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Think Tank 2022
Financial Crisis Discussed during Peace Tour in Belgium
Monday, March 16, 2009
Brussels, Belgium - Two weeks before the G-20 meeting of world leaders in London, the UPF hosted an International Leadership Conference in Brussels on the topic of the current financial crisis, presented by Mr. Pascal Roussel, an expert in financial derivatives currently working in the financial risk department of a major supranational bank.
Roussel’s thought-provoking and absorbing speech sparked a very lively question and answer session from an audience with considerable skepticism about the role of international banks in creating the current crisis, but by the end there was a feeling of satisfaction and sense of having learned something important about the current reality from this encounter.
Our Masters of Ceremonies for the evening peace tour event were Mr. Hugo Veracx and Mrs. Colette Cunningham, who made our local and international guests feel at home through guiding the program in both English and French. We also had some much welcomed participation from UPF supporters from the north of France (Lille), Luxembourg, and Holland.
Words of welcome were also offered by Mr. Philippe Jacques, Secretary General of UPF in Belgium. The invocations were then given by representatives of the four major religions present. After the UPF video presentation, we continued with a heartwarming performance by two female Russian professional musicians, Ms Marina Zaretskaya on the piano and Ms Nadja Nevolovitsch on the violin.
This led on to congratulatory remarks by Prof. Christian Vonck, rector of the Faculty of Comparative Religious Studies at Antwerp University. UPF-Europe Chairman Yong Cheol Song then took to the stage to deliver the main speech of the evening with great vigor, depth, and conviction. Simultaneous translation into French and Dutch was projected onto two large screens.
The evening concluded with a delicious banquet with delightful musical accompaniment by Marina Zaretskaya. During the banquet the presence of several important guests was acknowledged and several new Ambassadors for Peace were appointed.
For the keynote address and more information about the peace tour, click here.