ACUNS 2012 Conference Report

The conference was a major success, with more than 300 interested parties from the region, the Balkans, Europe, Africa, and North America registering and participating. General information about the conference.

On this site, you will find all reports provided by our young rapporteurs - Thanks to all of you for your excellent work. These in-depth reports are not only  helpful for all those who wish to know what was discussed, and to what end. They also serve as food for thought for our follow-up discussion with panelists and rapporteurs that has been launched in the UNSAnet's discussion forum.

Register now and join the debate!

January 11, 2012

Energy Access for All

• Alicia Prager
• Andreas Buranich

Global Zero: Reality or Fiction?

• Simon Tauer

Nuclear Security and Global Governance

• Charlotte D'Elloy
• Maria Stix

Green Economy and Development

• Dora Lovas
• Theresa Neumeister
• Karim Hamad

Lecture by Dr. Abiodun Williams at the Diplomatic Academy

• Dora Lovas
• Bertha Nyarire Makilagi
• Andreas Buranich
• Karim Hamad

January 12, 2012

Effective Measures to Fight Corruption

• Johanna Damboeck
• Karim Hamad
• Bertha Nyarire Makilagi

Teaching Materials and E-Learning Platforms I + II

• Maria Stix
• Andreas Buranich and Maria Stix

International Networks

• Corina-Ioana Traistaru and Laetitia Sengseis
• Theresa Neumeister
• Lukas Putz

January 13, 2012

Young Scholars Conference

• Charlotte D'Elloy (Opening Speech Toth)
• Bertha Nyarire Makilagi (Nuclear Security and GG)
• Corina-Ioana Traistaru (Corruption and Justice)
• Megi Plaku

Young Scholars Conference - ACUNS Award - UN Career Opportunities

• Corina-Ioana Traistaru
• Andreas Buranich

UN Regional Academy

• Billy Batware

Conference Flyer

Conference Information

Guidelines for Participants

Location

UN Officie at Vienna,

Vienna International Centre (VIC)
Wagramer Strasse 5
1400 Vienna
Austria

Conference Rooms: Multimedia Room G0545, and Briefing Room G0542. Both are located in Tower G, 5th floor.

How to Reach the UN Vienna International Centre (VIC)?

Take the underground line U1 in the direction of Leopoldau until you reach Kaisermühlen/Vienna International Centre and then follow the signs to Gate 1 of the VIC, the main entrance. The VIC is also easy to reach by car via the A22 motorway or from the city centre via the Reichsbrücke. Buses may park in the side street off Wagramer Strasse and in the car park beside Gate 2. The VIC is accessible to people with disabilities.

For more Information on the VIC click here.

Registration at the VIC

Participants will have to register at the entrance of the VIC (on each conference day, February 28, and March 1). Please make sure to arrive timely since you will have to pass a security check and the registration procedure does require some time.

After having registered please ask the UNIS desk or the information desk at the entrance area, how to find the conference rooms (Multimedia Room G0545, Tower G, 5th floor).

Registration Location and Time: 9:00a.m. - 10.00a.m, Gate 1, VIC

Required documents: valid ID or passport (with photo)

Please note that once you have left the VIC building with your day-pass you cannot re-enter.

Participation Fees and Catering

The conference participation is free. However, all meals will be at own expense. Lunch and coffee will be taken at the VIC cafeteria.

Conference Purpose and Format

The conference is inspired by the idea to advance UN research and teaching and to do this by bringing together academics and practitioners. In order to trigger active engagement and joint thinking, an innovative conference format is employed that seeks to involve both practitioners and academics into discussion:

First, two sessions of colloquia are scheduled, where practitioners are invited to share all kinds of knowledge products which are generated at the UN and probably are not known in public  such as first-hand reports, studies, publications and other material with the audience. In each session, two colloquia will run in parallel.

These sessions will provide a basis for the following open discussion rounds. In these rounds, researchers, teachers and practitioners are called upon to share their own views, experiences and visions. Discussants are called to prepare for brief introductory statements or presentations that will serve as food for thought for further brainstorming regarding the following aspects of teaching the UN: How to communicate UN concepts and issues to the next generation? How to improve relations between academia and UN organizations? How can practitioners' knowledge be brought into the classroom? How to establish a sustainable network of engaged teachers and  practitioners? How fo foster exchange between these parties?

   Please note that we will close the speakers' list after the first ten incoming applications for  presentations.

How to Participate

With respect to the colloquia-sessions, participants will be able to discuss with panelists. As to the joint discussion sessions, participants are invited to hold short presentations from 5-10 minutes. If you are interested in holding such a "lightening talk", please send us an email with your name, the discussion session, and the topic you would like to speak about.

Conference Program

Conference Program

Conference on Connecting Academics and UN Practitioners

 *  During the registration a preparatory meeting for the planned India Colloquium "Justice and Security Sector Reform: Mastering Intercultural Training Skills in the Information Age" is scheduled. All interested parties are welcome to join the meeting. Time & location: 9:15 a.m., Briefing Room G0542.

Conference Summaries and Presentations

Conference on Connecting Academics and Practitioners

Summaries and Presentations

--> general conference information

You can choose between various formats of conference documentation:

For a detailed conference summary, please click here.

For video recorded panel presentations, please cklick here.

If you are interested in the panel discussions, please find brief summaries and panel presentations below. Other than that ACUNS will offer printed conference proceedings that will be published by the Diplomatic Academy Vienna.

Welcome Remarks

• Sonja Wintersberger (Officer-in-Charge UNIS-Vienna)
• Christer Jönsson (Chair of the Board of Directors of ACUNS)
• Tibor Toth (Executive Secretary, CTBTO Preparatory Commission)
• Hans Winkler (Director, Diplomatic Academy Vienna)
• Maher Nasser (Director, Outreach Division, UNDPI)

Ms Wintersberger opened the conference with a presentation about the activities of UNIS.

Mr Jönsson presented the major problem this conference deals with, through a quote by Yogi Berra: „In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." Academics and practitioners want intensified interaction, he said, but realization is very difficult. Therefore, it would be necessary to provide a platform. Besides this conference, the Journal of Global Governance issued by ACUNS would act as one.

Mr Toth introduced the work of the CTBTO and argued that it gives clear evidence that multilateralism works. The test ban treaty shows that cooperation can really work.

Mr Winkler emphasized the demand for studying international relations: „We need to educate and prepare young people for a complex world". 80% of the students of the Diplomatic Academy work as interns in the UN. The academy itself acts as a hub for theory and practice.

Mr Nasser described the work of the UN Academic Impact Initiative that has been launched recently. He also talked about the Global Creative Forum, a platform for exchange with the entertainment industry. Good Will Ambassadors that are popular among the youth can have a tremendous impact in terms of raising awareness.

Presentation Mr Nasser

Mr Nasser described the work of the UN Academic Impact Initiative that has been launched recently. He also talked about the Global Creative Forum, a platform for exchange with the entertainment industry. Good Will Ambassadors that are popular among the youth can have a tremendous impact in terms of raising awareness.

Mr Nanan represented the corporate world as an experienced manager of a multinational company in India. He presented the absent Mr. B.K. Modi, his Global University project and the Spice Foundation. Their aim is to educate peace leaders through a holistic educational approach.

