This picture shows a promotional image for the Global Forum on Solutions for Forced Displacement in Africa, jointly hosted by Yonhap News Agency and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Seoul on April 24, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 24 (Korea Bizwire) – Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s key newswire, hosted a global forum with the U.N. refugee agency Thursday to address the issue of forced displacement in Africa, where more than 100 million people have lost homes due to war, violence or persecution.
The Global Forum on Solutions for Forced Displacement in Africa, hosted jointly with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), took place at Yonhap News Agency’s headquarters in central Seoul, attended by government officials, African envoys and diplomats, experts on Africa and members of international organizations.
The event was sponsored by the Africa Forum, a study group of lawmakers, along with the Korea-Africa Foundation.
The latest forum shed light on the realities facing Africans who are forced to leave their homes and refugees forced to cross borders due to conflict, climate change or other causes, while highlighting the role the press can play in addressing these issues.
Delivering an opening address, Yonhap News Agency President and CEO Hwang Dae-il highlighted the urgent need for international humanitarian assistance to Africa, calling for attention to refugees from the two-year-long civil war in Sudan, climate change and other calamities in the region.
The civil war has resulted in about 15 million refugees, leaving them in “extreme pain,” Hwang said, adding, despite that, “it has become a ‘forgotten war’ overshadowed” by the Russia-Ukraine war and the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
He expressed hope this forum could help lift the prevailing negative prejudices against Africa and raise public awareness about the universal values of Africa.
In her separate welcoming remarks, Kim Sae-ryeo, representative of the UNHCR Korea, said it is necessary for governments, international organizations, the press and civil society to provide sustained humanitarian assistance to help African refugees regain hope and reclaim their everyday lives.
In his congratulatory speech delivered via video, former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged South Korea for solidarity to tackle the refugee situation and other key issues in Africa.
“Africa’s problems, such as conflict, forcible displacement, refugees, climate change and disasters, are South Korea’s problems. And South Korea’s problems are Africa’s problems,” he noted.
Mamadou Dian Balde, UNHCR’s regional director for East and Horn of Africa, and Great Lakes, called for a greater role from South Korea, emphasizing that Seoul, with its innovative and advanced technology, could contribute to improved education, energy and connectivity for refugees.
“Korean partnerships with African institutions, particularly in digital education, can light a path for displaced youth, who comprise more than half the refugee population in Africa,” he said.
Through two presentation and discussion sessions, the forum was to guide participants through the history and current state of forced displacement in Africa and explore the role the South Korean press can play in addressing these issues.
Last November, Yonhap News Agency launched the Ubuntu Initiative, the first-ever Africa-focused team created by a South Korean news outlet. Since then, the team has been working to raise awareness and understanding of Africa in Korean society.
(Yonhap)
