I.P.O. ANNUAL REPORT 2013 Vienna, 23 December 2013 P/RE/24785c  NEW PUBLICATIONS تشنج العلاقة بين الغرب والمسلمين.. الأسباب والحلول [The Strained Relations between the West and the Muslims: Causes and Solutions]. Beirut: Jadawel, 2013. ISBN 978-614-418-172-0. The International Progress Organization and the Dialogue among Civilizations and Religions (1972-2012). Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID), Doha, Qatar, 24 April 2013. The book "World Order: Vision and Reality" (Studies in International Relations, Vol. 31) received the Best Book of the Year Award of the Sri Ramanuja Mission Trust, India.   DIALOGUE AMONG CIVILIZATIONS The International Progress Organization continued its activities aimed at the promotion of intercultural dialogue between Islam and the West. On 5 February 2013, a lecture meeting on "Cultural Self-perception and Co-existence" was held at University Abdelmalek Essaâdi, École Supérieure Roi Fahd de Traduction in Tangier, Morocco. From 27 to 28 February 2013, the I.P.O. participated in the 5th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations in Vienna. The President of the organization delivered statements in Working Sessions 1 and 6. Among the participants of the Forum were the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban-Ki Moon, and the Prime Minister of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyep Erdogan. The I.P.O. further took part in the International Book Fair / Salon international de l'édition et du livre in Casablanca, Morocco where the book launching of the new Arabic publication تشنج العلاقة بين الغرب والمسلمين.. الأسباب والحلول [The Strained Relations between the West and the Muslims: Causes and Solutions] was held on 2 April 2013. The I.P.O. further participated in the following intercultural conferences: – Interfaith Conference "Faith and Reconciliation: What is the Future of Interfaith Dialogue?", jointly organized by Interfaith Kosovo, Soul of Europe, and the Balkan Institute in Peja / Peć, Kosovo (24-25 May 2013); – 2nd World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku, Azerbaijan (30-31 May 2013). The I.P.O. also took part in the working session of the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) of the World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations” (Vienna, 6 September 2013).   CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST The International Progress Organization participated in the 28th Meeting of the Abant Platform ("Diverse Perspectives on Turkey"), organized by the Journalists & Writers Foundation of Turkey. The President of the I.P.O. acted as Moderator of the panel on "Turkey's Regional Role and Foreign Policy." On 1 May 2013 the Fletcher Forum on World Affairs (USA) published an op-ed article by the President of the I.P.O. on "Using History to Understand Muslim-Western Relations and the 'Arab Spring.'” On 3 May 2013 the International Progress Organization issued an urgent appeal for the release of two Christian bishops in Syria ("Syria: civil strife must not become a religious conflict"). Live interview for ORF - Radio Tirol (Innsbruck, Austria) on developments in Turkey and Syria (12 June 2013) On 28 July 2013 the I.P.O. issued an urgent call for an independent investigation of the mass killings by Egyptian security forces. On 6 September 2013 the I.P.O. endorsed an appeal of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" in support of an international peace conference for the resolution of the conflict in Syria. Interview for Turkish newspaper ZAMAN on the United Nations Security Council and the Syrian crisis (19 October 2013).   PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES International Symposion "Migration, Islam and Multiculturality in Europe," organized by Hacettepe University / Migration and Politics Research Centre, Ankara, Turkey (with the participation of H.E. Abdulla Gül, President of the Republic of Turkey) (11 April 2013). European Ombudsman Conference / 25th anniversary of the European Ombudsman Institute, Innsbruck, Austria (20-21 September 2013). International Conference on "Democracy, Self-determination and Liberation of Peoples," European Parliament, Brussels (23 September 2013). Rhodes Forum 2013 of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations” in Rhodes, Greece. The International Progress Organization acted as co-ordinator of Plenary Session I ("Alternative Visions of the World - Geopolitics") (5 October 2013). 13th Anniversary Celebration of the Sri Ramanuja Mission Trust in Chennai, India (12-13 October 2013). The President of the I.P.O. delivered the Presidential Address at the Inaugural Session. Baku International Humanitarian Forum, Baku, Azerbaijan (1 November 2013). Special commemorative meeting organized by the Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (United Nations General Assembly) at the United Nations Office at Vienna (29 November 2013).   SPECIAL LECTURES BY THE PRESIDENT “The International Progress Organization and the Dialogue among Civilizations and Religions”: 10th Doha Interfaith Conference "Best Practices in Interfaith Dialogue," Doha, Qatar (24 April 2013). “Dialogue among Civilizations and Cultures: Philosophical Foundations and Implications for World Order”: 13th International Likhachov Scientific Conference, St. Petersburg University of Humanities and Social Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia (16 May 2013). “Global Citizenship and Intercultural Action”: 2nd World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, Baku, Azerbaijan (31 May 2013). “The International Progress Organization: Evolution of a Global Think Tank”: Faculty of Liberal Arts, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand (17 July 2013). “Ethical Problems of Multiculturalism”: Guest Lecture, "In preparation for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015," Faculty