Nobel laureates to speak on peace in ASEAN
The Sun, October 23, 2008
KUALA LUMPUR: Eight eminent personalities, including six Nobel laureates and two politicians, will be in Malaysia over the next six months to speak on peace in the “Bridges - Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace” project.

The project is aimed at building a culture of peace and understanding in the ASEAN region, said Bridges chairman Tun Musa Hitam, and will consist of public lectures, seminars, workshops and dialogues held in various parts of the country, beginning next month until April next year.

“The aim of Bridges is to facilitate and strengthen dialogue and communication between societies in Southeast Asia, to promote understanding and trust, in order to establish long—term relationships, which may result in common research programmes and other forms of collaboration” said Musa.

“Bridges will take place continuously in Malaysia and Thailand, comprising up to 50 events with Nobel laureates from all fields,” he said.
Organised by the International Peace Foundation, as part of its ongoing efforts to promote lasting peace, the speakers who will participate in the series of events are:

Prof Geradus ‘t Hooft, 1999 Nobel laureate for physics, who will speak on “Education and collaboration in fundamental science as bridges between nations”;

Prof Robert Fry Engle III, 2003 Nobel laureate for economics, who will present a paper on “Why is global financial volatility so high?”;

Prof Roger David Kornberg, 2006 Nobel laureate for chemistry, who will speak on “Science as a basis for bridging between cultures and fostering peace and development”;

Prof rose Ramos-Horta, President of Timor-Leste, 1996 Nobel laureate for peace, who will speak on “Is long lasting peace an attainable dream?”;

Joschka Fisher, former German Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, who will speak on “Climate change, rising Asian powers and the energy imperative”;

Prof Howard Robert Horvitz, who shared the 2002 Nobel prize for medicine, who will speak on “Biomedical science, world health and world peace”;]

Prof George Fitzgerald Smoot, 2006 Nobel laureate for physics, who will speak on “Contemplating the birth of the universe”; and

Former US senator, Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr, who will speak on “Building a culture of peace and development in a globalised world”.

Musa, a former deputy prime minister, said the Bridges project in Malaysia was a follow-up to its earlier successes in other ASEAN nations, namely Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, to build bridges to stimulate intellectual, scientific and cultural exchanges in the region.

“By enhancing science, technology and communication, the events may lead to better cooperation,” he said, calling for the involvement of the youth as “ASEAN’s key to the future”.

BY TAN YI LIANG