Hygiene workers spray antiseptic substance at an underground station in Seoul. AFP/VNA Photo

SEOUL — The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) will hold an international online conference titled “CAC (Cities Against COVID-19) Global Summit 2020” between June 1 and 5.

The conference will gather about 120 individuals, including mayors from around the world as well as international scholars and experts from various fields, for five days of concentrated discussions.

The conference will not encompass a particular area, but will address all areas of society affected by COVID-19, and this is the first attempt in which global cities will share response measures.

Simultaneous interpretations will be available in both English and Korean.

At the request of cities around the world, the SMG opened the English online platform CAC (Cities Against COVID-19) (https://english.seoul.go.kr/covid) on April 9 to share Seoul’s policies and know-how on quarantine measures (“S-quarantine”).

The website saw a breakthrough of more than six million views in two months.

At this international conference, participants will do more than sharing by aiming to create a centre for cooperation and solidarity.

Experts and city government officials will discuss cooperative tasks regarding ten areas of the post-coronavirus era, which include prevention measures, the climate and environment, culture, public transportation, and smart city.

Discussions will comprise topics in distance learning, urban resilience and sustainability, and governance.

Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, will send a message of support for the international conference through a video message.

On June 2, Seoul’s Mayor Park Won-soon will host the “Mayoral Meeting” to be joined by mayors from around 40 cities around the world.

The conference will stress the role of city governments and the need for solidarity in addition to proposing a plan for establishment of an international organisation for countermeasures against infectious disease.

The Seoul Statement will also be adopted at the meeting.

Mayor Park Won-soon’s keynote address will present the Seoul Proposal for Overcoming Urban Crisis During a Pandemic.

At the discussion session on climate and environment on June 3, the vision for the Seoul-type Green New Deal will be presented.

On June 4, Mayor Park Won-soon will have a conversation with Jared Mason Diamond, the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning work, Guns, Germs, and Steel, and world-renowned cultural anthropologist.

The two will discuss the future of mankind following the pandemic and responses by cities.

All programmes of the international conference will be broadcast in real-time in Korean and English (simultaneous interpretation) via the official SMG YouTube channel (Korean and English) for viewers around the world.

The conference will also be broadcasted on Arirang TV, a global broadcasting network with more than 138 million viewers in 105 countries worldwide.

The live YouTube broadcast is available via the official SMG YouTube channel (Korean: https://www.youtube.com/seoullive, English: https://www.youtube.com/seoulcityofficial) at the scheduled relay time.

The broadcasts will also be available to watch after the live broadcast is over.

The SMG announced that the CAC Global Summit 2020 will hold fifteen sessions under the theme of “Cooperation and Solidarity Between Municipal Governments in Response to COVID-19.”

The main slogan of the summit is “Together We Stand”. — VNS