Prof. Teresa Cheng Delivers Keynote Address at Global International Organization Youth Talent Development Summit Forum

Following is the full text of keynote address by the Secretary-General at the Forum on 23 July 2026:

Your Excellency,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Young leaders,

Good morning! It is indeed a privilege and honor for me to be here and share some of my thoughts on how we should engage in this very important initiative to further global youth development.

The core theme today is “Revitalizing Multilateralism: Competency Restructuring and Institutional Innovation for Youth Talent in International Organizations”. This particular core theme is very relevant and timely. It reflects that all of us here appreciate the importance of multilateralism, recognize the challenges it is facing, and hence looking actively at how to revitalize it. Importantly, the theme also acknowledges that revitalization is futile and of no utility unless youth participation is engaged.

The objectives that are reflected in the panel discussions address the issues facing all of us and the discussions aim to produce a result – a formidable task, but no doubt a very honorable task – focusing primarily on the role of international organization in facilitating the realization of multilateralism.

In this particular aspect, I would like to offer my modest contribution to this very important topic, and to focus on the institutional mission of the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed) and the ecosystem that we are trying to build. I would like to address the matter with the six “W” words.

I will start with “What”. What is IOMed? There are a few points that I would like you to take away. First, it is the first inter-governmental international organization that is dedicated exclusively to promoting the use of mediation.

The second point is that it is a product derived from the practice of the principles enunciated in the Global Governance Initiative, which is initiated by China and recognized and supported by many countries around the world.

The Convention that establishes IOMed is based on a multilateral discussion. Therefore, multilateralism is respected, with 19 and later on 22 States participating in the negotiations. Now we have 46 Signatory States, and 16 have ratified or acceded to the Convention and become our contracting members. The Convention also respects the principle of sovereign equality, because it was negotiated by various States using a consensus-based approach. It recognizes the rule of law because the Convention itself records and recognizes the principles of international law as well as the core elements of mediation. The product it produces – mediation – is people-centered, because mediation is something that will address the needs and interests of the nationals as well as that of the States. The establishment of IOMed in itself is the real result of practicing the Global Governance Initiative.

Let me give you a very brief recount of our history. You are all young leaders, but we are even younger. We were only established in October 2025, so we are just over nine months old. The Convention was opened for signature on 30 May 2025, and on that day, there were 33 signatories. As I have just mentioned, 46 have already signed up to the Convention. So, we are growing, but still a lot to develop.

The third thing about IOMed is that it practices true multilateralism and inclusivity. Its inclusivity is manifested in three ways. One is the membership. At the moment, it is mainly Global South, but we welcome any State from around the world to join. The second is the mix of staff we are developing. It is an international organization with staff from all over the world who will participate in our operations. The third is the cases we handle. The cases that we handle would be open to disputants coming not just from member states, but also from non-member states. Fourthly, IOMed is an international public good. It provides mediation as a very viable and affordable method of resolving dispute, which preserves relationships and creates a win-win solution.

What then is our institutional mission? The mission is to promote and facilitate peaceful settlement of international disputes and to develop friendly relations and cooperation among States using mediation. If I put it in a more simplistic term, we aim to create a global mediation ecosystem at various levels, be it between nationals, between two States, or between a national and another State. This is our institutional mission.

The second “W” is “Where”. Where is the headquarters? It is located in Hong Kong, the Old Wan Chai Police Station built in 1932. It is a heritage building and has been renovated to be well-equipped to host mediation.

“Why”. Why is Hong Kong chosen as the headquarters? Using what Grace has just mentioned, you start from Hong Kong and go global. That statement can be reinforced in a few unique and distinctive dimensions of Hong Kong.

First, Hong Kong has a safe, secure and resilient environment, enabling settlement discussions to be conducted with a peace of mind without fear of any interference, ensuring a neutral venue. Secondly, it has a very strong rule of law, with the bilingual common law system and with experienced legal professionals who stand strong to uphold the rule of law. Thirdly, Hong Kong is a free, open and inclusive society, where cross-cultural talents from various professions would come to stay, develop their career, and pursue their dreams. Fourthly, Hong Kong is a “Super Connector and Value-adder”, bridging the East and the West, and of course, bridging the Chinese mainland and the international community.

As a result. Hong Kong has in recent years grown to become the home of many international organizations. IOMed was set up in October 2025. But previously there are other branches of international organizations. Looking just at the legal domain, the Hague Conference, UNCITRAL, and UNIDROIT have all established offices here, showing the importance that they place in Hong Kong.

Then “Who”. Who are the stakeholders? Member states are of course very important. We also have the Secretariat, effectively the staff. Then we have the mediators. Mediators on our panels are from Contracting States and from the Governing Council. Importantly, the youth. In our Convention, we actually have a clause which explicitly provides for capacity building activities to be carried out. It sets that we may propose and implement a mediation fellowship program for training and capacity building for young professionals and diplomats.

The penultimate question is “How”. How do we achieve all these aims? That very much fits into today’s theme. One of the objectives of IOMed is to create a global mediation ecosystem. And youth engagement is vital and indispensable.

Engagement connotes two-way traffic. I start by looking at what we international organizations can do. At the institutional level, I think there are a number of things that we can do. First is to develop and implement the young professionals and diplomats program that I mentioned, which is in our Convention. That will necessitate us to listen to the young people and also learn from other international organizations who have already developed YP programs, such as the AIIB. We will learn from them and develop one suited for our purpose and mission.

Secondly, we would encourage secondment from various States and international organizations. This will create mutual understanding, cross-fertilization, and therefore enhance exposure for youth leaders.

Thirdly, we must encourage exchanges of young professionals between international organizations. This is important. Whilst IOMed is a legal organization, it actually welcomes and needs the input and views of young professionals from other perspectives of life. AI, for example, is going to be very important. And how do we use it to facilitate the development of mediation? These are perspectives we must not overlook.

Fourthly, to actually have dialogue with young talents. There must be platforms like this one where there is dialogue with the youth. We talk about dialogue, not monologue. Therefore, the international organizations must listen to the youth and take on their views, and the young people would be able to freely share their thoughts and vision on what global governance should look like.

Fifthly and lastly, IOMed is going to organize IOMed moots, which will allow young people to actually have a taste of mediation in the mock cases, and allow them to put theory into practice. That is, in my humble view, an excellent way in which one can experience how to negotiate and mediate.

The last “W” word is “When”. The answer is easy. It is just one word: now. I think it is high time for all of us to engage with the young leaders so that the Sustainable Development Goals are achieved, true multilateralism is restored, and global governance is implemented.

Thank you very much.