bearing responsibility.

Prince Hassan bin Talal, Frederik Willem de Klerk, Bill Clinton, Nicholas Winton, Oscar Arias Sánchez, Dalai Lama, Hans Küng, Shimon Peres, Madeleine Albright, Mário Soares, Hanna Suchocká, Sergey Kovalyov, Jorge Castaneda, Alyaksandar Milinkevich, Wole Soyinka, Aung San Suu Kyi, Luisa Neubauer, Maia Sandu, Danuše Nerudová, Tsai Ing-wen, Iveta Radičová, Elmar Brok, Michael McFaul, Walter Russell Mead, Penpa Tsering, Petr Pavel, Vladimir Kara-Murza and Lech Wałęsa are just a few of those who have attended the Forum 2000 events.

The conferences generally open with a speech by former President Havel and then host a series of panels that discuss topics relating to the conference theme, business and the economy, interfaith dialogue, or specific regional issues.