Rapporteur: Matthias Pázmándy

Colloquium I: The Rule of Law and Justice

Moderator: Gorazd Mesko (University of Maribor, Slovenia)

Discussants:

• Sandeep Chawla (UNODC)
• Gorazd Mesko (University of Maribor)
• Ian Munro (UNODC)
• Cecilia Ruthström-Ruin (UNODC)
• Mark Shaw (UNODC)

Mr Mesko opened the panel pointing out to the internationalization of knowledge. The slogan "Publish in English or perish" summarizes this recent development, besides that one has to keep in mind different academic traditions, methods and approaches. At the same time he emphasized the internationalization of learning and teaching. Today's academics have to be real supermen or superwomen regarding the huge expectations they are facing. Even more new challenges have come up due to the implementation of the Bologna process. "Giving recipes for societal problems already yesterday" - that is the typical demand towards researchers.

Mr Chawla said that he has been skating on thin ice between being academic and a bureaucrat throughout his whole career. He summarized his work as being an honest broker of data using academic and his agency's own resources. Most of this is based on governmental data, and any conclusions can be vetoed by the member states. "The minute you publish you step out of the intergovernmental communication." It is very problematic to put results up to public scrutiny - this process is more powerful but at the same time more dangerous.

Mr Munro presented the new training approach of the UNODC. It focuses on computer-based training: 70 e-learning centres were established, providing a standardized syllabus in 36 languages. The major advantage is the elimination of the middleman, which used to be the interpreter. The system delivers the content directly without any filter to the students. The courses are localized and the imagery will relate to the region. Furthermore, students can learn at their own pace and more experienced staff doesn't get discouraged by the presence of their younger colleagues to ask questions.

Ms Ruthström-Ruin explained the work of the terrorism prevention branch of the UNODC. Their mandate mainly consists of legal assistance with the focus on prosecutors and judges. The research is very limited. She outlined the advantages of their own tailor-made e-learning program: cost effectiveness, worldwide audience, flexibility, continuous interaction and new networks.

Presentation Ms Ruthström-Ruin

Mr Shaw analysed today's situation by saying that the UN System is changing rapidly. It is "not good enough to simply deliver a scattered set of programs - a strategic approach is necessary." As one of the key challenges he saw the need that academia has to assess the success of UN programs; for instance, through threat assessments. The link between academic communities and programmatic work has to be fostered.

In the following discussion the question of mobile delivery was raised. Future developments depend on financial resources. Internships (also in field offices) are offered by the UNODC, however, no fellowships exist.

Rapporteurs: Sara Khalil, Amira Hetaba, Matthias Pazmandy

Colloquium II: Natural Resources and Security: Precautionary Dimensions

Moderator: Matthias Jurek (UNEP)

Discussants:

• Matthias Jurek (UNEP)
• Karin Kneissl (Webster University)
• Andjelka Mihajlov (Environmental Ambassadors, Former Minister of the Environment of Serbia)
• Pasi Rinne (Gaia)
• Claude Kalume wa Mukadi Dah Vignon (Prince of Abomey; Bell Amani)

Following a brief introduction by Mr Jurek, Mr Mukadi Dah Vignon gave an overview of the main resources in Africa and that they are both a blessing and a curse. After mentioning renewable (water) and non-renewable (oil and diamonds) resources, he went on to the role of the humans, which should not be forgotten in this context, as they suffer from the many conflicts arising out of the exploitation of resources. His project "Bell-Amani", which means bell of peace, tries to give people hope for peace.

Mr Jurek introduced ENVSEC, an environment and security initiative with a regional approach (Central Asia, South Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus and Eastern Europe). They identify and secure environmental hotspots and initiate national and regional consultation and programmes together with experts, governments, various institutions and the public. One of the problems they deal with are mines in the Western Balkans, which pose a serious threat to the environment if not properly closed.

Presentation Mr Jurek

Ms Kneissl emphasized the topic of the difficulties of multilateral cooperation especially concerning energy. As a lawyer she elaborated on the difference of property and possession; regarding oil and gas the latter is usually of greater importance as the physical access is decisive for gaining power over the resource in question. To summarize the political and economic situation, she quoted a former Saudi oil minister: "Oil alliances are stronger than catholic marriages!"

Mr Rinne explained the importance of increasing world wide knowledge about natural disasters and reducing the number of casualties especially in developing countries. As a possible solution to keep ecosystems intact he mentioned the extraordinary role of forests and grasslands to help to prevent soil erosion and that coastal vegetation, coral reefs and sand dunes can offer protection against sea-borne hazards. He gave various examples for hotspots like the Arctic, which attracts more and more economic interest due to its vast gas an oil resources.

Presentation Mr Rinne

Ms Mihajlov concentrated on the situation on the Balkan and the need for regional agreements and cooperation. She mentioned the post conflict clean-up from 1999 to 2002 and the environmental security initiative. The current situation in Serbia for academics is rather difficult, because of the very limited financial resources and the ongoing change of the education system. Cooperation, research and development and "transformative education" are needed to connect academics and UN practitioners.

Presentation Ms Mihajlov

Rapporteurs: Amira Hetaba and Sara Khalil

Colloquium III: Disarmament/Non-proliferation Education 

Moderator: Heinz Gaertner (Austrian Institute for International Affairs, Vienna University)

Discussants:

• Markus Kornprobst (Diplomatic Academy Vienna)
• Alexander Kmentt (CTBTO Preparatory Commission)
• Jean du Preez (CTBTO Preparatory Commission)
• Elena K. Sokova (Monterey Institute of International Studies, VCDNP)

Mr Kmentt explained that the CTBTO intends to achieve an universal ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The special characteristics of the Treaty is the verification system, consisting of the an international monitoring system, the data centre and on site inspections. He describes the CTBT as a "strong lifesign of multilateralism" and sees it as a bridge between science and technology. He appealed to the experts in this field to combine theory and practical knowledge and to raise awareness amongst the general public.

Presentation Mr Kmentt

Mr Du Preez calls the time until 2008/09 "the dark ages" of non-proliferation and disarmament. Since he sees the CTBT as a "most effective measure to promote peace and security", underlines the importance of education in this field. To attain this, he suggest using multimedia and social networking in addition to internships, fellowships and simulation exercises, combined with a multidisciplinary curriculum. "The world's peace and security is in the hands of the next generation."

Mr Kornprobst talked about a paradigm shift in education and identified three key claims. The first is, that today we live in a complex world difficult to understand, with a familiar past and an unfamiliar future. This results further in a two-fold demand: divided in "zooming out", which means acquiring a comprehensive overview combined with considering a problem from different angles, and "zooming in", implicating detailed and special knowledge. The third claim is that the current education landscape is not able to provide for these mentioned challenges.

Ms Sokova presented the James Martin Centre for Non-proliferation Studies (CNS) and mentioned inter alia a new master programme in Weapons of Mass Destruction, Non-proliferation and Terrorism Studies. She underlined that students at CNS are taught "how to think, and not what to think." She also introduced the new Vienna Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, which is to be a platform for connecting academics, students and professionals from this field and which she will be the head of.

Ms Braunegger-Gülich unfortunately could not attend the conference. Please view her presentation that was intended to be held:

Presentation Ms Braunegger-Guelich

Rapporteurs: Angelika Aumann & Simone Schaller

Colloquium IV: Outer Space

Moderator: Walter Lichem (Visiting Professor, former Austrian Ambassador)

Discussants:

• Sergei Chernikov (OOSA)
• Irmgard Marboe (University of Vienna)

This discussion round was devoted to "Outer space affairs" with its different dimensions. Sergei Chernikov , Officer of UNOOSA, presented the history, mission, structure, work and achievements of United Nations Office for Outer space affairs, whereas Prof. Irgmard Marboe highlighted political and especially juristic dimensions of outer space activities.

