Week Ahead: Parliamentarians Training at IPU | UNIDIR: Building Trust in Cyberspace | UNICEF: Partnership with Microsoft Yields Results
Week Ahead: Parliamentarians Training at IPU | UNIDIR: Building Trust in Cyberspace | UNICEF: Partnership with Microsoft Yields Results
Data Visualisation: Atlas of International Geneva Paints a Clear Picture of Multilateralism | Week in Review: IPU Debates Data on Women Ambassadors and Representation at the GA in NY
The Week in Review
Artificial Intelligence has dominated the airwaves, social media, and whenever one turns to read the news there is talk of its perils. More than before, and this is a good thing as the hype has overshadowed the real concerns for democracy up till now.
Will we, as a society, be able to regulate it?
Will industry and regulators find common ground?
Today’s edition brings my interviews with two UN officials, Mac Glovinsky from UNICEF in New York, and UNIDIR in Geneva, Deputy Director Dr. Cecile Appel.
I also interviewed Dr. Olaf Wientzek, Director of Multilateral Dialogue at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and lead author of the Atlas of International Geneva, and Julia Trustam Eve, the Head of Marketing of Wines of Great Britain, the national association for the English and Welsh wine industry, to mark the Coronation of King Charles III and, last but not least, check the link to a webinar in Art History, taking place this afternoon, by auction house Christie’s on the coronation history through its artefacts.
Scroll all the way down.
Enjoy and don’t forget to subscribe, like, share.
Presented by Microsoft
The World Needs Cybersecurity Experts
Microsoft Expands Training Programs for Women in 28 Countries
Learn more about Microsoft’s engagement with the UN here.
UNICEF and Microsoft Partnership
Learning Passport
Interview with Mac Glovinsky, the lead on the partnership between Microsoft and UNICEF to bring formal education to children and adolescents that are forced to flee their homes. That happens because they are either internally displaced in their own countries due to civil strife, or they are refugees from post-conflict and war zones, as well as are escaping their countries after extreme weather events that destroy their cities, their homes, and schools, and cause them to interrupt their regular schooling.
The Learning Passport works in partnership with local governments to make sure that children and adolescents do not lag behind on their formal education during a period for them that is already very trying on their physical and mental health.
The programme has been deployed for children and adolescents refugees from Ukraine in Poland and other neighbouring countries from the start of the hostilities.
UNICEF uses the curriculum of country of origin developed in partnership with national governments departments of education. Since some areas have poor connectivity, no broadband access, they figured a hybrid model that allows kids to use their computers off-line too. UNICEF Learning Passport has also been focusing on the mental health of refugee teachers to help them to integrate in the host country.
CYBERSECURITY
UNIDIR
Managing Peace and Security in Cyberspace
Interview with Cecile Aptel, Deputy Director, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, in Geneva. We spoke about their leadership in conferences to create a stable cyberspace and a regulatory framework, cooperating with industry, academia, and NGOs, and their (often cited during negotiations) Cyber Policy Portal, and the soon to be released Artificial Intelligence Policy Portal.
UN New York
Source: UN
UN General Assembly: Reviewing the (Dismal) Numbers of Women Ambassadors Appointed to Serve at the UN and the Way Forward
This past Wednesday 3rd May the UN General Assembly in New York reviewed the data on women’s representation in the General Assembly to consider ways in which the appointment of ambassadors to the UN could be improved to help achieve gender equality.
Why?
“With only 24 percent of women Permanent Representatives, the UN General Assembly is far from gender equal representation. Last year, the General Assembly recognized this problem formally in resolution 76/269 proclaiming 24 June the International Day of Women in Diplomacy.
Unlike parliaments around the world, where there is discussion and awareness of the need for greater representation of women, there is no concerted effort among UN member States to ensure that more women ambassadors (Permanent Representatives) sit in the General Assembly, the so-called “parliament of the world.” Likewise, there are no gender quotas or other rules on the inclusion of women in national delegations to the General Assembly.”
Source: IPU
What they discussed:
Reviewed the data on women’s representation in the General Assembly and consider the ways in which the appointment of ambassadors to the UN could be improved to help achieve gender equality. The briefing is an important step toward a campaign for a gender equal General Assembly led by the IPU Standing Committee on United Nations Affairs.
Borrowing from the IPU’s experience of supporting more women in politics, and best practices from other relevant institutions, participants discussed the ways in which parliaments can help make the General Assembly and other multilateral bodies more gender equal.
Questions they tried to answer:
How can parliaments help ensure more women ambassadors are appointed to the General Assembly?
Can the UN impose rules on national delegations to the GA to enhance gender quality?
How can parliaments exercise stronger oversight of ambassadorial appointments to the United Nations?
Speakers:
Senator Andries Gryffroy, Senate of Belgium, Acting Chair of the IPU Standing Committee on United Nations Affairs
H.E. Ambassador Lachezara Stoeva, Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to the United Nations, President of the Economic and Social Council
Ms. Susanna Malcorra, Founder of Global Women Leaders Voices for Change and Inclusion, former Foreign Minister of Argentina and former Chief of Staff to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
For more information on the outcome of the event, please contact: ny-office@ipu.org
Related content:
My interview with Greenland’s Minister for Gender Equality.
