Building a humanitarian planet requires civic values as opposed to materialistic indulgence. Despite progress in wealth, materialistic overreach in the course of modern civilization has generated a variety of dehumanizing problems, victimizing universal values of freedom, equality, fairness, and human dignity.

Civic values are the guiding force to reflect on the state of humanity and restore those universal values in a public spirit. Without civic values, individuals would not be able to fully recognize the existence of others, thus failing to communicate and cooperate with one another in a reciprocal manner. Owing to differences and conflicts in ideological and motivational orientations, those self-centered individuals would fall far short in making coordinated public efforts, leaving the global society merely as a contested terrain and struggling arena rather than a truly deliberating social space.

This is one of the three thematic sessions further developing the main theme taken up in the plenary session. It addresses the subject of civic values and explores the people’s perceptions, understandings, beliefs, and judgments that would promote senses of civic life and thus a maturation of humanity and civilization. Making a harmony with the other two thematic sessions, this one focuses on civic values as a core element for the goal of building our humanitarian Planet. Thinkers and practitioners with broad perspectives and deep insights will present and discuss on a wide range of issues related to civic values for global justice.

The rising waves of globalization transcend and render permeable national boundaries that once protected the territoriality of the nation states and regulated the pace with which outside influences brought change to society. At the same time, we have been witnessing the advent of a variety of transnational problems that lie beyond the control of a single country and require the common efforts among the nations in their resolution. Against this backdrop, the increasing influence of transnational and sub-national actors is bringing a metamorphic change to the traditional structure of world order. This situation requires new global governance in which all the stakeholders participate in the management of global affairs with legitimate rights.

Rather than be passive observers and recipients in the working of global dynamics, we should adopt a proactive stance equipped with a high degree of civic spirit, ready for action and identifying the pragmatic requirements of new models of governance in the 21st century. This should reflect a new reality in which both public institutions and civil society agents play an important role in making human life better in the new global order.

This is one of the three thematic sessions further developing the main theme taken up in the plenary session. Making a harmony with the other two thematic sessions, this one focuses on civic engagement as a core element for the goal of building our humanitarian Planet. Thinkers and practitioners with broad perspectives and deep insights will present and discuss on a wide range of issues related to civic engagement in public and global governance.

Building a humanitarian Planet calls for global practice through which people acquire civic learning by active doing. In this action-bound process of civic learning, there arise new ideas and norms to be shared and even have a life of their own. The rapidly growing global consciousness about climate change exemplifies this action-originated idea and norm. We need a large social space of action where individuals and institutions interact with one another and cultivate new ideas on civic values and engagement.

Noble norms certainly do not appear out of thin air. They are actively built by agents having strong notions about appropriate or desirable behavior in their community. The role of these agents as norm entrepreneurs is critical. They promote norms by faithfully practicing ideals and norms. In light of this ‘praxis’ dimension, one of the key tasks is to build new generations of civic-minded leaders across various sectors who can develop a more integrated and coherent framework of values for global action.

This is one of the three thematic sessions further developing the main theme taken up in the plenary session. It highlights the action-bound movements, campaigns, and all types of public practice by a wide range of actors as a reflection of their endeavor to create new norms and solve global problems including climate change. Making a harmony with the other two thematic sessions, this one focuses on civic action as a core element for the goal of building our humanitarian Planet. Thinkers and practitioners with broad perspectives and deep insights will present and discuss on a wide range of issues related to civic action for global agenda including climate change.