Presentation Ms Marboe

The involvement and activities of UN concerning outer space began with resolution (1348) of the General Assembly in 1958. This resolution defines that the space activities are considered to be only for peaceful purposes and only for the benefit of mankind. Committee on the peaceful uses of outer space (COPUOS) was established through the same resolution which is supposed to serve as a platform for multilateral cooperation to assure compliance of outer space activities of member states with the definition of UN resolution. The following Resolution (1472), which was ratified in 1959, reaffirmed the role of COPUOS and focused on several legal problems, which may arise from the exploration of outer space. COPUOS comprises 70 member states and 28 intergovernmental and non-governmental Organisations with observer status. In 1961, two different subcommittees are established in order to handle special issues more effectively: Scientific and Technical Subcommittee (STSC) and Legal Subcommittee (LSC). Ratification of five UN Treaties (Outer Space Treaty-1967,  Rescue Agreement-1968, Liability Convention-1972, Registration Convention-1975, Moon Agreement-1979) and five declarations (Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Uses of Outer Space (1963), Principles Governing the Use by States of Artificial Earth Satellites for International Direct Television Broadcasting (1982), Principles Relating to Remote Sensing of the Earth from Outer Space (1986),  Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space (1992),  Declaration on International Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for the Benefit and in the Interest of All States, Taking into Particular Account the Needs of Developing Countries (1996) are among the most important achievements of COPUOS. The committee including subcommittees and 6 working groups are working recently on issues like the connection between space and climate change, space debris, capacity building in space law and national space legislation. As a result of this work a 'space debris mitigation guideline' is prepared and published, which is at the moment not legally binding as a part of international law. 

Presentation Mr Chernikov

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSE) was founded at first as an ad hoc  group of experts during the meeting of COPUOS and then evolved in to a unit within the department of Political and Security Council Affairs in 1962. In 1992 it was transformed into the Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), which has been relocated the following year from New York to the UN Office in Vienna. It also has Offices in Bonn and Beijing. The office supports the intergovernmental cooperation, promotes the application of space law, implements the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, coordinates space-related activities within the United Nations System and tries to increase the public awareness on the socio-benefits of space.

Political, technical and legal aspects of the exploration and the use of outer space have been defined and regulated by UN Charter, Outer Space Treaty, UN Space Treaties and several UN Resolutions. According to the UN Resolution 1721-B of 20 December 1961 and to "Registration Convention" of 1975 all objects launched into outer space have to be registered by the United Nations. Since 1957, 6200' functional' space objects (satellites, manned spacecraft.) have been launched by 40 states, 93% of which have been registered by the UN. In 2008, a working group was established in order to work on national space legislation. During sessions of this group, representatives of member states present their reports on their national legislation about space issues. In 2011, the working group has accomplished a summary of all the challenges concerning regulations on governmental and non-governmental space activities, and reported it to legal subcommittee. The most important topics discussed in that report were the conditions to fulfill before registration, the borders of national competences and measures, which should be taken in order make the law binding for all parties.

Discussion Round I: How to communicate UN concepts and issues to the next generation?

Moderator: Gregory Weeks (Webster University)

Discussants:

• Michael Platzer (ACUNS)
• Roland Schmidt (Boltzmann Institute)
• Mihaly Simai (UNA Hungary)
• Radim Srsen (University of Economics, Prague)
• Dana Vyzinkarova (Youth Delegate to the UN, Slovakia)
• Gregor Waldhauser (UNA Austria)

Mr Platzer commenced the discussion round by stating that fewer and fewer courses about the UN are taught at university, therefore it is a difficult task to communicate UN concepts.

Mr Schmidt, whose focus is on Human Rights, gave examples how to reach the students: By organizing film festivals like in Prague and Vienna, where various documentaries are presented to a public audience. Furthermore he mentioned the seminar at the Vienna faculty of Law, where students visit movie screenings and panel discussions with experts. At the end of the interdisciplinary course they write a paper.

Presentation Mr Schmidt

Mr Simai was one of the first university professors to teach about the UN nearly 60 years ago. He pointed out that the issues, which the UN deals with, changed within the decades. Each generation had to face different problems. Moreover he emphasized the importance of the communicator, which is the Secretary General. The way the information is distributed has been subject to change: in the beginning radio and printed press were used, nowadays the Internet is the main source.

Mr Srsen presented a project, he initiated in the Czech Republic. It consists of the UN Academy for students, which offers courses in different cities covering UN issues. They host a Young Scholars Conference, where Ph.D. students from all over the world meet. The results of this programme are presented at international conferences.

Presentation Mr Srsen

Ms Vyzinkarova is currently the Youth Delegate to the UN for Slovakia. She described her work during the past year and explained the advantages of this programme: It brings the young people to the UN and at the same time the UN to the young people. Her job requires her to travel through her country and to introduce the UN concepts to the youths. She does this by using her blog and Facebook as a tool of communication.

Presentation Ms Vyzinkarova

Mr Waldhauser presented various projects by UNA Austria: the Model UN, the Historic Model UN, study trips and UN goes to schools. The latter faces difficulties like the lack of interest and reluctance to any political affiliation on the schools' side. He disagreed with Ms Vyzinkarova on the topic of Facebook as a useful tool for participation. In his opinion it is too informal to use it for organizing events.

The following discussion concentrated on the use of new media like Facebook and other social networks for communication concerning UN topics.

Rapporteurs: Sara Khalil, Amira Hetaba

Discussion Round II: How to improve relations between academia and UN organizations? How can practitioners' knowledge be brought into the classroom?

Moderator: Otmar Hoell (Austrian Institute of International Affairs)

Discussants:

• Alistair Edgar (ACUNS, Executive Director)
• Julia Harfensteller (UNSA)
• Alexander Milanov (University of Vienna)
• Joachim Müller (WMO)
• Elena Sokova (Monterey Institute of International Studies)
• Istvan Szilard (University of Pecs)

Mr Edgar presented several education activities where ACUNS experts provide know-how: Online e-learning platforms (for instance in cooperation with the CTBTO), the Global Environmental Governance Program or the Higher Education Group for the UN, a program that reaches out to underserved schools in the US. Other projects are a podcast service on the ACUNS-website and a two weeks summer workshop for practitioners and academics.

Ms Harfensteller highlighted that academics have an explicit, analytical knowledge of the UN system, whereas practitioners have a more implicit knowledge that they gain from their daily environment at work. These are two different worlds - but they are not strictly partial. Practitioners have to find a language in order to transcript their experience. The question is, how to create an appropriate environment for practitioners where they can convey their knowledge.

Click here to view Ms Harfensteller's  presentation

Mr Höll pointed towards his organisation OIIP, an Austrian think tank for international affairs, as an apt organisation for providing this platform for interaction between academics and practitioners.

Mr Milanov came up with a completely different topic."Very sensitive for experts, very ridiculous for outsiders", as he said. In the context of outer space law he wanted to draw the attention towards extraterrestrial life and an alleged UFO-landing in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1984. He claimed that the incident is covered by the military and disregarded by the academic world.