of Liberal Arts, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand (17 July 2013). “Islamophobia: Problems of a Legal Definition”: International Conference "Islamophobia: Law and Media," jointly organized by the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey / General Directorate of Press and Information (DGPI), and the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Istanbul, Turkey (13 September 2013). “Self-determination  in an Era of Geopolitical Transformation”: International Conference on "Democracy, Self-Determination and Liberation of Peoples," European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium (23 September 2013). “World Order - Vision and Reality”: Presidential Address, Inaugural Session, 13th Anniversary Celebrations, Sri Ramanuja Mission Trust, Chennai, India (12 October 2013). “Self-determination in the Age of Global Empire”: 3rd People's Forum of Peace for Life: "Affirming Life Together in the Face of Belligerent Empire," Jeju Island, South Korea (25 October 2013).   INFORMATION VISITS BY THE PRESIDENT From 19 to 22 July the President of the I.P.O. made a fact-finding visit to the Republic of Cambodia. He visited the Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh and inquired about the fate of Prof. Pan Sothi who, as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture of the Khmer Republic, had attended the first international conference of the I.P.O. on “The Cultural Self-comprehension of Nations” in Innsbruck, Austria. He disappeared after the takeover of Phnom Penh by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. From 27 to 30 September 2013 the President of the I.P.O. undertook a fact-finding visit to the Province of Van (Eastern Anatolia) in Turkey.   SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE PRESIDENT 9 February 2013: Prof. Bekir Karlığa, Coordinator (Turkey) for the UN Alliance of Civilizations, in Abant, Turkey. 1 March 2013: H.E. Beşir Atalay, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, in Vienna, Austria. 1 March 2013: Ambassador Tariq Ali Al-Ansar, Executive Director, United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, in Vienna, Austria. 2 April 2013: Mr. Majid Boutaleb, President, Fondation Abdelhadi Boutaleb, in Casablanca, Morocco. 18 June 2013: Prof. Tonin Gjuraj, Rector of the European University of Tirana, in Tirana, Albania. 6 August 2013: Prof. Emilian M. Dobrescu, Academy of Sciences of Romania, in the head office of the I.P.O. in Vienna. 30 August 2013: Prof. Živadin Jovanović, former Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia, in Zurich, Switzerland. 12 September 2013: H.E. Bülent Arinc, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, in Istanbul, Turkey. 13 September 2013: Mr. Cemal Uşak, Vice-Chairman, Journalists & Writers Union of Turkey, in Istanbul, Turkey. 20 September 2013: Prof. Nina Karpachova (University of Kiev), former Ombudsman of the Republic of Ukraine, in Innsbruck, Austria. 23 September 2013: Mr. Saleh M. Mohamed Muslim, Co-President, Democratic Union Party (PYD) (Syria), at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. 26 September 2013: Prof. Süheyl Batum, Member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Committee, in Ankara, Turkey. 12 October 2013: Sri Chaturvedi Swamy, President of the Sri Ramanuja Mission Trust, in Chennai, India. 31 October 2013: Dr. Javanshir Mammadov, Director of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in Baku, Azerbaijan. 20 November 2013: Mr. Zoughbi Zoughbi, Director, Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center - Bethlehem, at the head office of the I.P.O. in Vienna.   SELECTED MEDIA INTERVIEWS Anadolu Ajansı / Anatolia News Agency (Turkey): on Turkey's international role (8 February 2013) Daily newspaper Türkiye (Turkey): on Turkey and the European Union (8 February 2013) Online news portal Rota Haber (Turkey): on Turkey and the Arab uprising (9 February 2013) Daily newspaper Zaman (Turkey): on Turkey's foreign policy (9 February 2013) NHK WORLD (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), Global Debate WISDOM: on the Algerian hostage crisis (16 March 2013) TRT Türk (Television): on Islamophobia in Europe (Ankara, 12 April 2013) (live interview) Daily newspaper PALITRA, Azerbaijan (4 June 2013) ORF - Radio Tirol (Innsbruck, Austria): on developments in Turkey and Syria (12 June 2013) (live interview) A9 TV (Turkey): on intercultural dialogue and peace (12 September 2013) Al Ekhbariya Television (Saudi Arabia): on the situation in the Middle East (12 September 2013) Belarus Television (Minsk) / Interview Series "DIALOGUE" (3 October 2013) ZDF German Television and ARTE TV: on the Lockerbie case, 25 years after the explosion on Pan Am Flight 103 (18 October 2013) (exclusive interview) Daily newspaper ZAMAN: on the United Nations Security Council and the Syrian crisis (19 October 2013) "Building Bridges" talkshow of A9 TV (Turkey): on peaceful co-existence among nations and the role of Islam (19 October 2013) Magazine AKSİYON: on Security Council reform and Turkish policy in Syria (11 November 2013) DW Deutsche Welle / German Radio International: on the Lockerbie case - 25 years after the explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie (16 December 2013) The Independent on Sunday (London): on the 25th anniversary of the  Lockerbie bombing (21 December 2013)   CO-OPERATION WITH NGOs The International Progress Organization has continued co-operation with the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" (Moscow / Vienna) and agreed to co-operate with Sri Ramanuja Mission Trust, Chennai, India, and the Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center (WI’AM) in Bethlehem.   INTERNSHIP Mr. Justin Ooms (Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, USA) served as intern at the head office of the I.P.O. in Vienna.   ***