GYEONGJU, Korea (June 2, 2016) – A new NGO was presented to the recent United Nations Department of Public Information/Non-governmental Organization Conference in Gyeongju, Korea: The Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation, or THF.
In a presentation on May 30, attendees at a workshop on “Peace Education” hailing from nations as distant as South Sudan, Germany, the United States and Ukraine learned of the THF’s concept and its mission: empowering refugees through taekwondo and related educational programs. THF pilot projects underway in Syrian refugee camps in Jordan and Turkey, and in earthquake-struck regions of Nepal were detailed, as were its recent establishment and the imminent launch of its website.
Andrew Salmon, who voluntarily supports THF communications, briefed participants on the varied benefits of taekwondo as sport, exercise, self-defense system and mental discipline, and explained how easy and economical it is to deploy to refugee camps and disaster zones. He expressed his hope that the THF would be able to align its operations with many of the established NGOs working with refugees worldwide that were also attending the conference.
In a lively Q&A session, questions from the audience ranged from whether it would be feasible to teach taekwondo to children in orphanages in India, to how to motivate youth globally to do good deeds.
The workshop took place as part of the program of the 66th annual UN DPI/NGO Conference attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other VIPs. The THF already has a relationship with the United Nations: WTF President Chungwon Choue announced the foundation to the world in a presentation/taekwondo demonstration at the UN headquarters in New York City on the “International Day of Peace” on September 21, 2015.
Gyeongju, the conference’s host city, is one of Korea’s most famed historic destinations. Once the capital of the Silla Kingdom, it has been dubbed an “open-air museum.”
