This research and teaching exchange aims to address the following questions: how can poetry be communicated across historical and geographical boundaries in the transnational digital age? How can the comparative study of poetries produced in Asia and Europe, and the close reading of those poetries, enable cross-cultural understanding? The project aims to share ideas, and develop future teaching projects which explore how the methodologies and histories of literary study can play a vital role in enhancing intercultural exchange and shared creative thinking at a time when the development of AI is radically changing the nature of the humanities, and informational technology is transforming global society.

These aims will be developed through communication from the Geneva team about a formative figure in the history of English literary criticism, I.A. Richards, who also taught in China in the 1930s and wrote about how his literary training enabled him to approach and to enter into dialogue with the ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius. Richards was also an early figure to address the impact of rapidly-developing communications media on learning and literary analysis, and so anticipates our project. His former student William Empson composed key works of literary criticism in China and Japan. The Seoul team will share their expertise in translation, particularly of T.S. Eliot and Dante, and in the history of close-readings of Western literature in the Korean context. In dialogue with Richards’ understanding of poetry as communication, they will explore how, despite the distinctive linguistic conditions of national languages, poetry can be translated across cultures and periods thanks to its unique capacity to communicate sensibility as well as sense. Much is lost in translation but much can still be recuperated and reconstructed by the creative efforts of translators, as can be demonstrated not only by the translations of poetry between European languages, but also by translations bridging the distance between the East and the West. For instance, European poetry was studied, translated, and adapted in Korea under Japanese rule, playing a key role in shaping the identity of modern Korean literature. A close examination of these encounters--such as that of the poet and translator Kim Ok with W. B. Yeats--allows us to understand the Europe-influenced literary traditions of Japan and Korea not as mere mimicry but as a demonstration of Françoise Lionnet and Shu-mei Shih's concept of minor transnationalism, a construction of “lateral networks” of creative solidarity. The history of the conjuncture of the Western and East Asian literatures can offer new perspectives on the circulation and creative reinterpretation of poetry in the digital age, as it highlights the enduring force of the communicative and community-forming potentials of the verbal art.

These histories and methodologies will be shared in visits between Geneva and Yonsei, where team members will give research papers on their areas of expertise and also each guest-teach a seminar at Masters level. The visits will also involve planning meetings where a future joint-teaching project and a co-written journal article based on the project will be developed.

In adopting resolution 60/251 in 2006, leading to the creation of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the member states of the United Nations aimed, in part, to strengthen the accountability mechanisms when member states deal with the protection of human rights. The accountability mechanisms were considered by most observers as deficient in the organ that was replaced by the UNHRC, namely the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR).

Have the accountability mechanisms of the UNHRC operated as well for the past two decades as they had been anticipated back in 2006. While the UNHRC has been studied by various academics in different disciplines, an overall assessment of how the accountability mechanisms put into place operate and especially interact with each other, has not yet been the focus of scholarly research. Hence, we propose to consider how the three accountability mechanisms that we consider as the most important ones, affect the workings of the UNHRC and ultimately its final goal, i.e., an improvement of the human rights situation around the globe.

The first new accountability mechanism introduced with the UNHRC, compared to the UNCHR, concerns the election and possible deselection (respectively suspension) of UNHRC members. While respecting an adequate regional representation, the 47 members of the UNHRC are supposed to be elected taking into account their respect of human rights. In addition, the limitation to two consecutive terms for each member state was also designed to hold member states better to account. With a similar goal in mind, the resolution 60/251 also gives the power to the United Nations General Assembly, to revoke members from the UNHRC or suspend their membership, if they violate egregiously human rights.

A second important accountability mechanism came about by the introduction of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) that subjects every UN member state to a peer review at regular intervals of four and a half years, leading to a report containing recommendations made by peers. The universality of this review process and the goal of putting all member states on an equal footing aims at leading to a less politicized process.

Finally, the third innovative accountability mechanism us the more explicit and formalized inclusion of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) into the UP review process, but also in other arenas, is also designed as increasing the accountability of member states in the area of human rights.

While a considerable body of research on the UPR process exists and a smaller set of studies considers the role of NGOs, few studies considered the role of the election and deselection process, and especially the interaction of the latter with the former two. As these accountability mechanisms are likely to interact and lead to unintended consequences, it seems to us that more comprehensive look at them is needed to assess how well the accountability mechanisms of the UNHRC have worked in the the past two decades.