Science Technology, Innovation, and Engineering Solutions for the SDGs
This is the eighth annual multistakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum) and it seeks to facilitate an exchange between senior representatives of UN major groups and other key stakeholders, ECOSOC, and the Forum co-chairs on the topic of the impact of STI on SDGs.
The STI Forum will facilitate discussions on science, technology and innovation cooperation in support of the SDGs. In addition to providing the mandated inputs for the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development to be held from 10 to 19 July 2023, the Forum will also take a broader look at the contribution of STI to the achievement of all the SDGs in recognition of the September mid-term review of SDG progress.
Related content:
Watch my interview with Danish Masood of UNDPPA innovation cell, and listen to my interview with Martin Waehlisch, at the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) in New York, where we discussed its first experiments creating virtual worlds to understand the Colombian peace process at the UN Security Council, how they are building the Metaverse to study conflict mediation, and what are its long-term goals and uses of immersive tech in humanitarian settings.
UN Geneva
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Committee Against Torture
The Committee Against Torture (CAT) and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is the body of 10 independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by its States parties.
The Committee Against Torture works to hold States accountable for human rights violations, systematically investigating reports of torture in order to stop and prevent this crime. This week they reviewed the track record of Ethiopia, at the Geneva headquarters of the Office of the High-Commissioner for Human Rights.
Related content:
My interviews with Dr. Fabian Salvioli, UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur for Truth, Justice, Reparations, and Memoralization, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Enforced Disappearances Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz.
The Concise Atlas of International Geneva
Interview with Dr. Olaf Wientzek, Director of Multilateral Dialogue at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and lead author of the 2022 Atlas.
The Week Ahead
Source: International Parliamentary Union
Transforming Parliaments: Cloud computing - choosing the best approach
08/05/2023 - Virtual
This webinar is jointly organised by the Open Data hub and IT Governance hub from the IPU Centre for Innovation in Parliament. The event is part of the IPU's Transforming Parliament webinar series.
Information seminar on the structure and functioning of the IPU
09/05/2023 - 12/05/2023 - Geneva, Switzerland
The IPU's annual seminar for parliamentary staff.
Processing high volumes of inputs from citizen engagement in parliamentary business: Case study from Brazil
16/05/2023 - Virtual
In this second seminar on processing mass data, we will consider four tools used by the Brazilian Parliament to encourage public participation and manage mass input from citizens.
Shout Out to Youth Changemakers
24/05/2023 - Virtual
The IPU is hosting a “Shout Out to Changemakers!” event for signatories of the “I Say Yes to Youth in Parliament!” campaign to celebrate the second anniversary of the campaign and its achievements.
Strengthening parliamentary action at COP28
25/05/2023 - Virtual
As part of the its campaign Parliaments for the Planet, the IPU is organizing a series of webinars in the lead-up to the UN climate talks at COP28 in Dubai, UAE, in December. This first seminar looks at climate science with a focus on the recent IPCC findings.
Ongoing
International Law Commission Meetings in Geneva
The International Law Commission was established by the General Assembly, in 1947, to undertake the mandate of the Assembly, under article 13 (1) (a) of the Charter of the United Nations to "initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification".
In accordance with resolution 77/103 of 7 December 2022, the International Law Commission will hold its seventy-fourth session at the United Nations Office at Geneva from 24 April to 2 June and from 3 July to 4 August 2023 (11 weeks).
Weekend Edition
Weekend Edition: Wines of Great Britain and King Charles III Coronation
Celebrating Coronation with Wines of Great Britain
In recent years wine production in Great Britain has grown exponentially. The reason? Global warming. If there is a silver lining this must be it. Kidding.
But also geology (and savoir-faire), the UK soil is similar to that of the region of Champagne. Which is good soil for growing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, the three varietals for making sparkling wine in the Methode Champagnoise. Not to be confused with the Charmat or Petnat methods. But also the ability of making excellent vinification by a growing number of wine producers. As a country that has imported fine wine for centuries that is good baseline to start.
As for the Coronation celebrations we have word that English wines will be served. Also if you visiting the UK this Summer there is a wine shop now at Gatwick Airport that sells English wines, and expect to see more served at the embassies, consulates, and missions around the world as well as production for export increases.
Wines of Great Britain, the national association for the English and Welsh wine industry, pledged to undertake a project or campaign with an environmental or sustainable angle this year, which would mark the King’s Coronation year.
Check their home page.
We interviewed Julia Trustam Eve, Head of Marketing of Wines of Great Britain, a the national association for the English and Welsh wine industry, to speak about the upcoming English Wine Week in June, and the growing UK wine tourism sector, as well as the main markets for export of English wine today.
Today
Christie’s Webinar on the History of Coronation Objects 05/05
Did you know that the actual objects to be used in the coronation of Charles III mostly date back to the coronation of Charles II in 1661?
The clothing to be worn by the King on May 6th dates back to the era of George IV, whose coronation in 1821 was the most expensive in history.
How will the coronation of Charles III compare to this?