This event will be livestreamed. Please register here: https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_T6GDlKArRAiTBxdVx6SqyA
Keynote Speaker: Phan Thi Kim Phuc, Peace Activist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
Introductory Remarks: Tony Bui, Filmmaker; Artist in Residence, Weatherhead East Asian Institute; Adjunct Professor of Film, Columbia University
Columbia University's Weatherhead East Asian Institute is honored to welcome Phan Thi Kim Phuc, a living symbol of the pain of war and the power of profound healing and peace. Her life story is etched into the collective memory of a generation through the iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph capturing her as a child, running from a napalm attack during the Vietnam War. This image remains a powerful reminder of the innocent victims of war.
In her keynote speech, "War, Trauma, Transformation, and Healing," Kim Phuc will share her incredible journey from the moment captured in that harrowing image to her current role as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace. Her story is not just one of survival but an inspiring testament to the strength of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable adversity.
Kim Phuc's message is one of hope, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Through her Foundation, she has touched the lives of many, advocating for the welfare of children in war, and educating the world on the importance of peace and understanding. Her life’s work demonstrates how personal transformation can lead to global change, emphasizing that from the ashes of war and trauma, a new life dedicated to healing and peace can emerge.
Speaker Bio:
Kim Phuc Phan Thi is known around the world as “The Girl in the Picture” and the “Napalm Girl.” In 1972, age 9, she was immortalized in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph that shows her screaming and running naked down a road in Trang Bang, Vietnam, after having her clothes burned off by napalm. A living symbol of the atrocities of war, she is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and the founder of The KIM Foundation International, a nonprofit dedicated to helping child-victims of war, violence, and deprivation. Kim is the author of Fire Road, her personal memoir, which has been translated into ten languages.
Courtesy of the Mach Family Gift for Global Vietnamese Studies
This talk is part of the Legacies of the Vietnam War 75th Anniversary series and the 75th Anniversary Global Asia Film Series Learn more about WEAI's 75th anniversary. It co-sponsored by the Columbia Journalism School, Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, SIPA Technology, Media, and Communications, and NYSEAN.
For more information on the other talks of the series, please click here: https://weai.columbia.edu/content/legacies-vietnam-war-75th-anniversary-series.
