I.P.O. ANNUAL REPORT 2016
Vienna, 3 January 2017
P/RE/26318c
UNITED NATIONS
On 8 November 2016 the President of the I.P.O. delivered the inaugural lecture at the Model United Nations Conference in Munich, Germany.
On 29 November 2016 the International Progress Organization attended the Special Meeting held by the United Nations General Assembly's Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People at the United Nations Office at Vienna.
PROHIBITION OF THE USE OF FORCE IN INTERNATIONAL LAW
From 14 to 15 March 2016 the I.P.O. took part in a global peace meeting in Seoul, Korea, working on a Draft Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War, under the auspices of the World Alliance of Religions for Peace.
On 7 July 2016 the President of the I.P.O. met at headquarters in Vienna a delegation of the World Alliance of the Religions for Peace for consultations on the Draft Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War.
From 16 to 20 September 2016 the I.P.O. took part in the implementation conference related to the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War in Seoul, Korea.
WORLD ALLIANCE OF RELIGIONS FOR PEACE
On 18 September 2016 the President of the I.P.O. took part in the Commemoration Ceremony of the Second Anniversary of the Summit of the World Alliance of Religions for Peace (WARP) in Seoul, Korea.
HUMAN RIGHTS
On 12 September 2016 the I.P.O. took part in consultations on the forthcoming annual session of the United Nations Human Rights Council at the Austrian Foreign Ministry in Vienna.
DIALOGUE AMONG CIVILIZATIONS
On 25 May 2016 the I.P.O. took part in the coordination meeting of the Task Force "Dialogue of Cultures" at the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna.
On 1 July 2016 the I.P.O. attended the inauguration ceremony of the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Center (DOC) in Berlin, Germany.
On 14 July 2016 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a lecture on "Religious Dialogue in the Age of Fundamentalism?" at a philosophical-political seminar in Bozen, Italy.
On 6 September 2016 the I.P.O. took part in the ceremony for the Intercultural Achievement Award in Vienna, Austria.
On 8 September 2016 the I.P.O. took part in the Annual Conference on International Cultural Cooperation organized by the Austrian Foreign Ministry in Vienna.
The President of the I.P.O. serves as expert for intercultural and inter-religious dialogue at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria.
On 25 July 2016 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a public lecture in Wil, Switzerland, on "Mass Migration and State Failure: Legal, Political and Cultural Aspects of the Refugee Issue."
On 3 September 2016 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a public lecture on "Mass Migration and State Failure" at the international conference on "Courage for Ethics" in Wil, Switzerland.
On 21 October 2016 the International Progress Organization took part in the International Conference on Human Trafficking and its Victims organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna.
SPECIAL LECTURES BY THE
PRESIDENT
-
"Democracy and World Order": Public lecture on the occasion of Justice and Democracy Week 2016, Hasan Ali Yücel Cultural Center, Kartal Municipality, Istanbul, Turkey, 21 January 2016.
-
"Normative Contradictions in the State System": Trinity College, University of Cambridge, UK, 12 February 2016.
-
"The Quest for Civilizational Identity: The European Dilemma": International Symposion on "Civilizational Heritage -- 'Common Past, Common Future'," 8th Kocaeli Book Fair, Kocaeli, Turkey, 15 May 2016.
-
"Contradictions and Deficiencies in the System of International Law": Panel Discussion, "Blind Spots of International Law," 16th International Likhachov Scientific Conference, "Contemporary Global Challenges and National Interests," St. Petersburg University of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 20 May 2016.
-
"Religious Dialogue in the Age of Fundamentalism?": Seminar, "Ideals of Our Time: Reconceptions of the Intellectual," Apotheosis International, Leifer near Bozen, South Tyrol, Italy, 14 July 2016.
-
"The Ineffectiveness of the Ban on the Use of Force in International Law": Keynote Speech, Advocacy Forum for the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War, 2nd Annual Commemoration of the World Alliance of Religions for Peace Summit, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 17 September 2016.
-
"Stereotypes and Double Standards: The Role and Responsibility of the Media in a Context of Geopolitical Tension": Keynote Speech, Session I: "Self-consciousness of the media against biased news," International Affairs Journal (Moscow) -- Vth International Conference: "Russia and Europe: Topical Issues of Contemporary International Journalism," Bratislava, Slovakia, 29 September 2016.
-
"The Integration of Refugees and the Safeguarding of Democratic Values": Keynote Address, Model United Nations of Munich 2016 / Thirteenth Annual Session, Opening Ceremony, European Patent Office, Munich, Germany, 8 November 2016.
-
"Democracy in a Multipolar World": 2nd Congress, Russian Society of Political Scientists, "Russian Politics: The Agenda in a Changing World," Federal University of Kazan, Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia, 12 November 2016.
-
"Normative Contradictions in International Law: Implications for Legal Philosophy": Guest Lecture, Department of Philosophy and Logic, Armenian State Pedagogical University, Yerevan, Armenia (22 November 2016).
SPECIAL
MEETINGS OF THE PRESIDENT
-
21 January 2016: Dr. Altınok Öz, Mayor of the Municipality of Kartal, Istanbul, Turkey.
-
14 May 2016: Prof. Bekir Karlığa, Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister of Turkey, Chairman of the National Coordination Committee for the UN Alliance of Civilizations, Director, Istanbul International Civilization Studies Center, Izmit, Turkey.
-
14 July 2016: Dr. Irmgard Griss, former President of the Supreme Court of Austria, candidate for the 2016 presidential elections of Austria, Bozen, Italy.
-
3 September 2016: Dr. Vladislav Jovanović, former Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
-
17 September 2016: The Hon. Camsek Elias Chin, President of the Senate of the Republic of Palau, in Seoul, Korea.
-
17 September 2016: The Hon. Jean Max Rakotomamonjy, Speaker of the National Assembly of Madagascar, in Seoul, Korea.
-
29 September 2016: Mr. Werner Fasslabend, President of the Political Academy of the Austrian People's Party, former Minister of Defence of Austria, in Bratislava, Slovakia.
-
22 November 2016: Prof. Ruben Mirzakhanyan, Rector of Armenian State Pedagogical University, in Yerevan, Armenia.
-
5 December 2016: Prof. Arthur B. Laffer, Economist (United States), former member of President Ronald Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board, in Vienna, Austria.
SELECTED
MEDIA INTERVIEWS
-
TV Sonce / Sun TV, Glasot Na Narodot / Voice of the People talkshow, Skopje, Macedonia (21 March 2016), on the migration crisis in Europe.
-
Russian National TV, Channel 5 (St. Petersburg) (11 November 2016) on European Union and Russia.
-
Sputnik Radio UK / The World in Focus (29 November 2016) on the war in Yemen.
-
Belarus National TV, Channel 1 (2 December 2016) on Austrian presidential elections and the European Union.
-
Sputnik Radio UK / The World in Focus (2 December 2016) on the criminal investigation of the Rwandan genocide.
CO-OPERATION
WITH NGOs
The International Progress Organization has established co-operation with the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute (DOC) in Berlin, Germany. The I.P.O. has continued co-operation in the framework of the NGO Committee on Peace at the United Nations Office at Vienna.
In March 2016, the World Alliance of Religions for Peace appointed Prof. Hans Köchler as member of its Peace Advisory Council.
***