Previous Vienna Seminars
35th Annual Seminar on Peacemaking and Peacekeeping in Vienna, 2005
“Developing Peace Partnerships in Africa“
The annual International Peace Academy (IPA) Vienna Seminar, co-hosted with the Diplomatic Academy Vienna, the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and the Austrian National Defense Academy, has traditionally focused on peacekeeping and peacemaking.
In recent years, the Seminar has examined the development of the European Union’s capacities for crisis management and peace operations in cooperation with the UN (2003), security concerns and cooperative efforts to deal with them in Central Asia (2002), and conflicts, peacemaking, and peacekeeping in the Caucasus (2001). Due to the rapidly rising commitment of UN Peacekeeping and Peacemaking on the African continent, IPA and the Austrian partners decided to initiate a two-year seminar cycle on peace efforts in Africa in 2004.
For 2005, the 35th IPA Vienna Seminar convened some 115 participants from 10-13 July 2005 at the National Defense Academy and the Diplomatic Academy Vienna. The 2005 Vienna Seminar aimed to give tangible meaning to the notion of “peace partnerships” in Africa by identifying specific projects for assisting the African Union in realizing its Peace and Security agenda. The theme was inspired by African-led initiatives to construct a framework for promoting peace, security, and prosperity on the continent. Seminar participants sought to contribute to policy development processes associated with the African Union (AU), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), and African sub-regional economic communities (RECs) such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD, in East Africa). The 2005 Seminar, which built upon the 2004 Vienna Seminar on “Peace Operations in Africa”, was also a response to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s call for institutionalizing partnerships to promote peace in Africa, rather than continuing to rely on ad hoc approaches.
Find the Seminar Program, the Seminar Background Paper and Final Report as well as a selection of pictures here. {NOT YET ENABLED}
34th Vienna Seminar, 2004
“Peace Operations in Africa”
The 34th annual IPA Vienna Seminar, bringing together 88 participants from 30 June to 3 July, 2004, examined the African security architecture, international and regional decision-making systems for peace operation in Africa, and the evolving peacekeeping capacity of actors within Africa under the overarching title of “Peace Operations in Africa”. The Seminar also discussed normative, doctrinal, and operational issues concerning the use of force in peace operations, and briefings provided the challenges for current peace operations in Africa. Breakout groups studied issues concerning security and development, post-conflict justice, and cooperation among organizations in Africa.
33rd Vienna Seminar, 2003
“Cooperation in Peace Operations: The United Nations and Europe”
The 33rd annual IPA Vienna Seminar, held 4-5 July 2003, was co-organized with the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and the Austrian National Defense Academy. Roughly seventy participants from the political, diplomatic, and military arenas, as well as members of academia and NGOs, met to discuss how cooperation in peace operations conducted by the UN, the EU, NATO, and other international actors might be improved in the future. This discussion was conducted with a view toward further implementing the recommendations of the Brahimi Report.
32nd Vienna Seminar, 2002
“Central Asia’s First Decade of Independence: Promises and Problems”
The seminar, held 4-6 July 2002, brought together more than 70 diplomats, academics, UN and OSCE officials as well as high-level representatives from the Central Asian States. The seminar examined how successfully the states of Central Asia have managed the challenges of peace and security, economic development and governance in the first decade of their independence. The seminar also explored the prospect of enhancing cooperation both at the intra- and inter-regional level with the objective of strengthening the institutions entrusted with the task of tackling the critical issues confronting the countries in the Central Asian space. The Austrian Diplomatic Academy in Vienna hosted the Seminar.
31st Vienna Seminar, 2001
“Promoting Institutional Responses to the Challenges in the Caucasus and Improving Co-operation Between the OSCE, UN, EU and the CIS”
Drawing on case studies of the most relevant peace and security issues in the Caucasus, the occasion enabled participants to scrutinize the international and regional security organizations’ interaction and to draw lessons learned for the future; the experience of the UN and the OSCE in managing the challenges of the Caucasus; and the institutional approaches for strengthening security co-operation in the region.
30th Vienna Seminar, 2000
“Sharing Political Space in Peacekeeping: The United Nations and Regional Organizations – The Case of Europe”
On July 6-8, 2000, IPA celebrated the 30th anniversary of the annual IPA Seminar on Peacemaking and Peacekeeping in Vienna with a commemorative expert session to mark the special occasion. The Austrian Diplomatic Academy in Vienna hosted the Seminar. The seminar consisted of four three-hour session: “Respective Role of Multilateral Institutions in Addressing Conflicts in Europe”, “Bosnia & Herzegovina: The Field Experience”, “Kosovo: The Field Experience”, and “Lessons Learned for the Next Century”.
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