Activities

Mar 22: We also curated an SDG 5 Hub Projects page and had thousands of visitors to its digital open house promoting activism on International Women’s Day. Pictured are two of the featured Projects: FRIDA and Akina Mama Wa Afrika.

Mar 22: Consulting a capacity-building project focused on human trafficking prevention and mitigation for refugees from Ukraine – emphasis is on women and children. Aim is to consolidate resources and provide necessities.

Feb 22: Joined Aigerim Seitenova in conducting field research for a major multimedia project being developed on the nuclear-climate nexus. SDGs always in focus.

Feb 22: Created an innovative, L&D, virtual-learning path dedicated to the Global Compact, which is based on CEO commitments to implement universal sustainability principles.

Feb 22: Setting up an SDG 5 Hub to launch next month. The Hub will engage with impactful individuals and initiatives while showcasing related projects.

Jan 22: At the EXPO in Dubai for the Sustainable Development Goals week. Loved the Women’s Pavilion – but measurable results in empowering changemakers is key.

Jan 22: Very productive meetings at the EXPO United Nations Hub – exploring possible synergies for a variety of upcoming projects. Also participated in the SDG Media Hub.

Jan 22: Held a training on burnout prevention and mitigation with Global Citizen Mentorship Program members focused on implementing SDG 3 Micro-Projects internationally.

Dec 21:  Wrapping up a busy year of public speaking, event moderating, multimedia creating, and workshop leading on a global basis. Grateful to make a positive and large-scale impact in these pandemic times.

Dec 21:  I developed a new project (Micromedia Modular Database) which will provide a digital library of evidence-based material that can be shared via mobile channels and scaled through SMS/USSD distribution.

Dec 21: In May 2018, I spoke at No Home for Hate
re. social media’s effects on the perception of
females in society and strategies for dealing with
related attacks in digital spaces. Delighted to meet
with the still-engaged youth leaders.

Nov 21: Very much enjoyed participating in Green Zone activities at COP26. Connected with Indigenous Peoples, grass roots community members, youth activists, business people and many more focused on making positive environmental impact.

Nov 21: Loved joining the Ubuntu National School Meeting and IPAV in Lisbon – over 1,000 participants with an energized, rock-concert vibe. Wonderful catching up with Doaa Al Zamel, who provided an inspirational speech on resilience.

Nov 21: Discussed synergies between aims of MESPERO and SDG2030.me with members of Ubuntu and IPAV: i.e. empowering youth as agents of change, promoting peace and justice education, and contributing to developing more inclusive and resilient societies.

Nov 21: Our Nuclear Climate Change side event held during the COP26 Climate Summit had this focus:  ‘Using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a roadmap, we mark an important milestone in promoting intergenerational, apolitical, and constructive dialogue aimed at contextualizing climate change while mitigating the existential threat of nuclear warfare and its resulting environmental impact.’

Nov 21: The Youth Council for our COP26 side event represented six nations, multiple disciplines and various universities. These talented individuals supported with organizing the event, conducting the related media, and planning subsequent activities. In a Central European University article, Youth Council Head Madalina Bot said that the event brought ‘novel angles to reflect and act upon.’

Nov 21: I initiated and moderated this COP26 side event panel in Scotland: ‘Existential Threats and Interconnected Solutions’. Lydia Omuko-Jung discussed climate change litigation, Sahil Shah provided the link to nuclear-weapon agreements, Aigerim Seitenova outlined nuclear-weapon testing at Semipalatinsk, and Hyab Yohannes discussed contemporary refugee issues. The panel then explored synergies for positive global change.

Nov 21: Ran a design thinking challenge for delegates to the Austrian Parliament’s Western Balkans program in cooperation with the European Fund for the Balkans. The aim was to support the European Commission with the Green New Deal.

Nov 21: Very proud of Kendall Alaimo and Malaika Oringo for addressing the UN General Assembly on the appraisal of the UN Global Plan of Action to combat trafficking. Both travelled to NYC and spoke about the necessity for survivor-led solutions.

Nov 21: Supported the Austrian Parliament’s Democracy Workshop Forum again this year. The event built capacity for various EU countries re. expanding concepts behind democracy, parliamentary life, media competence and the European Union.

Oct 21: Consulting educational institutions on the mental health challenges they are experiencing in returning students and educators. This global issue must be dealt with systemically -> DMHC.

