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International
Student/Young Pugwash June 2001 CONTENTS
While it has become really chilly in the Southern Hemisphere, it seems our Northern counterparts have been celebrating summer with conferences and summer courses. The GASAT pre- conference "Visions for Science and Technology in the New Millennium", hosted by the Danish Student Pugwash Group, recently took place in Copenhagen, Denmark (28 June - 7 July 2001). Rian Leith attended and shares his experiences with us in the section ISYP Activities. I would like to invite other attendees to share their views and experiences of the conference with the readers of the newsletter. Contributions on the 22nd ISODARCO Summer Course on "Global Climate Changes and Impact on Natural Resources", held in Italy during June are also eagerly awaited. The Newsletter is also available online at www.student-pugwash.org and you are welcome to request it from me in Word or Word Perfect format (ginavanschalkwyk@yahoo.com). Material for the newsletter should be sent to me at this address: ginavanschalkwyk@yahoo.com. It needs to reach me before the 20th of the month to be included in that month’s newsletter. Thank you. Have a look at the web-site http://www.student-pugwash.org for information and updates on the various conferences and activities that we have announced in previous newsletters! TOGO Since the beginning of May student have been on strike on our campus. They have been protesting against 15 months of unpaid scholarships and the expulsion of two students that supposedly have caused troubles on campus. That unfortunate situation seriously disturbs our organisation’s efforts to make ISYP known by a larger public in our university as well as other activities we planned to do. However, at the board of Student Pugwash Togo, we decided to use this half time to go on in negotiations with local and international organisations not only to make Student Pugwash known locally and abroad, but also to be regularly informed and eventually associated to their activities. We contacted the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa here in Lome; and also our National office of statistics to have a strong formation that can help us in making surveys on various aspects of student life on campus. Indeed, the student section of The Hague Appeal for Peace agreed to register our association in its database. We hope to receive from them enough information on peace efforts over the world. We’ll be very pleased to receive your comments and suggestions. Youssouf Salami (lysalami@hotmail.com)
Student/Young Pugwash Denmark organised a student pre- conference in Copenhagen, Denmark entitled ‘Visions for Science and Technology in the New Millennium’ between 28 June-1 July as a prequel to the 10th Gender and Science and Technology (GASAT-10) conference ‘World Wide Wisdom’. The student pre- conference was not only a wonderful opportunity to meet up with old friends, but also to establish new friendships with fellow Pugees from around the globe. Given the range of diversity represented by attendees from Europe, Africa, Latin America, Canada and the Asia-Pacific, the stage was set for intensive, exciting and stimulating discussions of imperative issues of science and technology. Inspired by the video presentation of the Nobel Case, the two working groups, ‘Transforming Higher Education within Science and Technology’ and ‘Visions for Science And Technology in the New Millennium’ discussed, debated and dissected, exchanged opinions and information, and examined issues from a vast array of angles. As the working group reports indicated, the discussions were substantial and much progress was made in the identification of viable alternative approaches to the issues of science and technology. In preparation for the GASAT-10 conference, the representatives also benefited enormously from the inputs of special plenary speakers. Carin Dackman introduced the Pugees to the influential thought of Vandana Shiva and Jan Harding gave an introduction to GASAT, while John Avery’s presentation of ‘A World Out of Time’ dramatically reminded each and every one of the essential need for social responsibility in dealing with issues of science and technology. At the GASAT-10 conference, we had the exciting opportunity to present the findings of the student pre-conference to the senior delegates and it was well received. The nature of the conference was highly reciprocal, as the younger participants had much to learn from the wisdom and experience of the senior participants, especially concerning gender in science and technology, while the seniors was introduced to S/Y Pugwash and the (hopefully) fresh perspectives we could offer. We also wrote reports of the various activities of the conference, which was included in the daily newsletter, and to my mind it was a great success! I would like to express my sincere thanks to Tom, Kathrine and the other organisers for a highly successful conference from which I (and I am sure everyone else) greatly benefited and drew renewed inspiration. Can’t wait for the next time!!! Rian Leith (South Africa) PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST? As someone who lived in the Middle East for two years, I tend to follow news of the war in Israel with a careful eye. When I lived in Northern Galilee, the situation between Israel, under Netanyahu’s leadership, and the Palestinians wasn’t nearly as bad as it is under the current intehfada, although Israeli troops were still occupying Lebanon. Three years on, Israeli troops are out of Lebanon, but the situation with the Palestinians is becoming unbearable. I’m sure you know all of this, so before you lose interest, I’ll commence my argument. Even back then, Palestinians were demanding the same as now: "Stop the settlements". Israel’s response is still the same: "Stop the terrorist acts first". During the post-Apartheid transition process in South Africa an important lesson was learnt: without a lot of compromise, dialogue and a little bit of blind trust, a peace process won’t go anywhere. When I say this, I mean between the belligerent parties within the troubled country. The Jews and the Arabs need to face the problem of seeking solutions to problems that are unique to that country. And the rest of the world needs to be kept at the appropriate distance (Good morning Vietnam!). The current right-wing coalition government of Ariel Sharon will have to stop hiding behind "Big Brother" and take responsibility themselves. And in any case, I had been led to believe that one of the pre-requisites for a peaceful transition is minimal third-party involvement. That way, ownership of the process and its outcome, and responsibility for the maintenance of peace lies with the people who are directly affected. My point? America must stay out of the Middle East, although under new Secretary of State, Colin Powell (who seems to be eager in a "new boy in class" type of way), this is unlikely to happen. If the Israeli government is serious about peace, they will realise that the settlements must end before the violence will. Chairperson Arafat has only a limited amount of control over the Islamic militias, so to the first step is to win the trust of the Palestinian people, and not the Palestinian Authorities. The trust between Israel and Lebanon, specifically between (Israeli ex- president) Ehud Barak and King Hussein, made the withdrawal of Israeli troops possible, not mediation in America at Camp David! If the Israeli’s stop the settlements good and proper today, can you seriously see another Palestinian bomb going off in Jerusalem tomorrow? I rest my case... Marius van der Walt (TUKSFM) (dukemm@hotmail.com)
An International Student Conference Against Landmines is to be hosted in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 25 to 29 October 2001. Details are available from the ISYP website or from the Workshop web site or http://home.talkcity.com/LibertySt/sarajevoconf/
The 16th CICA International Colloquium on the Brain and Aggression takes place just after the Pugwash Conference, in Bangalore, India, 18-20 November 2001 (organized by the Sri Lanka Pugwash Group). Further information can be obtained from the organisers: Martin Ramirez (C.I.C.A.) mramirez@med.ucm.es or DLO Mendis (Sri Lanka Pugwash Group) pugwash@sltnet.lk; or the ISYP website. NOMINATIONS FOR THE NEW ISYP BOARD The Election Process for the new ISYP Board (as described in the Statutes) opened on the 23rd of June. Jan Braun (ISYPelection@hotmail.com), who acted in the same position for the election of the Interim Committee, has been appointed as the Election Coordinator. Here are a few words from him: 25 June 2001 On the ISYP
Website a section dedicated to the election process has been created.
It includes a timetable and details of the election process, as well
as an outline of the requirements that need to be fulfilled by candidates.
The composition of the new Board is similar to the current Interim Committee:
there are 7 places, of which 5 shall be filled by representatives from
the five continents, while the remaining 2 positions are open to all
candidates. Your prompt action is required as the deadline for nominations is the 21st of July at 12 noon (GMT)!
Invitations for nominations have been sent to national groups with regard to the Agra ISYP Student Pre-Conference which is to be held prior to the 51st Annual Pugwash Conference Challenges for Peace in the New Millennium, Agra, India, 10-16 November 2001. Student pre-conference: 8-10 November 2001. There are regrettably only a total number of 15 places available for international participants, of which 7 are reserved for the ISYP board. All efforts will be made to increase the number of participants and the availability of funding assistance. Please contact the Interim Committee (board@student-pugwash.org) if you know of any possible sources of funding assistance that may be approached. The deadline for nominations has been set of the 28th of July; so all Pugees are encouraged to contact their national chairpersons in this regard as soon as possible. Further information may also be obtained from Carsten Rohr (c.rohr@ic.ac.uk) or the ISYP Website. The Interim Committee works as a collective, and can be contacted at board@student-pugwash.org. International Student/Young Pugwash's web site is constantly being updated. You can find information about ISYP, the latest news such as the Newsletters, upcoming conferences, contact details of S/Y groups world wide, access to the online discussion forum and much more. There has been little activity in the discussion forums on the website ever since their inception. This is a disconcerting state of affairs, as the Internet is one of the main mediums of communication between Pugees around the world. Issues such as the future of ISYP, legal documents, fundraising and other more general ‘world affairs’ are left in limbo and the Interim Committee is forced to make important decisions without getting sufficient input from members. We would like to, once again, beg of you to participate in the discussions to express your opinions and share your knowledge and expertise with us. Carsten Rohr is our web master. If you want to place information on ISYP's web site you can contact him (c.rohr@ic.ac.uk or board@student-pugwash.org). 6. Vision for the Future of ISYP Anyone who would like to share his or her vision or experience of Student Pugwash (or Pugwash proper for that matter) can send an article or essay to me at ginavanschalkwyk@yahoo.com.
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