Mr Mueller referred to the thin ice on which Mr. Chawla said he was skating. How to combine the academic and the practical world? Practical experience is used very unsystematically, up to him. Global networks of scientists, like in the CTBTO system, can be one way of using academic knowledge in the UN system. Another example is the IPPC conference that writes the climate assessment reports compiling the expertise of more than 2000 scientists in their work. Such models brake down the separation between academia and practitioners. Another approach would be to entrust academics with work formerly done by UN agencies. That has been done with the application of the Millennium Development Goals by a group of researchers at Columbia University under the guidance of Jeffrey Sachs. Finally he pointed to underresearched areas like the inter-agency-communication.

Ms Sokova reminded the participants that the focus of the conference shifted towards awareness raising. But exchange with academics should not be forgotten. Many ways of communicating UN concepts to students have been discussed but the question remains how to bring practitioners into the UN? She sees only limited acces when scientists want to attend UN meetings for research, although the content of those meetings is very seldomly confidential. Antoher topic are resources. Academics are often not well paid and the question how to bring them to UN meetings around the world is crucial.

Mr. Szilard gave a long oversight about his field of study, migration and health. The problems in this field are so intertwined that he called for multidisciplined experts.

Rapporteur: Matthias Pázmándy

Discussion Round III: How to establish a sustainable network of engaged teachers and practitioners? How to foster exchange between these parties?

Moderator: Miroslav Polzer (ASO Lubljana)

Discussants:

• Kirsten Haack (Northumbria University)
• Zuzana Lehmannova (University of Economics, Prague)
• Andraz Melansek (UNIS-Vienna)

Ms Haack is editor- in-chief of the new internet-based "Journal of International Organization Studies" (JIOS). The topics that are dealt with are how to conceptualize International Organizations in general, explanations of their structure and organization, and furthermore the demonstration of the hidden parts connected with the understanding of an IO. The journal includes a review section, not only for books but also discussing workshops and panels recently held. The next edition is expected to be published in April.

Ms Lehmannova talked about her experience at the University of Economics in Prague in creating networks of academics and practitioners. Firstly, they involve practitioners in their courses on foreign policy. She underlined, that this is a good experience for teachers, too. There are also seminars on UN-topics in cooperation with UN Prague and several embassies, which are open for public. The university runs a seven years project on global governance and each semester students and practitioners meet to discuss the scientific goals. These workshops, Ms Lehmannova explained, had been very instructive for both sides. Furthermore the university organizes conferences, for example the Pan European Conference, where practitioners are invited as discussants and chairs. 

Mr Melansek from UNIS Vienna pointed out that his organisation represents the UN as a whole and is therefore an ideal partner for people interested in the United Nations and other international organisations. UNIS provides information, working materials, speakers and contacts that can be very useful to establish a network of teachers and practitioners. He especially pointed out UNIS Vienna's cooperation with schools that participate in guided thematic tours through the UN and that contribute to human rights education. To strengthen the sustainability, Mr. Melansek encouraged the auditorium to create networks and stay connected.

The discussion:

In the subsequent discussion with the auditorium, practitioners and teachers shared their experience with platforms and networks. One approach was that networks need to be issue- based in order to be sustainable. A professor from Nepal brought up the question of financing and concluded that without ensured financial means sustainability is not likely to be achieved. Responding to the criticism that conferences like this one are more about talking than about tackling issues, Ms Haack appealed to everyone to think about their personal ability to contribution and - seizing the spirit of the conference - Mr Platzer concluded: "A lot of wonderful friendships have been made in these past two days"; a certain and essential outcome of this conference.

Rapporteurs: Angelika Aumann & Simone Schaller

Diversity Workshops Vienna June 2010

Workshops on “Diversity and Global Understanding”

May 31 - June 2, 2010 at the  UNO-City Vienna

Summary

This series of workshops aimed to bring together researchers and practitioners from different fields and disciplines with an interest in the issues and challenges of diversity in global working environments such as the UN. The overall objective was to deepen the international debate on questions pertaining to cultural diversity, ranging from diversity management and terminology to global education and the use of new communication tools.

For detailed information on the speakers and their presentations read the reports and  see their full presentations and papers at http://www.workshops-on-diversity.org/content/reports-about-sessions.

Project partners

This project has been set up to become a joint undertaking of TermNet, UNSA, Centre for Translation Studies of the University of Vienna and the Institute of Educational Science at Heidelberg University. 

It has been specifically designed to engage the diverse members of all organizations and facilitate an open and cross-disciplinary dialogue on an issue of mutual concern.

Official Website including registration

Go to http://www.workshops-on-diversity.org

Or follow this link to directly register for the event.

Preliminary Program as of May 2, 2010

Download the program here.

The Conference included a series of workshops. By "workshops" we understand a format emphasizing interaction and exchange of information among participants, based on papers and other ideas.

The topic of our workshop series is cultural diversity, multilingualism and global understanding.

The program starts with a registration and first networking afternoon (31 May 2010).

On the first day workshops covered basic ground asking questions such as: How to achieve effective diversity management and cross-culture communication, e.g. in UN peace operations? What is the role of language and terminology for a better communication in the UN system, and UN peace operations in particular?

The second day was dedicated to cross-cultural dialogue and the practical side. We started by taking the broader global education perspective, before we focused on new ways of communication. The opportunities offered by new social media were presented and trained.

Participants have been invited to submit a paper or to deliver an oral presentation on an aspect of their interest.  Several UNSA members will contribute and make presentations. Click here for the preliminary program including keynote speakers and contributors.

Program

Download the full version of the Program in pdf format here. Monday, 31 May 2010
4pm - 6pm	Registration
6pm - 8pm	Reception by the go4diversity project
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
9am -  9.45 am	Keynote speech
	Gerhard Budin, UNESCO Chair for "Multilingual, Transcultural Communication in the Digital Age", University of Vienna
10am - 12.30pm	WORKSHOP I:
	Diversity and Diversity Management (Moderator: Gabriele Sauberer) Gabriele Sauberer: "Diversity, social responsibility and diversity management in the context of peace" Esra Killaf (MA 17): „Integration and Diversity in Health and Social Issues" René Hudribusch (Ministry of Defense and Sport): „The effects of masculine & power cultures on worksplace bullying in the Austrian Armed Forces (+ UN Res. 1325)" Lakshmi Kumar (The Orchid School): „Connecting worlds: raising intercultural insights for global-centric leaderships"
12.30pm - 1.30pm	Lunch Break
1.30pm - 3pm	WORKSHOP II:
	Go4Diversity: Global Education, Migration and Science Aliyou Mana Hamadou:  "The Go4Diversity Project" Norbert Pauser: "Diversity and Inclusion in Education" Neda Forghani-Arani: "Global Citizenship Education: contents, aims and methods"
3pm - 3.30pm	Coffee Break
3.30pm - 5.45pm	WORKSHOP III: The Role of Terminology in UN Communication and Policy (Moderators: Anja Drame, Julia Harfensteller) Anja Drame: Introduction - terminology policies and communication Klaus Mak (LVAG, Austria): „ProTerm" and process-oriented knowledge management Jürgen Kotzian: "Terminology Management at the Austrian Armed Forces Language Institute" Mekki Elbadri (UNOV, translator for Arabic) „Translators and terminologists at the UN Vienna" Julia Harfensteller: "Role and Potential of Concepts in UN Peace Policy"
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
9am - 9.30am	Keynote speech Yvonne Gimpel (Austrian Focal Point „UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions"): UNESCO´s perspective on Cultural Diversity
9.30am - 12.30pm	WORKSHOP IV: Global Education and Intercultural Communication Reinhard Mitschke: Workshop - the COMSIC project (Collaboration Competencies for Media Supported Intercultural Groups)
12.30pm - 1.30pm	Lunch Break
1.30pm - 3pm	WORKSHOP IV, continued: Kent Kille (College of Wooster): "Interactive Global Education: Active Learning and the Center of Diversity and Global Engagement." Jamie Arbuckle (former Canadian UN Peacekeeper): „Intercultural communication among agencies: intra-agency relationships, agencies as cultures"
3pm - 3.30pm	Coffee Break
3.30pm - 5.45pm	WORKSHOP VI: Fostering global understanding through new ICT tools and ways of communication (Moderators: Henrike Paepcke, Anja Drame) About wikis, social networks, blogs, Twitter Practical Training: working with new ICT using the Go4Diversity website

 

ISA 2010 Annual Convention

The following activities at the ISA convention have been jointly planned by UNSA members using the old portal.