Oct 21: As Director of Development for the International Forum for Understanding, I am co-organizing a Side Event for COP26: Nuclear Climate Change.

Oct 21: As a unique digital event for COP26, I am also releasing original or curated multimedia activities on climate change or showcasing a related youth-led initiative every day for 26 days.

Sep 21: Delighted to join a panel and hold a workshop in Moscow at the 4th Forum of Social Innovations of the Regions. My area of focus: workplace resilience in light of the pandemic.

Sep 21: My interactive ‘Burnout Management’ L&D workshop in Moscow was a major success. Hundreds of participants had come from all over Russia to optimize their workforce processes.

Sep 21: Participating in Moscow’s 4th Forum of Social Innovations was part of SDG2030’s September initiative focused on SDG 8:  Decent Work and Economic Growth.

Aug 21: Supporting a global entity to develop a burnout prevention and mitigation strategy for its employees. Workplace culture is directly connected to burnout occurrence and staff retention.

Aug 21: At European Forum Alpbach, I moderated this panel: ‘The Great European Transformation – A Digital and Sustainable Economy.’ Focus was on successfully mitigating the pandemic’s economic and social impact.

Aug 21: Panelists included Austrian Federal Minister Margarete Schramböck, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess, EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, and electromobility CEO Martin Klässner. Vibrant discussion!

Jul 21:  Marking the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, I initiated and coordinated a unique event and exhibition live-streamed globally; the aim was to highlight those with lived experience.

Jul 21: Sponsored by the International Forum for Understanding (for which I am the Director of Development), the broadcast also featured contributions from ODIHR, ISTAC, UNODC, and the Anti-Slavery Collective and various universities.

Jul 21: The related exhibition showcased the artistic autobiographical analysis of traumatic experiences of childhood trafficking of Laurent Ziegler along with digital contributions from Kendall Alaimo and Apne Aap.

Jul 21: Keynoted at #WGC, a high-level, online HR conference with 500 senior decision-makers in attendance. The topic: “Emotional wellbeing, mental health and resilience in the workplace.”

Jul 21: This is a cool graphic #WGC made about my speech – which applied a major transition management model to dealing with the implications of the pandemic on HR globally.

Jul 21: Developed a concept for creating scalable psycho-education and self-help digital tools to build immediate capacity for individuals and systems while iterating a scalable business model.

June 21: Given the success of last month’s eLearning initiative, this month, SDG2030.me focuses on creating interactive learning material for SDG 14: Life below Water. With that aim, we have cooperated with classrooms in the US to determine the kinds of digital games preferred by different age groups.

June 21: And here are the winners! ‘Save the Oceans Adventure Game’ won out among high school students, while the ‘Ocean Quiz Challenge’ was preferred by a younger audience. We also made ‘Ocean Stewardship 2030’ in connection to the UN Global Compact Action Platform for Sustainable Ocean Business.

June 21: Doing a lot of virtual conference speaking this month about pandemic-related HR issues and concrete actions corporations can take right now to mitigate the expected challenges in Q3 and Q4 2021. Keeping the ‘human touch’ in the midst of digital transformation is key.

May 21: MESPERO is happy to add Humanitarian Community Life to its project roster. The focus is on building capacity for mental health and psychosocial support volunteers in Syria and Yemen.

May 21: A lot of progress re. my SHE OR HE Burnout Model. My article ‘A new model for dealing with pandemic-related burnout’ was featured by United for Global Mental Health, and SHE OR HE became a MESPERO project.

May 21: This month, SDG2030.me created a 28-minute television and social media segment dedicated to ‘SDG 15: Life on Land’. We also featured original virtual learning modules and a project challenge for SDG 15.

Apr 21: Having taught internationally for decades, I’m very concerned about the mental health tinderbox awaiting schools globally next year. I’m often asked to join panels to discuss these topics, but eager to do much more on a systemic level.

Apr 21: For SDG2030.me’s April initiative, I developed six health-related projects, ranging from equine-assisted therapy to an MHPSS initiative for Syria. Half of the projects have already received support, and we are pursuing contacts for the others.

Apr 21: I also set up a virtual art gallery called ‘SDG 3 as Art’ featuring photographers, painters and sculptors globally. As in-person galleries remain closed, it was inspiring to create this digital alternative showcasing health-related pieces.

