I.P.O. ANNUAL REPORT 2015

Vienna, 4 January 2016

P/RE/25920c

NEW PUBLICATION

  • Force or Dialogue: Conflicting Paradigms of World Order. Collected Papers Edited by David Armstrong. Studies in International Relations, Vol. XXXIII. New Delhi: Manak Publications, 2015. xii+414 pp., ISBN 978-93-7831-396-7. The book was presented at a special event at the National Assembly of Austria in Vienna (7 July 2015) and at the Annual Rhodes Forum "The World beyond Global Disorder" in Greece (10 October 2015).

  • The I.P.O. issued a number on research papers on issues of international relations and civilizational dialogue.

WORLD ORDER AND THE POLITICS OF REGIME CHANGE

In the framework of the annual Rhodes meeting of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations," the International Progress Organization (I.P.O.) organized a special plenary session on "The New Threat: Hybrid Wars as a Tool of Subversion" (10 October 2015). Among the keynote speakers at the session were Dr. Türkkaya Ataöv, former Director, Dept. of International Relations, University of Ankara (Turkey); Col. Anton Dengg, National Defence Academy, Vienna (Austria); Dr. John Laughland, Director, Institute of Democracy and Cooperation (UK); Dr. Ilias Iliopoulos, Hellenic National Defence College, Athens (Greece); Mr. Christopher Black, Barrister, former Defence Council at the Rwanda War Crimes Tribunal, Toronto (Canada); and Mr. Nasser Saghafi-Ameri, senior diplomat, Middle East Institute, Tehran (Iran).

WAR IN YEMEN

On 5 April 2015 the International Progress Organization sent an urgent message to the United Nations Security Council concerning the war in Yemen and the blockade of emergency relief supplies.

On 17 April 2015 the President of International Progress Organization addressed an expert meeting at Peoples' Friendship University of Russia in Moscow on the Security Council resolution on the war in Yemen.

 

 

I.P.O. supports Afghan Peace Volunteers' call to abolish war as a means of foreign policy

On 19 August 2015 the International Progress Organization endorsed a global peace initiative launched by Afghan Peace Volunteers. The President of the I.P.O., Professor Hans Köchler, serves as coordinator of the initiative for Austria. Among the signatories of the declaration are Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire (Northern Ireland) and Professor Noam Chomsky (USA).

Democracy and its Practice

At the annual conference of Forum 2000 in Prague, Czech Republic, the International Progress Organization highlighted the confusion and double standards concerning principles and practice of democracy worldwide, recalling the philosophical legacy of Václav Havel and his contribution to the idea of participatory democracy. The I.P.O. book "Force or Dialogue: Conflicting Paradigms of World Order" was included in the book exhibition organized on the occasion of the conference.

EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTE

The International Progress Organization took part in a special ceremony at the Representation of the European Commission in Vienna dedicated to the presentation of a commemorative volume on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the European Ombudsman Institute.

DIALOGUE AMONG CIVILIZATIONS

On 9 January 2015, the International Progress Organization issued a statement on terror attacks in France and the future of multiculturalism in Europe.

On 21 June 2015 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a keynote address on "Dialogue or Coexistence?" at the Philosophy Salon at Schloss Wartin, Brandenburg, Germany.

On 7 November 2015 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a keynote address on "Culture and Empire" at the Philosophy Salon in London, UK.

From 12 to 13 December 2015 the President of the I.P.O. attended the Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin, Germany. He delivered a keynote speech on "Culture and World Order," acted as Moderator of panel discussions on "Promoting a Culture of Peace: The Political, Educational, Legal and Cultural Dimensions" and "Building Bridges of Peace and Reconciliation in Times of Greater Global Insecurity," took part in the session of the International Advisory Board of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD) and made a statement in the panel discussion on "Terrorism and the Culture of Democracy."

The Swiss magazine Current Concerns (Zurich) published an article of the President of the I.P.O. on "The Importance of Dialogue between Civilizations for International Relations" (No. 32/2015).

The President of the I.P.O. was nominated as Member of the Council for Cultural Diplomacy Studies, Center for Cultural Diplomacy Studies (CCDS), Berlin, Germany.

 

 

VIENNA CENTER FOR GLOBAL DIALOGUE

Within the framework of its activities, since 1972, in the promotion of a global dialogue between cultures and civilizations, the International Progress Organization, in March 2015, launched the "Vienna Center for Global Dialogue" as a think tank, consisting of the organization's experts, with the task of addressing the major challenges to dialogue in today's geopolitical environment. Prof. Hans Köchler acts as Moderator of the Center that is located at the head office of the I.P.O.

