On Wednesday, October 19th, at 2pm, the ‘Dream Together Seoul Forum 2022’ was held at Seoul Olympic Parktel. Anyone can attend this forum offline or online through prior application on the official website of ‘Dream Together Seoul Forum 2022’. The forum was live streaming online (Facebook, ZOOM).
#DTSF has been held every year since 2013, and this year, it was operated in a way hosted/supervised by the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation. The theme of the forum is 'Sport for Development and Peace' every year, and experts from sports organizations, academia, and industry around the world join as presenters and participants.
This year, the forum was held under the theme of ‘The Future of Development through Sport’. This year's forum was very meaningful as DTM celebrated its 10th year. Therefore, a session to present the major achievements of DTM has been prepared. In addition, it was held in connection with the 1st Seoul Olympic Legacy of the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, and the event was held on the largest scale ever.
Welcoming remarks were given by Cho Hyun-jae (Chairman, National Sports Promotion Corporation) and Kang Jun-ho (Director, Dream Together Master, Seoul National University), announcing the start of the 10th anniversary Dream Together Seoul Forum. Although they were unable to participate in the congratulatory speech, Cho Yong-man, vice president of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Yeo Sung-seong, vice president of Seoul National University, delivered congratulatory messages via video. The keynote speech was given by Tegla LOROUPE (President of Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation), who created and participated in the first refugee national team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, under the theme of “The Future of Development through Sport’.”
In Session 1, Marie Sallois DEMBREVILLE (Director, International Olympic Committee) and Youngkil YUN (Professor, Korea National Sport University) sequentially gave speeches on the Olympic movement, international sports development cooperation, and Korea's efforts in sports international development cooperation. In addition, DTM graduates Daulina OSMANI (Deputy Minister, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport of Kosovo - DTM 6th Batch), Razif Bin SAZALI (Lecturer, Universiti Teknologi MARA of Malaysia - DTM 7th Batch) and Umaimah Husni AKRAMOVA (Deputy Director, Ministry of Youth and Sport of Malaysia – DTM 6th Batch) had time to talk about the achievements of DTM graduates.
In Session 2, Moderator: Jieae SOHN (Professor, Ewha Womans University) provided a beneficial time for forum participants with speakers prior to the panel discussion. Session 3 delivered a certificate of commendation and prize money to Umaimah Husni AKRAMOVA, co-winner of Best Practice and Project Proposal, through the Dream Together Master Alumni Contest Awards Ceremony. Finally, in Session 4, Isaí Cruz PÉREZ (Former Deputy Manager, Confederación Deportiva Autónoma de Guatemala - DTM 1st Batch) and Owano Atang'a NASHON (President, DTM 10th Batch Student) read a declaration on behalf of the students. As a global sports administrator and DTMA, they pledged to contribute to creating a better sports environment for people who are passionate about sports and developing countries through sports as a medium.
Chairman Cho Hyun-jae, who graced the forum with his presence, said, "I hope that this year's forum, which marks its 10th anniversary, will be a meaningful time to think about how to unleash the good influence of sports for the development and peace of each country."
The forum was successful because 300 people participated in the meaningful event. In addition, alumni and students who are active around the world, such as DTMA, and those working in related industries attended and active communication took place.
The first achievement of Dream Together Seoul Forum 2022 is that it established an international sports network between DTM graduates and the SOLF Olympic Legacy management body through linkage with the Seoul Olympic Legacy Forum. The day before the actual DTSF2022 event, the Seoul Olympic Legacy Forum event was held, and the theme was ‘Olympic legacy and the Next Generation’. The opening ceremony included a congratulatory speech by former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and a keynote speech by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach. DTM students who dream of becoming sports administrators also participated in the event and had a meaningful time.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the past two years, it was impossible to invite foreign speakers to Korea, so it was held online through ZOOM. This year, as COVID-19 restrictions were eased, foreign speakers from multiple countries were invited. It consisted of a variety of programs, from keynote speeches to alumni declaration readings. In commemoration of the 10th DTM, the ‘DTM Graduate Declaration’ was prepared for the first time, and the 1st and 10th DTM students presented it as a representative. The main contents of the declaration were the role, attitude, and mindset of a DTM graduate. About 300 participants attended the forum.