Mar 21: As SDG 2030’s first initiative, we created a 75-minute interactive, online event for International Women’s Day 2021. Social Hackathon, Dynamic Storytelling, Special Guests… and so much more for SDG 5.

Mar 21: Thrilled to announce a co-operation with the NYC-based Manhattan Neighborhood Network to broadcast the SDG 5 event on its television channels. Many thanks to Co-Producer Gloria Messer.

Mar 21: Delighted to moderate an online workshop for the Austrian Parliament aimed at scaling its Democracy Workshop program to other countries. (photo: © Parlamentsdirektion / Thomas Topf)

Feb 21: Had the honor of interviewing Dr. Nora Sveass, dr. psychol. who is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Oslo and Chair of Health and Human Rights Info.

Feb 21: Chaired a panel on ‘Interfaith Cooperation as a Basis for Social Cohesion’ for the UN’s Interfaith Harmony Week

Feb 21: Founded SDG 2030 which will hold monthly interactive campaigns for SDG implementation.

Jan 21: Wonderful to speak at the Momentum 2021 event connected to Medium. I presented on strategies for handling burnout and introduced my new ‘SHE OR HE’ model for recovery and balance.

Jan 21: Due to the great response at Momentum 2021, I have decided to develop my ‘SHE OR HE’ model of burnout recovery and balance. Coming soon!

Jan 21: Enjoyed being a full-hour guest on the award-winning Shrink Rap Radio. We discussed everything from the pandemic’s collective trauma to global HR’s paradigm shift towards augmented analytics.

Dec 20: MESPERO has joined The International Forum for Understanding, which is based in Cambridge and promotes constructive dialogue for impactful solutions.

Dec 20: It’s official! MESPERO’s 2021 project ‘Scalable MHPSS Multimedia Tools for Low-Resource and Conflict Areas’ will focus on target groups in Syria and Kenya.

Dec 20: The Council of Europe is dedicated to human rights, democracy and rule of law. This month, I supported a project in relation to the prevention of torture and violent extremism.

Nov 20: Participated in Qatar’s World Innovation Summit for Health 2020. Really enjoyed engaging in discussions about The Digital Mental Health Revolution: Transforming Care Through Innovation And Scale-Up (credit: WISH).

Nov 20: Very honored to have received a letter from the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth Jayathma Wickramanayake in support of my TEDx Talk ‘helping to put the urgency of protecting mental health under the spotlight.’

Nov 20: The Paris Peace Forum was held virtually this year. Connected with many other attendees, especially regarding the urgency of Supporting vulnerable populations during pandemics (credit: Paris Peace Forum).

Oct 20: Loved giving the TEDx Talk entitled Protecting Mental Health in Crazy Times: A To-Do List. How do we promote healing for ourselves and for our societies? A checklist for building mental health and resilience.

Oct 20: Participated in the G20 Interfaith Forum with over 1,000 policymakers, religious leaders, experts and others. Especially interested in the panel on Refugees and Migrants with Focus on Women and Youth.

Oct 20: Spoke in various conferences focused on reinventing the workforce to build resilience and ensure organizational stability. Health crisis leads to financial crisis leads to social crisis – we need to be ready.

Sep 20: Delighted to report that MESPERO was among the winners of the Wonder Women Tech Hack for Humanity this month.

Sep 20: I’ve been invited to give a TEDx Talk next month on the theme of paradigm-shifting ideas for contemporary society. I will talk about mental health.

Sep 20: Took part in some of the United Nations General Assembly events again this year. I especially appreciated the “Women Rise for All” spotlight on female leadership guided by the SDGs.

Aug 20: The International Leadership Conference will be virtual this year and feature thousands of participants. I’m honored to chair the Africa-EU session dedicated to ‘Opportunity and Hope at a Time of Global Crisis.’

Aug 20: Delighted to participate in European Forum Alpbach for its 75th anniversary dedicated to ‘Fundamentals.’ For years, have appreciated the strong cooperation on topics such as media literacy and youth empowerment (© EFA).