Convention Details

• Location and Date of 2010 ISA annual convention: New Orleans, February 17 - 20, 2010

• weblink: http://www.isanet.org/neworleans2010/

• Theme of the 2010 convention: THEORY VS. POLICY? CONNECTING SCHOLARS AND PRACTITIONERS

Roundtable on Academic-Practitioner divide

Title: The United Nations, Academics and Practitioners: One World, Two Universes?

Participants:

• Haack, Kirsten (Chair)

• Mueller, Harald (Roundtable Participant)

• Harfensteller, Julia (Roundtable Participant)

• Mathiason, John (Roundtable Participant)

• Paepcke, Henrike (Roundtable Participant)

The UN Studies community joins practitioners and academics in teaching and research. However, these two groups often appear to talk at cross-purpose, following very different ontological, epistemological and methodological approaches. This potentially limits our understanding of the UN overall. On the one hand, many practitioners claim that the UN can not be understand without insider experience, claiming that theory/theorists is/are unable to capture the complexity and intricate workings of the organization. On the other hand, (IR) academics dismiss micro-level study and focus on the place of the UN in the global order while accusing practitioners of being untheoretical. This roundtable addresses the differences between the ways in which practitioners and academics approach UN Studies, it questions what we ‘need’ to know, what we can do to overcome the divide and discusses potential solutions. The panel seeks to continue and open up to a wider public a discussion on the academic-practitioner divide which the UN Studies Working Group started in 2007.

Panel on UN Studies - focus: latest research

Title: UN Studies and constructivism

• Oestreich, Joel (Chair)

• Kille, Kent (Discussant)

• Harfensteller: Peace at the UN - Approaching the Study of Concepts

• Haack and Paepcke: The UN Secretary-General, leadership and discursive institutionalism

• Miller: Understanding the UN through tv: Global Connections Televisions

• Lindley: How Structure Encourages and Limits the Influence of Progressive Ideas in International Politics

Constructivist research has offered a number of opportunities for UN Studies: first, to move beyond the high politics of multilateral diplomacy and explore the way in which UN ideas are created and shape understanding of a number of questions (including social and economic issues); secondly, to increasingly recognise the UN as an agent beyond its principals. This panel explores different avenues of constructivist research in United Nations Studies, focussing on ideas, concepts, language and communication. Papers will show the emergence of new policies through the creation of discourses and philosophies, a reconceptualisation of actors' roles and the construction of the UN as a communicative system.

Venture Research Workshop Idea on "The UN in Time - Exploring diverse Dimensions of Change" (declined)

Furthermore, we have submitted a proposal for a venture research workshop which was declined. However, we hope to revive this idea at a later point of time, given the overwhelming response.

Background information is available at the ISA website: http://www.isanet.org/workshop/ and below.

Information about Venture Research Workshops

Scope of Venture Research Workshop Awards 
ISA created the Workshop Grants program in 1992 to promote the interaction of scholars from different parts of the global international studies community. At the annual ISA meeting in Chicago in 2007, the Governing Council substantially expanded and restructured the Workshop Grant Program, more than doubling the total amount of funds available. Two categories of grants were established: Venture Research Workshop Grants of up to $25,000 each and Catalytic Research Workshop Grants of up to $5,000 each.

Venture Research Workshop Grants are targeted for projects that venture into emerging and potentially transformative research areas or preliminary work on untested and novel and path-breaking ideas. The goal is to support truly innovative research that has the potential to make a significant leap or paradigm shift and move the frontiers of knowledge forward.

Catalytic Research Workshop Grants target projects that aim to apply new expertise or new approaches to established research topics and are likely to catalyze rapid and innovative advances. Funds may be used to support several types of workshops: to bring together authors for an edited volume; to plan for a collaborative research project; or to stimulate new approaches to the substance and analysis of a topic.

Both types of grants aim to bring together small groups of participants focusing on a significant research problem that stimulates cross-national examination or perspectives and engages the interests of several disciplines. Topics should be sufficiently well focused to allow in-depth exploration during the time proposed for the workshop. All participants are expected to present a fully-developed scholarly paper on a relevant topic in order to attend the workshop. The workshop, itself, is expected to result in significant scholarly outputs, such as a book-length manuscript and scholarly articles.

Eligibility 
Proposal submitters and all proposed workshop participants must be ISA members. Proposals from junior scholars are particularly encouraged. Workshop participants should be drawn not only from ISA's North American membership, but also from other parts of the world and should include junior scholars. All workshops must be held in junction with and at the time of the ISA 2010 Annual Convention. Other requirements are listed in the Workshop Grant Proposal Guidelines (doc).

Funding 
Grants will be awarded annually by ISA's Workshop Grant Committee. Funding may be used to provide lodging and per diems, pay for research-related travel [when compelling justification is given] as well as other workshop costs. Please consult the Workshop Grant Proposal Guidelines for limitations and restrictions. Funds will generally be available for up to eighteen months from the time grants are made. A proportion of the grant award may be held until the final Workshop Grant Report has been received at ISA headquarters.

Teaching Climate Change and the UN - Belgrade

2nd CEE/SEE Regional Colloquium  

Capacity Building on Global Governance and the UN System

Date: Monday May 17th & Tuesday 18^th, 2010

Venue: Faculty of Law, Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 67, Belgrade

Rationale:

Climate Change is undoubtedly the most pressing global issue of our time. For addressing the complex multi-stakeholder and multilevel challenges associated with climate change mitigation and adaptation an appropriate knowledge base is needed not only among public authorities and academia but also among civil society, business sector etc. in order to have problem aware constituencies in the countries of the world supporting with their attitudes and actions governments towards bold future oriented global climate change action.

Preliminary Program: Download here.

Conference Website: http://www.investsciencesee.info/ccandun/

Goals of the conference:

• Support effective climate change adaptation and mitigation in SEE (in the context of EU integration) by means of improved science communication and targeted educational processes
• Support scientific capacity building and capacity building in Higher education sphere and in diplomatic training on global governance and Climate Change
• Inspire educational system(s) reform/modernisation towards future orientation, problem solving competencies and global citizenship in SEE countries
• Facilitate networking and interaction of conference participants and harness the potentials of ICT for global governance and CC knowledge management and learning with concrete follow-up project initiatives
• Highlight and discuss synergy potentials through policy coherence/interministerial coordination and cooperation on global governance and climate change capacity building
• Feed into coordination and cooperation processes of UN system institutions on CC capacity building
• Raising public awareness on Climate change and the UN (especially also on local/community level)
• promote Involvement of civil society and business sector
• involve young researchers/students

Organisers:

• Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade, www.ius.bg.ac.rs/eng/ 
• Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade, www.fpn.bg.ac.rs/eng/index_e.html
• Environmental Ambassadors, Belgrade, www.ambassadors-env.org/  
• Academic Council on the United Nations System ACUNS, www.acuns.org
• Austrian Science and Research Liaison Office (ASO) Ljubljana www.aso.zsi.at
• Diplo Foundation, Belgrade Office www.diplomacy.edu
• Petnica Science Center - Innovative Sci+Tech Education and Regional Teacher Training & Resource www.petnica.rs
• The European Center for Peace and Development, Belgrade - Ljubljana, www.ecpdorg.net 
• United Nations Association of Serbia, www.unaserbia.rs/ 
• Educons University, Sremska Kamenica, www.educons.edu.rs
• South East Europe Media Organisation SEEMO, Vienna, www.seemo.org/

ACUNS 2010 Annual Meeting Vienna

UNSA Members' Contributions (Panels, Roundtables etc.)

