The second day of the youth conference focused on finalizing a draft declaration and having in-depth discussions in working groups. [1] Interviews were conducted with activists supporting LGBT rights in China and sign language rights in Korea. [2] Working groups discussed issues like food security, peace in the region, and territorial disputes. [3] Participants felt their discussions could benefit future generations.

1. Conference day II – 8 January 2013
The second day of the North-East Asian youth conference “The World We Want” in
Seoul starts with discussions around a first draft of the declaration that will be handed
over to politicians and decision-makers tomorrow. The draft document incorporates
many of the points raised by the young participants so far and will serve as a basis for
further discussions in the working groups and the plenary sessions today.
The focus of the media team is on
minorities and vulnerable groups on day
II of the conference. The Chinese
delegation interviews Popo Fan in the
morning. Popo is an independent
filmmaker and LGBT activist and is
very outspoken.
“There are two main points which make
it difficult for gay and lesbian young
people in China. Number one is the
strict family traditions that make it very
hard for young gays and lesbians to come out. And the second point is the restriction
of freedom of speech. For example, it is forbidden to show films with gay or lesbian
characters in official cinemas, so we are pushed into the underground scene.”
Next is an interview with Hyungmoon
Choi from Korea. Hyungmoon lost his
hearing as a child and can now only
communicate through a sign language
translator.
He tells us about the difficulties he faces
in daily life and adds that he wants a
world in the future where more people
make an effort trying to communicate
better with people with disabilities.
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2. In the afternoon the working groups go into the
details of the draft declaration and try to define
exactly which topics they want to focus on and
how to best demonstrate the urgency of the
demands of the young people in North-East Asia.
Jongbeom Choi from Korea describes the tedious
process: “Despite our tough schedule, the group
discussion today was very active and also very
constructive. We split up into two task forces to
share our opinions concerning the world we want
and the world we want for our children. Some of
the most interesting issues were food security and
the issue of peace in North-East Asia. Concerning
food security, the representatives of China,
Mongolia and Japan were all concerned about the food they were consuming but the
cause for such concerns was different from country to country. While China and
Mongolia’s food security concerns were caused by neglect on the side of the food
producers, the Japanese team members were concerned with nuclear radiation due to
the devastating natural disaster that
occurred a few years ago. Also it was
interesting to discuss peace issues in
North-East Asia in our working group.
By frankly speaking about this
sensitive issue, we acknowledged that
our common knowledge of
historical/land disputes was biased
towards our government’s opinion and
it was refreshing to hear from other
country’s stance about the issue.”
Japanese participant Rikako Takada
from the same working group agrees:
“We talked about the territorial and historical disputes between Japan, China and
Korea. I was worried at first because I thought my country was hated by the North
East Asian neighbour, but my peers said that they love Japan despite the diplomatic
rows. I was so moved, I almost started crying.”
Qingling Kong from China is also moved, but not by her peers but by moderator
Yuko. “When our moderator said that she only has the right to vote because other
women years and years ago fought for it, I felt that we have a huge responsibility here
today. What we fight for today, our children and their children and people we might
never meet will benefit from. This really gives me a feeling of importance.”
Later, 23-year-old Qingling adds another one of her major points in an interview
when she says: “I want a world where everybody cherishes and protects the
environment. I want my children to enjoy wildlife the way I did in my childhood. I
want my children to see pandas.”
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