1983 Conference of Ministers of Education and Culture of the Non-Aligned Movement

The 1983 Conference of Ministers of Education and Culture of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) took place in Pyongyang, North Korea, from September 24 to 28. This was the first such conference of NAM ministers of education and culture. North Korea’s proposal to host the event was endorsed during the 7th Summit of the NAM in New Delhi, India, earlier that year. The conference opened with a speech by Kim Il Sung on the development of national culture in emerging countries. It also called for member states to cooperate with the "Josip Broz Tito" Art Gallery of the Nonaligned Countries, which was set to open in 1984. North Korea joined the NAM in 1976 after normalizing relations with Yugoslavia in 1971, following years of criticism of Yugoslav revisionism. Initially, North Korea attempted to bring the Korean conflict to the NAM agenda but was unsuccessful. It also faced rejection when it proposed inviting high-ranking NAM delegations to celebrate Kim Il Sung’s 70th birthday. However, the country sought to host a major NAM event to counterbalance South Korea’s successful bid to host the 1988 Summer Olympics. Despite challenges, North Korea secured support from NAM members to organize the education and culture conference. However, the Hungarian People's Republic criticized North Korea for excluding Cuba from the drafting committee of the final documents and for promoting Juche ideology. After the conference, Mengistu Haile Mariam expressed his preference for North Korea as the host of the upcoming 8th NAM Summit to counterbalance South Korea’s Olympics and ...