Kirsten Haack and Henrike Paepcke: "The UN as Communication and Knowledge System"  report...

Anja Drame, Eva Nowotny, Henrike Paepcke, Gabriele Sauberer: "Roundtable on Cultural Diversity and the UN:

Old Implications and New Challenges" report...

John Mathiason: "Managing Climate Change" report...

Miroslav Polzer: "UN Studies Capacity Building in Southeast Europe" report...

Also, please take a look at the UN Workshops on Diversity and Global Understanding prior to the ACUNS annual meeting.

Please let us know if you are participating in the ACUNS annual meeting.

Preliminary Program

ACUNS Panel 2009

UNSA organized a panel at the ACUNS 2009 annual meeting in Trinidad and Tobago. This was our main event in 2009.

Panel Title: The need for UN Studies in the Caribbean

Date: June 5, 2009

Abstract as submitted:

The panel aims to feature Caribbean perspectives concerning research and teaching about the UN and to define the need for UN Studies in the South. Panelists from the region will present dominant views on the UN, methods and approaches as well as teaching techniques and tools – mainly by drawing on examples and experiences from their own research or experience in classrooms, while focusing on issues and aspects they consider relevant. During a subsequent discussion round, the differences, similarities and distinctive features of Caribbean perspectives will be highlighted and compared with European and Northern American views. Based on the finding of their exchange, panelists will then explore ways for possible cooperation and advanced network-building.

Original outline

The ongoing discussion about a concept of UN Studies, launched by an informal working group of ACUNS members at the 2007 annual meeting in NYC, has been mostly limited to reflect Northern American and European views so far. The 2009 annual meeting in Trinidad and Tobago offers a unique opportunity to broaden the discussion by featuring the Caribbean perspectives concerning research and teaching about the UN. Showcasing examples and reporting about their own experiences concerning UN-related research and teaching, panelists from the region will give an impression of the status and scope of UN Studies that will help determine a possible need for UN Studies in the South.

Key questions include:

How is the UN viewed? Is it a major multilateral organization to be researched or taught? Or is the main focus on global governance, on multilateralism?

What issues do Caribbean teachers and educator emphasize? What methods, approaches and educational tools do they promote?

The overall goal is to offer alternative perspectives to the Northern American / European views: What is different, similar, distinctive? For example, in terms of:

• subject matters and issues of primary interest

• the specific backgrounds, interests, expertise of students, teachers, researchers
• lessons learned & best practices – e.g. what has worked in classrooms, what not?
• possible contributions to developing a UN Studies syllabi

Panelists:

Chair: Johannes Geiser, Former UN Resident Coordinator (retired)

•    Janice Joseph, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Stockton College, New Jersey:
•   Michelle Scobie, IIR, UWI
•   Michael Platzer, Bond University, Australia:Building links between Caribbean and European views
•   Henrike Paepcke, ACUNS Board, UNSA, Berlin: The importance of global networking and new collaborative technologies in advancing UN Studies

Download the original proposal here:

[...]

Results of the discussion:

[...]

ACUNS ASIL Summer Workshop 2008

Report about the ACUNS ASIL Summer Workshop 2008
"Building the Knowledge Base for Global Governance"
held at Ljubljana, Slowenia, July 23 to August 2, 2008

by Julia Harfensteller

General Information about the program

Every year, the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) and the American Society of International Law (ASIL) organize a workshop for UN practitioners and academics alike.

For more information see ACUNS website at: http://www.acuns.org/programsan/acunsasils

Information on the 2008 Workshop

This year's workshop was held in Ljubljana in cooperation with the Austrian Science and Research Liaison Office Ljubljana.

For more information, see http://www.acuns.org/programsan/acunsasils/summer~15

Summary and experiences

Following questions/problems were discussed by the workshop participants:

1. The Concept of Global Governance (GG)

• Why did the concept of GG surge? Why was it necessary to replace the commonly used concept of "international relations" with a new term?
• Does the conceptual shift reflect social change or does social change induce conceptual change? 
• What is the meaning of Global Governance?  What does it refer to? Does it refer to new phenomena or problems in our world? What are new phenomena and are they really as new as we claim them to be? For example can terrorism and global warming be viewed as new problems/phenomena?
• Normative dimension: Does the concept of Global Governance refer to something which does not yet exist?

2. The knowledge base of Global Governance

• What is knowledge? (different kinds of knowledge: know how, know to, etc.)
• What are the problems of a Global Governance knowledge (base)? --> knowledge is not neutral; it is not general/universal; unequal access to (Global Governance) knowledge

3. The role Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for a GG knowledgebase

• ICts offer new opportunities in the transfer and dissemination of knowledge
• Problems related to ICTs: ICts are not accessible by all people in the world; they make it possible to disseminate distorted/manipulated information
• Do new media catalyze the power of civil society? or are new media tools of powerful governments?

4. The practitioners-academics-dichotomy

• Do practitioners and academics have different views on the UN?
• Does the practitioners-academics divide also reflect the difference between "insider-outsider-view" or realist-idealist attitude  towards the UN?
• Does the dichotomy of practitioners-academics make sense in view of UN practitioners working as lecturers at universities or vice versa, academics working within the UN?
• What can practitioners and academics learn from each other/ offer each other?

5. What is the UN?

• Is it "the power of member states" or is it more than the member states influence?

Bonn Business Meeting 2008

On June 5, 2008, the working group met for an additional meeting at the DIE to address the futurel direction of the group.

We discussed the following issues:
   * founding of the UNSA / informal character of the working group
   * future projects and activities
   * membership / engagement
   * UN Studies Portal

1. Founding of the UNSA

The UN Studies Association was founded on June 3, 2008 at the Em Höttche in Bonn, with 12 founding members attending.

A copy of the Charter (in German) can be downloaded here (coming soon).

In our discussion we clarified our status and understanding:

We will remain an informal working group in close association with ACUNS, regardless of our new legal status (a non-profit under German). The change of status and name are considered necessary for mere outreach purposes - to apply for funds, or to better advertise our work.

We are thus not aiming for setting up a (or better: yet another) formal organization with full-time staff but depend on the engagement of our members. Our working group will closely cooperate with all organizations who work on UN Studies issues.

In fact, it is our aim to better connect all parties interested in UN Studies, primarily by means of our wiki portal; furthermore, we offer a collaboration forum for all those who wish to actively contribute to develop a full-fledged concept of UN Studies to the benefit of all.

