Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the host country, Mexico, welcomed Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, who opened the 62nd Annual Conference of DPI/NGO (Department of Public Information for the Non-governmental Agencies).
The theme of this Conference is DISARM NOW: Desarme Ahora! Trabajemos por la Pax y el Desarrollo.
During the three-day conference, there were panel discussions in the morning, over 10 workshops each afternoon, then debriefings and then closing on Friday evening.
Were present in these workshops: - Mr. Anwar Khoury the Former President of the World Lebanese Cultural Union - Mr. Alejandro Khoury the President of the National Council of the WLCU in Mexico - Mr. Bechara Bechara the President of the Regional council of Latin America of the WLCU – Mr. Sid Chidiac, Alternative Repesentative of the WLCU at the DPI-UN, from New York - Mrs. Mahassen Mara Hanna from the WLCU on the Hudson NJ-NYC Chapter – USA - Dr. Patricia Brummell from the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse - Jacqueline Cabasso, Executive Director, Western States Legal Foundation (US ) - Dr. Waheguru Pal Singh Sidhu, Vice President of Programs, EastWest Institute (India/US) - Kevin Martin, Executive Director, Peace Action (US) - Alexander Pikayev, World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Moscow (Russia) - Mr. Roberto Zamora, a Lawyer and a native of Costa Rica. - Mr. Tadatoshi Akiba, the current mayor of Hiroshima, Japan, and president of Mayors for Peace worldwide network of municipal leaders
Summary:
– Wednesday at 3:30, first workshop: Warfare or Welfare: Which Priorities? Sponsor: International Peace Bureau (Switzerland) Co-Sponsors: NGO Committee for Disarment, Geneva Pax Christi International. Peace Action Peace Boat. This workshop was in room number 2, Ex Templo Corpus Christi (Ex of Corpus Christi) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Meeting: Jeffrey V. Huffines- Chair of the NGO/DPI Executive Committee
– Thursday, September 10, 2009 Meeting: Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information from the UN Charles Hitchcock – Peace Action International Chair, 62nd Annual DPI/NGO Conference. He is the one who organized this event. From 12-1:30, I attended the round table: Breakout Sessions-Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 3:30-5:00 Disarm Now to Create a Culture of Peace: Using Advocacy, Activism and Art to Speak out Against Nuclear Weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction. Sponsor: KIK- Kulturel Information and Koordination (Denmark) Co-Sponsors: The Ribbon International Peace Action Social- Cultural Association DJs Contra La Fam Women’s Caucus for Art This workshop was in building 6. Museo Franz Mayer (Franzs Mayer Museum).
– Friday, September 11, 2009 Roundtable IV: New Challenges and Perspectives for Global Development and Security for the 21st Century Ministry of Foreign Affairs 10:00 A.M. – 11:30 A.M.
