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The Vienna UN Conference highlighted actions and challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) and in the spirit of SDG 17. The Vienna Liaison Office of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) organized the Conference from January 10-12, 2018. It was co-ordinated by Heather Wokusch. She mentored a group of young journalists who produced a series of articles IDN-INPS is delighted to carry.
IDN-INPS covered the Vatican Conference on "Prospects for a World free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament" on November 10-11, the first such gathering organised by the Pope. Apart from giving a glimpse of conference sessions, IDN-INPS Multimedia Director Katsuhiro Asagiri shot video clips of interviews with the Vatican representatives and independent experts.
IDN-INPS joined journalists from various parts of the world on a one-day trip to watch the inauguration of the Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank Storage Facility of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP) in Ust-Kamenogorsk, also known as Oskemen, in East Kazakhstan region on August 28.
Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko explains at length Kazakhstan's modernization plans aimed, among others, at developing the Kazakh language, making the young generation trilingual, and switching over from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet by 2025.
Tariq Rauf, former Director of SIPRI’s Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-proliferation Programme, explains in an interview with IDN-INPS Editor-in-Chief the 'old' and 'new' nuclear dangers confronting the world, and reveals how and why the 65-nation UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva remains blocked for nearly two decades.
Former UN Under-Secretary-General and outgoing Pugwash Conference President Jayantha Dhanapala explains 'old' and 'new' nuclear dangers the world is confronted with.
Sixty years after convening its first meeting, Pugwash held its 62nd conference in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, from August 25-29, 2017. While IDN-INPS Editor-in-Chief and Director-General explains the significance of this landmark international gathering hosted by Kazakhstan, the video captures important milestones of the opening day with a film explaining the history of the nuclear age until today and one speaker after another stressing the compelling need for undertaking every effort to usher in a world free of nuclear weapons.
It was overwhelming to meet Karipbek Kuyukov in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, during the 62nd Pugwash Conference focussed on Confronting New Nuclear Dangers. We talked about the pressing need to do away with nuclear weapons. Visiting an exhibition of his paintings in the National Museum of Kazakhstan was a shattering experience.
IDN-INPS was witness to four notable events several days ahead of July 2 that marked the 25th anniversary of the country's diplomatic service. These imparted Astana the flavour of a vigorous hub of international activity aimed at connecting people of all ethnicities, religions and political predispositions.
As Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko told IDN in Astana, Kazakhstan's diplomacy in 25 years was marked by 25 achievements that were topped by those in regional and global diplomacy.
IDN-INPS travelled to Kazakhstan to provide an in-depth coverage of EXPO 2017 Astana inaugurated on June 10. Touted by some as the 'Disneyland for Adults' and 'a virtual reality beyond science fiction' by others, EXPO 2017 shows the ways to access affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