2. Future projects

•    Online seminars on UN public management
•    60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
•    Workshop on teaching techniques / new media and UN Studies
•    Journal of International Organization Studies - see ProjectJIOS
•    Developing a concept of UN Studies incl. teaching tools / follow-up of our Seminar

3. Membership / engagement

We further clarified the role of our membership. Members will run their own projects, the total of which will be orchestrated by Julia and Henrike. As a consequence we decided to not seek any membership fees; otherwise, we would act against the nature and spirit of our working group.

4. Wiki Portal

The meeting ended with a brief introduction to our wiki UN Studies Portal. We encouraged all members to work with this portal, first of all, by contributing to the results of the seminar on UN Research and Teaching

Reports

"UN Simulations as tool for UN teaching" by John Mathiaso

 

"Active Learning and Teaching About the United Nations" by Kent J. Kille 

Active Learning & Teaching

Presentation by Kent J. Kille  

“Active Learning and Teaching About the United Nations”

I. What is Active Teaching and Learning?

A. Basic overview:

Active learning focuses on the move beyond a sole reliance on traditional, lecture-oriented approach to engage students in experiential and interactive learning practices (often means learning by doing instead of simply learning what told).

Why? Because active learning promotes learning with a clearer, deeper and longer-lasting understanding of concepts and processes; help students better apply knowledge to real world challenges; and develop critical thinking skills.

Note: Exactly what form of active learning exercise should be carefully tied to educational objectives AND debriefed/assessed to see how well those objectives are being met.

 

B. Growing area of teaching AND research

Active Learning in International Affairs section (ALIAS) of the International Studies Association (see http://sitemaker.umich.edu/alias.isa/home); journals such as International Studies Perspectives section on pedagogy.

 

II. How has active teaching and learning been applied to UN teaching?

 

A. Primary method = simulation

i.e. Model UN – either as part of a class or as a stand alone educational exercise – or other UN related simulations; where can really engage in and learn about decision-making and negotiation process in UN setting. A specific non-Model UN example is UNHCR’s (1997) Passages: An Awareness Game Confronting the Plight of Refugees.

Note: again, been an area of research/publication; along with other Model IO, such as Model EU, Model Arab League

ex. Daniel Mc Intosh (2001) “The Uses and Limits of the Model United Nations in an International Relations Classroom.” International Studies Perspectives 2(3): 269-280.

Ex. Pamela S. Chasek (2005) “Power Politics, Diplomacy and Role Playing: Simulating the UN Security Council’s Response to Terrorism.” International Studies Perspectives 6(1): 1-19

 

III. How could we adapt new/different active learning approaches to UN teaching?

 

A. Main other active learning categories:

1. Case studies

Use narrative accounts of real international political events in a manner that leaves key themes open to interpretation and debate; wide range of published case materials – so promotes problem-solving and critical thinking analytical skills in addressing a detailed, complex real world case.

Hundreds of existing cases for use, for example the Pew Case Studies Series sponsored by Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (see http://www12.georgetown.edu/sfs/ecase/).

For example, collection of cases, cb302 International Law and Organizations Katie Lavelle (2008)
Course POSC 370J / 470J, Spring 2008. Case Western Reserve University
- Case 154: The Ivory Trade
- Case 108: An Irresistible Force Meets an Immovable Object: The United States at UNCTAD I
- Case 471: Humanitarian Aid in the Midst of Conflict: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the Former Yugoslavia
- Case 227: Who Is At the Helm? The Debate Over U.S. Funding for the United Nations
- Case 423: Negotiating an International Regime to Mine the Deep Seabed
- Case 284: Rolling Back Malaria by Nets: Do Public-Private Partnerships Work?
- Case 278: Going to the United Nations: George W. Bush and Iraq
- Case 430: Guatemala, Human Rights, and U.S. Foreign Policy
- Case 462: The Clinton Administration and Multilateral Peace Operations

 

2. Structured debates

Have timed periods in class for making arguments or critical analysis of a theme; where move beyond simple in-class discussion to provide a closer engagement and analysis of the material (which usually have carefully review in advance of debate) - either assigned roles for debates in advance or asked to adopt a position in class.

> Personal example Structured debate: regionalism vs. universalism

 

3. “Alternative texts”

Source material drawn upon to support teaching beyond standard textbooks or other readings
a. film and video
b. television
c. music
d. comics and cartoons
e. memoirs
f. news articles or editorials

> Personal example “Alternative text”
a. ACUNS 2004 film Uncertain Soil: The Story of United Nations Peacekeeping and American Model UN video series on UN General Assembly
b. Kofi Annan mediating a dispute between monsters on Sesame Street

 

4. Service-learning

Experiential learning designed to provide a needed service to the community, while allowing students to learn and apply course concepts in the real world (i.e. not just community service, in that clear link between coursework and volunteer activity).

Ex. could tie to service in UN-related organization or field

 

5. Technology

Wide range of possibilities, from basic use of web-pages and listserv discussions to much greater use of instructional technology such as virtual learning communities through, for example, videoconferencing or more contained course management software like Blackboard. Can include working with on-line archives; on-line interactive games and simulations such as those through

UN’s Cyberschoolbus Global Teaching and Learning Project
(http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/) that has links to on-line games, including UNHCR’s Against All Odds; UN’s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction “Stop Disasters” on-line video simulation; WFP “Food Force” game.

> Personal Example
Human Rights quiz (http://www.knowyourrights2008.org/) in honor of 60th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

IV. Brainstorming?

How can we reflect on other “best practices” being used; i.e. experiences of others teaching about UN - what has succeeded and what has not worked well.

Also, reactions to different types of active learning that have not been used much previously and how/whether these would be seen as positive additions to the classroom teaching the UN.

Note: For further information on active learning and international studies, including active learning workshops in this area, see: http://www.wooster.edu/ir/Active-TeachingIR/

UN Simulations

...as tools for UN Teaching

 

Presentation by John Mathiason

 

The United Nations System and the international public sector generally is one of the most complex public institutional settings ever devised and understanding how it works is a major teaching challenge. Among the key issues that have to be conveyed are:

1. Decision-making takes place in a non-sovereign environment, meaning that no one is really in charge;
2. Individual nation-states cannot pursue their interest in an unchecked manor because of the linkages among issues, made more important because of globalization;
3. The main form of decision-making is by consensus, which is difficult to describe (and which has never been defined in international law);
4. There are more stakeholders with more influence than at the national level.

One method of showing these aspects, when applied to negotiation and decision-making is through the use of simulations. To an extent this has been done for some time using Model United Nations. However, while these approximate some of the procedural lessons, they are much too free-form to ensure appropriate learning. At the Maxwell School, we have used simulations for the Capstone of our International Relations masters program. In May 2008, for example, we simulated the negotiations to take place at the 14th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2008.

 

http://classes.maxwell.syr.edu/ircapstone/

Properly designed, a simulation can convey the complexity of United Nations intergovernmental decision-making. However, if simulations are to be effective, they need careful preparation, including:

 

1. Narrowing the scope of the simulated negotiation to an issue that can reasonably lead to a decision. In the case of the Maxwell simulation this meant concentrating on one of the issues, shared vision, and narrowing the focus in this to two specific questions (what emissions reduction target by when, and how is burden sharing to be arranged).
2. Specifying instructions for each participant (representing a State) based on real positions, but with options open for agreement.
3. Having adequate background documents. In the case of the Maxwell simulation this included an "Executive Director's Report" that set and constrained the context. The evidence from the Capstone is that the exercise was successful in conveying the sense of how international negotiations take place and the context.