 

 

CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

  • On 7 March 2015 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a special lecture for the Readers' Circle of the magazine "Current Affairs," Zurich, Switzerland, on "The Islamic State in the Context of International Power Politics."

  • On 7 July 2015 the President of the I.P.O. met with a visiting parliamentary delegation of the Arab Republic of Egypt at the Austrian Parliament in Vienna.

  • On 8 July 2015 the International Progress Organization sent special messages to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights concerning the humanitarian situation in Egypt.

  • On 24 November 2015 the President of the International Progress Organization, speaking on behalf of civil society, addressed a Special Meeting under the auspices of the General Assembly of the United Nations at the UN Office at Vienna on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

 

WAR IN UKRAINE

On 12 February 2015, the International Progress Organization issued a declaration on Ukraine peace talks in Minsk, calling for a peaceful resolution on the basis of (a) recognition of the right to self-rule, (b) federalism, and (c) an international status of neutrality of the Republic of Ukraine.

 

MASS MIGRATION AND STATE FAILURE

On 21 September 2015 the International Progress Organization issued a statement entitled "Mass Migration and State Failure: Europe and the Geopolitics of Interventionism," dealing with the causes and consequences of uncontrolled mass migration into the territory of the European Union.

On 1 October 2015 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a public lecture in Vienna, Austria, on "Mass Migration and State Failure: Destabilization in the Name of the 'New World Order'."

SPECIAL LECTURES BY THE PRESIDENT

  • "National Interest between Regionalization and Globalization: EU and Eurasian Economic Union as Cornerstones of a Multipolar World": St. Andrew The First-Called Foundation and Geneva Press Club, Geneva, Switzerland, 6 March 2015.

  • "War and Geopolitics in the Arabian Peninsula": Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Moscow, Russia, 17 April 2015.

  • "World Order and National Interest": Keynote Speech, 15th International Scientific Likhachev Conference, St. Petersburg, Russia, 14 May 2015.

  • "Idea and Politics of Communication in the Global Age": 10th Global Communication Association Conference, co-sponsored by UNESCO, Humboldt School of Digital Management (Berlin) and Stuttgart Media University, Berlin, Germany, 18 July 2015.

  • "Culture and World Order": Keynote Speech, Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy 2015, Berlin, Germany, 13 December 2015.

 

INFORMATION VISITS BY THE PRESIDENT

From 6 to 10 May 2015 the President of the I.P.O. made a fact-finding visit to the Central Anatolian region of Turkey.

From 25 to 29 December 2015 the President of the I.P.O. made a fact-finding visit to the Republic of Myanmar.
 

SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE PRESIDENT

  • 6 July 2015: Mr. Varadan Chandar, member of the Board of Trustees of Sri Ramanuja Mission (India) at the head office of the I.P.O. in Vienna.

  • 7 July 2015: Mr. Norbert Hofer, Third President of the National Assembly of Austria.

  • 12 September 2015: Prof. Fred Dallmayr (University of Notre Dame, USA), Co-President of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations," at the head office of the I.P.O. in Vienna.

  • 21 November 2015: Prof. Yuryi Boshytskyi, Rector of Kyiv University of Law (Kiev, Ukraine) at the head office of the I.P.O. in Vienna.

  • 21 November 2015: Prof. Nina Karpachova, former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, Vice-President of European Ombudsman Institute (EOI) at the head office of the I.P.O. in Vienna, Austria.

  • 12 December 2015: Mr. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, former Prime Minister of Spain, in Berlin, Germany.

SELECTED MEDIA INTERVIEWS

  • Russia Direct / Rossiyskaya Gazeta (6 March 2015) on globalization and world order.

  • RIA Novosti news agency (Moscow) (26 March 2015) on foreign military intervention in Yemen

  •  A2 (Czech bi-weekly magazine, Prague) (22 May 2015) on history and relevance of the Non-aligned Movement

  • Belarus Television, Channel 1 (Minsk) (11 October 2015), exclusive interview for the series "DIALOGUE"

CO-OPERATION WITH NGOs

The International Progress Organization has continued co-operation with the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" (Moscow / Vienna), the Nomura Center for Lifelong Integrated Education (Japan), the World Alliance of Religions for Peace (Republic of Korea), the European Ombudsman Institute (EOI), the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD) (Berlin), and Afghan Peace Volunteers (Afghanistan).

PRESIDENT OF I.P.O. AWARDED HONORARY MEMBERSHIP OF ATATÜRK SOCIETY

In December 2015, the Atatürkist Thought Association /Atatürkçü Düşünce Derneği (ADD) of Turkey elected Prof. Hans Köchler as Honorary Member.

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