I.P.O. ANNUAL REPORT 2018

Vienna, 29 December 2018

P/RE/27122c

UNITED NATIONS

The International Progress Organization took part in the international conference on "The Urgent Need for a New Paradigm in International Relations: An Order of Peace Based on the Development of Nations" (Bad Soden, Germany, 1 July 2018). The President of the I.P.O. delivered a keynote speech on the re-establishment of international law and United Nations reform.

 

CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The International Progress Organization participated in an international conference on "The Palestinian Issue - Whereto?" at the University of Jordan in Amman (9-11 May 2018).

On 30 May 2018 the I.P.O. issued a statement on the legal and political implications of the transfer of the United States Embassy to Jerusalem.

In August 2018 the I.P.O. joined a "Parliamentary Citizens' Initiative" in support of the recognition of the State of Palestine by Austria.

On 29 November 2018 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a speech on behalf of civil society at the solemn meeting in commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, held under the auspices of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN Office at Vienna.

MIGRATION CRISIS

On 11 October 2018 the President of the I.P.O. spoke at a public meeting in Vienna, Austria on "The Global Dimension of Migration," with special focus on the United Nations' Global Compact for Migration.

On 10 November 2018 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a public lecture in Berlin, Germany on the Global Compact for Migration.

NUCLEAR POLICY

On 12 May 2018 the International Progress Organization participated in the Pan-European Peace Forum in Frankfurt a.M., Germany. The President of the I.P.O. delivered a speech on ""Denuclearization and Peaceful Reunification of Korea."

 

DIALOGUE AMONG CIVILIZATIONS

On 23 January 2018 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a special lecture at an interdisciplinary course of Centro Universitário de Brasília (Brazil) on "History and Challenges of Intercultural Dialogue."

On 28 April 2018 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a keynote speech on "Monotheism and the Meaning of Coexistence" at the international conference on "The Origin of Life at the Universe," organized by Technics and Science Research Foundation in Istanbul, Turkey.

On 1 November 2018 the International Progress Organization took part in an international roundtable meeting on "Culture and International Relations in the 21st Century" at Volgograd State University, Russia.

 

TOBACCO PREVENTION

The I.P.O. took part in press conferences on 18 January and 24 September 2018 on political and legal aspects of tobacco prevention, dealing, inter alia, with Austria's compliance with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

 

PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

  • International Conference "States of Exception and the Politics of Anger," University of Iceland, Reykjavik, 19-20 October 2018.

  • International Forum of People's Diplomacy, "Dialogue on the Volga: Peace and Mutual Understanding in the 21st Century," organized by the Municipality of Volgograd, Russia (31 October - 1 November 2018).

 

SPECIAL LECTURES BY THE PRESIDENT

  •  "Self-determination and the Law of Force": International Institute of Politics and Economics, Belgrade, Serbia, 23 March 2018.

  • "Culture in the Age of Globalization": Keynote speech, XVIIIth International Likhachev Conference, St. Petersburg, Russia, 12 May 2018.

  • "Global Governance and Economic Coercion": Global Think Tanks Forum 2018, organized by Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies, Chengdu, P.R. China, 22 November 2018.

  • "Information Technology in the Global Age": 12th International Forum on Lifelong Integrated Education, Yokohama, Japan, 9 December 2018.

 

SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE PRESIDENT

  • 23 March 2018: Dr. Dragoljub Todić, Editor in Chief, Review of International Affairs, in Belgrade, Serbia

  • 20 April 2018: OSCE Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Bosshard, High-Level Planning Group, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in Vienna, Austria

  • 17 May 2018: Mr. Egemen Bağiş, former EU Minister & Chief Negotiator of Turkey, in St. Petersburg, Russia

  • 30 May 2018: Mr. Sardar Masood Khan, President, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, in Vienna, Austria

  • 2 September 2018: Mr. Jury Starovatikh, former Mayor of Volgograd, Chairman of Volgograd Peace Foundation, in Zurich, Switzerland

  • 14 September 2018: Ms. Nina Karpachova, Member of the Board of the European Ombudsman Institute, Vice-President of the Union of Lawyers of Ukraine, in Vienna, Austria

  • 20 October 2018: Ms. Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, in Reykjavik, Iceland

  • 31 October 2018: Mr. Bill Boerum, Chairman (ret.) of the Board of Directors, Sister Cities International (United States), in Volgograd, Russia

  • 1 November 2018: Mr. Dušan Stojanovič, Deputy Secretary-General, International Association of Peace Messenger Cities, in Volgograd, Russia

  • 23 November 2018: Ms. Li Yafang, President, Beijing Review, in Chengdu, P.R. China

  • 8 December 2018: Dr. Barbara Ischinger, former Director for Education and Skills at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in Tokyo, Japan

  • 12 December 2018: Dr. Utak Chung, Director, Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding under the auspices of UNESCO (Seoul, Korea), in Tokyo, Japan

 

SELECTED MEDIA INTERVIEWS

  • Community TV of University Center of Brasilia (23 January 2018), on global order and United Nations

  • Sputnik News, Edinburgh, UK (12 April 2018), on the war in Syria

  • The New American magazine, USA (28 April 2018), on questions of peace and world order

  • Al-Rayah daily, Doha, Qatar (9 May 2018), on Palestine and the Middle East

  • ORF / Austrian Television, Vienna (24 September 2018), on tobacco control in Austria

  • Sechuan TV, Chengdu, P.R. China (23 November 2018), on the global role of think tanks

  • The New American magazine, USA (5 December 2018), on the Lockerbie case and the United Nations

 

CO-OPERATION WITH NGOs AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS

The International Progress Organization continued cooperation with the Swiss civil society initiative Mut zur Ethik / Courage for Ethics; the NGO Committees on Peace and on Development at the United Nations Center in Vienna; Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (Berlin); UNFOLD ZERO, a platform for United Nations focused initiatives and actions for the achievement of a nuclear weapons free world; Campaign for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA); and the Nomura Center for Lifelong Integrated Education (Japan).

The International Progress Organization established cooperation with the International Association of Peace Messenger Cities (IAPM), the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (Seoul), and with Berlin University for Digital Sciences (Germany).

***