Our group proposes to initiate a novel philosophical inquiry into the conceptual foundations of quantum cosmology. Quantum cosmology is a field of theoretical physics dedicated to investigating the quantum mechanical nature of our universe, and its origins in particular. It is a relatively young field, whose origins can be traced to Bryce DeWitt’s work in the late 1960s, with a second phase initiated in the 1980s with the “no boundary” proposal of James Hartle and Stephen Hawking, and continuing to today in a variety of fruitful directions. While philosophers have contributed much to understanding the conceptual foundations of quantum theory (e.g., the measurement problem and Bell’s theorem, quantum computing, etc.) and the standard model of cosmology (which is founded on the non-quantum general theory of relativity), so far very little attention has been devoted to the particular conceptual foundations of quantum cosmology, which unites these component considerations, the quantum with the cosmos.

Our group members have much expertise in these component studies, and we see an intriguing opportunity through this funding initiative to unite our research interests and capabilities in a novel investigation into a mostly unexplored area of significant theoretical importance in modern physics. Christian Wüthrich (co-PI), Niels Linnemann, Marta Pedroni, and Charlotte Zito are all members of the University of Geneva’s Symmetry Group, much of whose work over the past decade has been devoted to developing the philosophical aspects of quantum gravity research. The members from Yonsei, Casey McCoy (co-PI) and Natalja Deng, bring to bear expertise in the standard model of cosmology and cosmic inflation (a theory that may play a crucial linking role between quantum cosmology and standard cosmology) and the philosophy of time, an area at the center of the two-way interaction between physics and philosophy concerning developments in quantum gravity and cosmology.

Our plan is to use the UNIGE-Yonsei Seed Funding to carry out a research exchange between the two institutions. We plan two workshops, one in Seoul and one in Geneva, which are dedicated to focused explorations and identifications of significant research problems and solutions which can be the basis for future collaborations between the group members. While some time will be made available for traditional academic talks and discussions, our intention is to use the occasion of a workshop to create a collaborative environment focused on seeding future collaborative endeavors. Preliminary work will identify prospective key issues, such as how to conceptually understand the quantum-to-classical transition (related to the well-known “quantum measurement problem”), the status of space and time in the early universe (including the emergence of spacetime), the nature of singularity resolution, and of boundary conditions of the universe; discussion leaders will be appointed for the various key issues, and sessions devoted to detailed group member exploration of them. We plan both of these workshops to take place during 2025 (in Seoul in the spring, in Geneva in the summer or fall).

Our world is shaped by the legacies of destructive wars and characterized too often by violence. Divisions and conflicts appear more challenging than ever. Our task as scholars and educators is to become bridges between the East and the West, Asia and Europe, by promoting exchanges between the University of Geneva, including The Ecumenical Institute Bossey of the World Council of Churches, and Yonsei University. 2024 is the 70th Anniversary of the Geneva Peace Conference, the last major international attempt to reunify Korea. 2025 marks the 75th Anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. 2026 is the 40th Anniversary of the Glion, Switzerland dialogue between North and South Koreans. Interfaith discussions between Islam and Christianity have increased internationally to address conflicts, but this engagement has not evolved in Korea yet. Muslim-Christian relations must be prioritised as the Muslim population grows due to immigration and student mobility. Cold War-style ideological conflicts could be easily shifted toward otherness, such as the Muslim minority. Our purpose is to train World-class experts in Switzerland and Korea in Multi-disciplinary approaches to Inter-cultural and Intra/Inter-Religious engagement, grounded in a deep appreciation and understanding of History, particularly the legacies of Colonial and Postcolonial conflicts such as the Korean War, in order that we can equip contemporary Global Society with insights to solve critical Social Issues.

Our project has three parts, Historical, Socio-Cultural, and Religious aspects, in order to increase mutual understanding of different contexts and address our situation:

1. Under Japanese Colonialism in Korea
   a) Ahn Jung-Kun of Korea and Peace in Northeast Asia / Prof. Meehyun Chung
   b) Yun Chi-Ho of Korea / Prof. Samuel Guex
2. Cold War, Korea and Beyond Hostility / Prof. Paul Tonks
3. Current Debates between Islam and Christianity on Da‘wa and Mission for a Convivial Togetherness in the Swiss Society and Globally / Prof. Benjamin Simon

As Cosmopolitan Citizens we seek peace in each context toward Reconciliation and Companionship. By listening to each other, we explore difficulties and address challenges in socio-cultural contexts to increase Inclusivity in our Global Society.

-Exchanges and Cooperation in Education and Research between Korea and Switzerland for Solidarity and Companionship towards Sustainable Peace
-Finding Solutions for Social Conflicts by developing Models of the Humanity of Companionship.

• To sum up: Our Goal is to establish an International Research Programme aligned with Horizon Pillar 2 that fosters Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society. We will deal with SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) & 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We shall educate Peace Mediators, Cultural Communication experts, NGO leaders, and Religious experts who contribute to Social Justice and Healing.