Ari is the name given to the “Statue of Peace” installed in Berlin’s Mitte district. In Armenian, the name means “courage.” The first Statue of Peace erected outside South Korea was installed in Glendale, California, a city that is home to the world’s largest Armenian diaspora community, with people of Armenian descent making up approximately 40 percent of its population. The solidarity of Glendale's Armenian community, whose members share the historical memory of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, was a decisive force behind the installation of the statue. Before Ari, the Berlin-based civic organization Korea Verband had a scale model of the Statue of Peace named Yongi, using the Korean syllable yong, meaning “courage.”

In 1975, the United Nations proclaimed International Women’s Year and convened the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City. This was followed by conferences in Copenhagen in 1980, Nairobi in 1985, and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Held as the international order was being reshaped after the end of the Cold War and issues of environment, development, and human rights were gaining new prominence, the Beijing conference adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which remains an important international framework for gender equality policy. The document reaffirmed that women’s rights are an integral part of universal human rights and set out priorities for international action in twelve critical areas, including violence against women and women in armed conflict. At the NGO Forum held alongside the conference, women’s organizations from South Korea and other parts of Asia drew international attention to the Japanese military “Comfort Women” issue as a major example of wartime sexual violence and violations of women’s human rights. South Korean women’s groups worked in solidarity with activists across Asia to frame the issue not simply as a dispute over historical responsibility between states, but as a broader question of violence against women and human rights.

In 1975, the United Nations proclaimed International Women’s Year and convened the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City. This was followed by conferences in Copenhagen in 1980, Nairobi in 1985, and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Held as the international order was being reshaped after the end of the Cold War and issues of environment, development, and human rights were gaining new prominence, the Beijing conference adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which remains an important international framework for gender equality policy. The document reaffirmed that women’s rights are an integral part of universal human rights and set out priorities for international action in twelve critical areas, including violence against women and women in armed conflict. At the NGO Forum held alongside the conference, women’s organizations from South Korea and other parts of Asia drew international attention to the Japanese military “Comfort Women” issue as a major example of wartime sexual violence and violations of women’s human rights. South Korean women’s groups worked in solidarity with activists across Asia to frame the issue not simply as a dispute over historical responsibility between states, but as a broader question of violence against women and human rights.

In 1975, the United Nations proclaimed International Women’s Year and convened the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City. This was followed by conferences in Copenhagen in 1980, Nairobi in 1985, and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Held as the international order was being reshaped after the end of the Cold War and issues of environment, development, and human rights were gaining new prominence, the Beijing conference adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which remains an important international framework for gender equality policy. The document reaffirmed that women’s rights are an integral part of universal human rights and set out priorities for international action in twelve critical areas, including violence against women and women in armed conflict. At the NGO Forum held alongside the conference, women’s organizations from South Korea and other parts of Asia drew international attention to the Japanese military “Comfort Women” issue as a major example of wartime sexual violence and violations of women’s human rights. South Korean women’s groups worked in solidarity with activists across Asia to frame the issue not simply as a dispute over historical responsibility between states, but as a broader question of violence against women and human rights.

In 1975, the United Nations proclaimed International Women’s Year and convened the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City. This was followed by conferences in Copenhagen in 1980, Nairobi in 1985, and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Held as the international order was being reshaped after the end of the Cold War and issues of environment, development, and human rights were gaining new prominence, the Beijing conference adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which remains an important international framework for gender equality policy. The document reaffirmed that women’s rights are an integral part of universal human rights and set out priorities for international action in twelve critical areas, including violence against women and women in armed conflict. At the NGO Forum held alongside the conference, women’s organizations from South Korea and other parts of Asia drew international attention to the Japanese military “Comfort Women” issue as a major example of wartime sexual violence and violations of women’s human rights. South Korean women’s groups worked in solidarity with activists across Asia to frame the issue not simply as a dispute over historical responsibility between states, but as a broader question of violence against women and human rights.