Development Education

Energy Security Data Base 2008

Teaching the UN Colloquium Vienna 2008

WISC Conference Ljubljana 2008

New Media Colloquium Wels 2007

UNSA participated in the World wide real-virtual colloquium:

The United Nations and the New Media/Information Age – Education for the Next Generation of the People of the United Nations

Date: Friday, 16 November 2007, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Location:

“Kraftwerkcenter” (the world’s most modern cinema/digital conference center) in Wels, Upper Austria, Austria

or by virtual participation via the Internet (http://www.acuns.org)

organized and hosted by

WWEDU – World Wide Education, Academic Distance-Learning College, Wels/Austria - www.wwedu.com

Academic Council of the United Nations System (ACUNS)

Summary

This colloquium was taking place in an innovative hybrid format, combining an on-site event in Wels/Austria with a virtual occurrence mediated through the Internet. Some panels included on-site as well as virtual speakers to make full use of the new media potentials for this colloquium, which was dedicated to the role of the new media and newly established information infrastructure for educational purposes – better communicating the United Nations system to the people.

The themes of the event just were as innovative as its format. The Wels UN Colloquium centered on leading questions such as:

• How do new communication technologies and their inherent new opportunities for interaction of people and social communities impact the United Nations’ ability to act?
• What are the new media’s consequences for global networking and international community action in forging and realizing global policy initiatives?
• How can the United Nations system make use of the new media and information infrastructure in order to transmit its ideas and communicate its mission to the youth who will form the next generation of opinion leaders and decision-makers?

In addition to its thematic objectives, the Wels UN Colloquium also provided a platform for presenting and discussing newly launched projects in the field of education-focused UN studies as well as relevant database projects.

Results

Julia and Henrike presented the UN Studies Portal. We are working on a full article on the main features and purpose of our portal, to be posted soon.

John Mathiason participated virtually (from Brazil).

For a summary of his and other presentations, please refer to the full conference material provided at the conference webpage at www.acuns.org:

• Program
• Round-up powerpoint presentation by Paul A. Linnarz, Deutsche Welle, Bonn/Germany
• Summary: "The UN enters the information age"
• Selected presentations and videos (more coming soon):
  
  • Video of Mr. Nowak
  • Video of Mrs. Hankey
• Photo gallery (coming soon)
• Coverage by Wels regional television

Program (Friday, November 16, 2007)

09:00-09:30 a.m. - Opening addresses

09:30-10:00 a.m. - Keynote address

Edward Mortimer, Director, Salzburg Seminar: “The UN and the New Information Age”

10:00-12:00 a.m. - Panel: “UN Studies and Distance Learning/Education: New Technologies for Research & Teaching”

Moderator: Michael Platzer, Visiting Professor, Global Media, Bond University/Australia

• Foster Ofosu, WWEDU – World Wide Education, Wels/Austria: “Long Distance Learning in Developing Countries”
• Henrike Paepcke/Julia Harfensteller, UN Studies Working Group, Berlin/Germany: “ The Wiki Portal of the UN Studies Group”
• Axel Wuestenhagen, former Director, United Nations Information Center: “Registry of UN Studies in Austria”
• Veronika Bauer, European Training and Research Centre for Human Rights and Democracy/Institute of International Law and International Relations, University of Graz/Austria: “Survey of Digital Human Rights Libraries”
• John Mathiason (virtual panelist), Syracuse University/USA: “Examining the UN System Using International Public Sector Management Methods”

12:00-01:00 p.m. - Lunch break

01:00-03:30 p.m. - Panel: Human Rights and New Information Technology

Moderator: Wolfram Karl, Director, Austrian Human Rights Institute, Salzburg and University of Salzburg/Austria

• Manfred Nowak (video), Director, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Human Rights, Vienna/Austria: “Potential of New Technology in the Work of UN Rapporteurs”
• Stephanie Hankey (video), Director, Tactical Technology Collective (UK/India): “Human Rights Defenders and Digital Advocacy”
• Ethan Zuckerman (video), Harvard University/Global Voices: “Connecting Social Justice NGOs”
• Sami Ben Gharbia (virtual panelist), Global Voice Online: “Digital Advocacy: Netizen Watch Dogs”
• Matthias C. Kettemann, Institute of International Law and International Relations, University of Graz/Austria: “Human Rights in the Information Society: The Results of Two Projects at the University of Graz 2003-2007”

03:30-04:00 p.m. - Coffee break

04:00-06:00 p.m. - Panel “New-Media Mediated Peace Building & Societal Development”

Moderator: Walther Lichem, former Director, UN Department, Austrian Ministry Foreign Affairs

• Alexander Siedschlag, Director, Center for European Security Studies, WWEDU – World Wide Education, Wels/Austria and CEO, German United Nations Association, Bavarian Branch: “Conflict Transformation in Information Society”
• Nasra Hassan, Director, United Nations Information Service Vienna: “The Media, Peacekeeping, and Civil Society”: Harvey Langholtz, Director, United Nations Institute for Training and Research, Program of Correspondence Instruction on Peacekeeping Operations (UNITAR POCI): “Distance Learning on Peacekeeping from UNITAR POCI”
• Mark Mc Carthy, Project Manager, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Geneva/Switzerland: Relief Web and the Role of Information in Humanitarian Response”
• Tayza Thuria (virtual panelist), Burmadigest: “The Use of Mobile Phones, Video camcorders, and Internet in the Recent Demonstrations in Burma”
• Ian Williams, correspondent Nation and Guardian, Deadline Pundit Blog, (virtual pannellist): “Covering the UN with a Blog”

06:00-07:00 p.m. - Dinner buffet

07:00-08:30 p.m. - Panel “Communicating with Youth – New-Media Perspectives for Teaching the UN System”

Moderator: Wolfgang Luef, German Weekly Newspaper “Die Zeit”, Vienna office/Austria

• Carmel Mulvany, UN Department of Public Information/ Bill Yotive, Global Teaching and Learning Project. Education Outreach Section, Outreach Division, UN Department of Public Information: “Connecting with Youth”
• Ingrid Lehmann, University of Salzburg/Austria and former director, UN Department of Public Information: “Youth Perceptions of the United Nations”
• Gregor Waldhauser, Vice President, Austrian Academic Forum for Foreign Affairs: “The Difficulties of Communication with Austrian Youth on Global Issues”
• Niko Jilch, Kurier Daily Newspaper, Vienna/Austria: “The !Cyber School? Bus in German”
• Michael Platzer, Visiting Professor, Global Media, Bond University/Australia: “‘Serious news’ Carried on MTV, You Tube, and Comedy Channel”

08:30-09:00 p.m. - Round Up and Next Steps

Paul A. Linnarz, Deutsche Welle, Bonn/Germany

09:00 p.m. - Farewell address by the organizers

Local organizer

WWEDU – World Wide Education
Dragonerstrasse 38
A-4600 Wels/Austria
Phone: +43 (0)7242 55864-0
Fax: +43 (0)7242 55864-66
E-Mail office@wwedu.com

Sponsors

• Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture
• United Nations Information Service Vienna

Cooperating Partners

• Academic Council for the United Nations System (ACUNS)
• Academic Forum for Foreign Affairs Vienna (AFA)
• Austrian Burma Center
• German United Nations Association (DGVN), Bavaria Branch
• Global Voices
• Deutsche Welle – Media Services
• Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Human Rights, Vienna
• Technical Support Initiative (UK)
• UN Studies Working Group within the ACUNS framework
• United Nations Association of Austria
• Wilfred Laurier University
• Witness