“Eurasia& Europe Dialogue: Building Trust and Securing Cooperation for Sustainable Development”

Friday 30th – Saturday 31st October 2015

Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Favoritenstraße 15a, 1040 ViennaVienna, Austria

Alongside this year's celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, one significant milestone is the proclamation by the General Assembly of the Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. The conference will be an opportunity to explore grounds for cooperation between Europe and Eurasia in the context of the next 15-year objectives of sustainable development outlined by UN delegates.

Organizers: The Universal Peace Federation (UPF) and Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP).The partner organizations include ACUNS Vienna and the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.

Dr. Gregory Weeks and Dr. Stefan Stoev

The event is the fifth in a series of Europe-Eurasia leadership conferences aiming at developing partnership and cooperation between the two regions, in place of the friction and, at times, open antagonism that has been marking their history, and in light of their critical role for world peace in the 21st century. Attended by leading figures from the areas of politics, religion, business, academe and diplomacy, Europe – Eurasia leadership conferences began in 2012 in Moscow (“Peace and Security in Multicultural Societies”) and Vienna (“Europe and Russia – Partners in a Globalized World”); the series continued in 2013 in Paris (“Europe and Eurasia: Cooperating for a Culture of Peace and Human Development”) and in 2014 in Chisinau (“Eurasia - Europe Dialogue for Peace”). In February 2015 a panel discussion on “The Imperative of an EU–Russia strategic reset” was organized in Vienna.

The IDEA Society Chairman, Dr. Stefan Stoev participated in the conference.

Programme

Friday, 30th October

09:00              Registration

09:30               SESSION I: Europe & Russia – Resetting a Strategy of Cooperation for Sustainable Development

Moderator: Mr. Peter Haider, President, UPF Austria

Welcoming Address: Amb. Dr. Hans Winkler, Director, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna

Speakers:

Dr. Thomas Walsh, President, UPF International

Mr Sergey Ezhov, Head of Division, First Department of CIS Countries, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

Dr. Walter Schwimmer, Secretary General, Council of Europe (1999-2004)

Dr. Vladimir Petrovsky, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC)

Dr. Jaap de Zwaan, Lector on European Integration, The Hague University of Applied Sciences; Former Director, Netherlands Institute of International Relations

Comments and questions

11:00              Coffee Break

11:30              SESSION II: Europe and Eurasia: Toward a Partnership for Peace and Stability

Moderator: Mr. Jacques Marion, Secretary General, UPF Europe

Speakers:

Dr. Werner Fasslabend, Minister of Defence (1990-2000), Austria

Dr. Helge Lurås, Director, Centre for International and Strategic Analysis, Norway

Dr. Andrea Giannotti, Executive Director, Institute for Eurasian Studies, Italy

Dr. Elena Ananieva, Director, Center of British Studies, Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Federation

Comments and questions

13:00              Lunch break

14:30              Musical Performance: Artists from Ukraine and Russia

14:50              SESSION III: Interreligious & Intercultural Dialogue - Bridging Divisions between East and West

Moderator: Dr. Walther Lichem, former Director, Dept. of International Organizations, Austrian Foreign Ministry

Speakers:

Mr. Christian Rathner, Journalist, Department of Religion, Austrian National Television

Dr. Vladimer Narsia, Professor, Georgia American University, Georgia

Mr. Marat Hayretdinov, Director, Dept. of Science and Education, Muslim Spiritual Authority of the Russian Federation

Mr. Sandor Habsburg-Lothringen, Flame of Peace - Association for the Advancement of Peace

Comments and questions

16:20               Coffee Break

16:50              SESSION IV: Engaging Women and Youth to Fulfill Sustainable Development Goals: Education and Leadership

Moderator: Mrs. Carolyn Handschin, President, WFWP Europe

Speakers:

Mrs. Marina Pilshikova, Vice-president, Congress of Ethnic Associations of Russia

Mrs. Mariana Marin, President, General Association of Teachers of Moldova

Ms. Yuliya Vlasova, Student, Russian Fine Chemical Industry University, Moscow, Russia

Mr. Matteo Bergamini, Founder and Director, Shout Out UK, United Kingdom

Ms. Gulnara Iusupova, Student, School of International Relations, St. Petersburg State University

Comments and questions

18:30              Closing

Saturday, 31st October

09:30              FORUM: Implications of the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals for Europe and Eurasia

Moderator: Dr. Vladimir Petrovsky, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC)

Speakers:

Dr. Slawomir Redo, Senior Program Advisor, ACUNS, Vienna Office

Dr. Yuriy Boshytskyi, Rector, Kyiv University of Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

Dr. Philipp Depisch, Founder and President of the Initiative Pro Mitteleuropa – Middleeuropean Initiative

Debate with conference speakers and participants

11:00              Coffee Break

11:30              CLOSING SESSION

Moderator: Mr. Jacques Marion, Secretary General, UPF Europe

Speakers:

European speaker

Ms. Elena Kolesnichenko, Chairperson, UPF Youth Peace Council, Russia

Mrs. Carolyn Handschin, President, WFWP Europe

Mr. Jack Corley, President, UPF Europe

12:30              End of general program

14:00-17:30    Youth Working Group: "Youth Engagement in Contemporary Society"