IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

The 2012 IUCN World Conservation Congress kicked off on 6 September, with the Forum being inaugurated the next morning. The opening ceremonies were broadcast onsite and online. You can access the videos on this page.

The official opening ceremony of IUCN’s Congress was witnessed by an audience of 4,000 people representing 175 countries. They were treated to a dynamic spectacle of music and dance and addressed by President of the Republic of Korea, Mr Lee Myung-Bak.

To a backdrop of stunning images of Jeju island, IUCN President Ashok Khosla declared the Congress officially open, and in an inspiring speech outlined the achievements of IUCN since the last Congress and his vision for the future of nature conservation.

The Forum opening ceremony in the morning of 7 September marked the beginning of five days of intense activity at the Congress. Bridging the official Congress Opening and the 700+ Forum events itself, it outlined the technical framework of the Forum discussions. Through the participation of renowned experts like Rachel Kyte, Vice-President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank, the session shed some light on the conceptual and scientific background of the Congress's overarching theme: Nature+.

The session was also an opportunity to understand better the draft IUCN Programme 2013-2016, which was approved during the Members' Assembly. Joel Sartore, National Geographic Photographer and Speaker, acted as the Master of Ceremonies of this session, and guided us through the structure and meaning of the five days of Forum - a meaning closely related to the draft IUCN Programme 2013-2016.