On March 27, 2014 KDI School organized a meeting to introduce the Regional Development Forums initiative to all students and Professors.  As part of the International Development Forum which will be held in November, each regional group will be given the opportunity to establish their own agenda and come up with short issue papers.  The best regional forum studies will be awarded.  The six regional development blocks include Africa, Latin America, East Asia, North Africa and Middle East and the Development Forum. 

The African Forum

Formerly known as the KDIS African Students Association, the African Forum is the pioneer regional forum. The forum’s vision is to be an agent towards the realization of a new, forward looking, dynamic and integrated Africa.  Today, the African Forum has 45 students from 15 countries including Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Cote d''Ivoire, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. Professor Kim, Taejong is the forum’s advisor.

The African Forum’s mission is to foster  cultural, political, and social awareness  about  the  African  continent; promoting  dialogue about  pertinent  issues  affecting  the  continent. The African Forum has successfully organized its maiden conference on the 29^th of November 2013. Five African students have presented papers as part of the Korean Hallyu Festival at Korea University in Seoul on October, 2013. The African forum has elected new executives for the 2014 academic year. They include; Haftom Teferi (Ethopia) - President, Charlene Eboi (Cote Cote d''Ivoire) - Vice-President, Firehiwot Yemane (Ethopia) - Secretary, Abdul Rahman Jalloh (Sierra Leone) - Financial Coordinator, Uruna Gloria Sigrid (Burundi) - Event Organizer and Brian Dzansi (Ghana) - Public Relations Officer.

East & Southeast Asia Forum

This Forum consists of nine Asian countries: China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The Forum has forty three (43) students as members, with Professor Tae Yong Jung as the forum advisor.

The mission of the East Asia Forum is to engage its members to develop strategies for national and regional development, create an avenue for exchange among students from East Asia to tackle problems that similarly affect the member countries, and promote academism and camaraderie among participants. Speaking with the Globe, the current President, Rigoberto J. Banta, spelled out the future plans of the East Asia Forum; “The East Asia Forum sees itself as a platform to increase the people-to-people exchange and promote the social rationale in the cooperation with the Republic of Korea with its future projects. We hope to see not only students from East Asia but everyone from the KDI School in our events.” Professor Jung, Tae Yong advises the forum.

North Africa and Middle East Forum

This Regional Forum has already established a cabinet and the Globe was informed by the President, Niaz Ali Khan, they have adopted the name of SAMENA (South Asia, Middle East and North Africa Association).  Among the objectives of SAMENA are to establish a strong and close linkage of students, professors and business community belonging to the SAMENA countries; conducting meetings to discuss and highlight issues regarding SAMENA; organization of cultural events and shows on a regular basis, and demonstrating to be an ambassador of KDI School all over the world, especially in SAMENA countries. Professor Han, Baran is the advisor of the SAMENA forum

Latin American Forum

It is the second-pioneer Forum in KDI School.  They aim to raise the knowledge of Latin America through a socio-economic, political and cultural perspective.  Thus, the members agreed upon an Executive Committee in order to promote the key areas of work.  In this regard, they elected one representative of every semester: Melvin Romero (Spring ’14), Representative, Esthela Baltazar (NIIED) for Cultural Affairs, Ligia Ventura (Fall ’13) on Political Issues and Eduardo Garcia (Spring ’14) leads on Economics Affairs.  The main objective of the Forum is to spread the knowledge of the region, especially in terms of public policies, in order to improve the understanding and visibility of the region in the eyes of the international community.  The first cultural event is a Latin American movie night. There are many other activities planned in the near future.  Professor Lee, Ju-Ho Is the advisor of the Latin American forum.

Europe & Central Asia

It has membership of 28 students from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Professor Choi, Changyong is the advisor for the forum.

Aid Policy Forum

The Aid Policy forum consists mainly of Korean Students and students from Australia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Korea, and USA. Professor Lee, Kyewoo is the forum’s advisor.

As a way to prepare for International Development Forum, each Regional Forum would invite renowned speakers and discussants from outside twice a year.

By Lesly Rubio Campos (2013 MPP Guatemala) and Brian Dzansi (2014 MDP, Ghana)