Aug 20: In its new hybrid format, European Forum Alpbach has featured over 50 digital events curated by young people. I supported the Forum Alpbach Network in two such panels on critical contemporary topics. (©EFA, ‘Skills in a Connected World’)

Jul 20: In Colombia, one in five mothers is a teenager, and related mental health challenges are common. Worked with Colombian affiliates to devise an Impact Tech pilot addressing this marginalized demographic with digital self-care focused on promoting resilience and mental health. (credit: Unsplash)

Jul 20:  Happy to support the Regional Academy on the United Nations in mentoring young academics researching the role of partnership and cooperation in and beyond the UN system; our focus was on creating a sustainable and peaceful future for all via collective action for youth. #UN75 (credit: RAUN)

Jul 20: Consulting a university with increasing rates of depression and substance abuse among its now-remote students. Design-based and iterative solutions are key. Accordingly, UN SG Gutterres recently called for mental health solutions in which youth are empowered to ‘design and deliver the change’.

Jun 20: Enjoying the University of California Berkeley’s certification course on positive psychology and the sciencebased principles of happiness.

Jun 20: Have moderated and participated in meetings and global conference calls on Future of Work and Future of Education trends post-COVID.

Jun 20: Conducting an informal, exploratory (and fascinating) survey on preferences in mental health apps with the aim of optimizing the eventual design of MESPERO.

May 20: Doing a lot of organizational development consulting this month – companies everywhere are wondering how to come back stronger after the pandemic….

May 20: Taking an intensive online training course for building apps! UI, UX, coding, and wireframes – getting ready to cooperate with pros in building MESPERO.

May 20: Also working on certification in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Very rewarding to enhance my advanced degree in Clinical Psychology with new strategies for improving therapeutic outcomes.

Apr 20: Enjoyed serving as an incentive speaker on another Women’s Empowerment Program conference call for the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. The participants discussed their SDG MicroProjects. (credit: Viola Christian)

Apr 20: Here is my latest article published on Medium: Building Resilience during Crises, From a war zone to COVID19: Interview with Syrian playwright and artist Nour Barakeh. (credit: © UNHCR/ Stefanie Steindl)

Apr 20: I’m creating MESPERO, a digital self-care solution focused on emotional wellbeing and mental health. The aim is to build capacity with underserved groups by sharing evidence-based methods and support.

Mar 20: I’ve enjoyed getting back into writing during this lockdown. One of the articles published on Medium (Better Humans) is: ‘How to Thrive in Your New Home Office – Increasing productivity and avoiding burnout during the COVID-19 shutdown.’

Mar 20: Here’s another article published on Medium this month: Ten Tips for Leading Remotely – How to manage your team virtually during the coronavirus crisis. This article originated from ongoing coaching sessions I’m having with managers of multinationals.

Mar 20: More progress on my project which aims at enabling refugees in a Jordanian camp to have improved access to information on mental health while being empowered to advocate for their rights within a gender-equal context.

Feb 20: Made this website for Rania Ali. She has been nominated for the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Tolerance Award! We will travel to the UAE for the related ceremony. Good luck Rania!

Feb 20: And Rania Ali won the Tolerance Award in the Aesthetic Arts category! Very proud of Rania for this well-deserved honor and looking forward to witnessing her next steps (credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News).

Feb 20: Moderated an event in Rome linking
societal cohesion with tackling discrimination
along with xenophobia, misogyny and hatred
towards minorities.

Jan 20: Conducted SDG 5 Thrive workshops on digital storytelling for social change. Wonderful to reunite this amazing group again!

Jan 20: The digital projects I have been developing have taken shape and found interesting cooperation partners. The project emphasis is on young people, mental health, telemedicine, Early Childhood Development, public policy and the SDGs.

Jan 20: Honored to be given access to the World Health Organization’s QualityRights Initiative e-learning material, focused on building capacity for mental health services. A wealth of information to research for these next steps.

Dec 19: Served as an incentive speaker for the
Women’s Empowerment Program of the Ban
Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. Motivated
group of participants (credit: BKMC).

Dec 19: Consulting an NGO on strat coms for
advocacy outreach. The aim is to impact both
policy dialogue and awareness raising on GBV
and related issues.

Jan 20: Chaired a session at the United Nations in Vienna: ‘Interfaith Peacebuilding and Crime Prevention.’ Multiple entities converged to share findings.

Nov 19: Honored to moderate a two-day conference of data specialists connected to the EU Parliament (credit: Parlamentsdirektion-Jantzen)

Nov 19: ‘Throwback Thursday’ photo with Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz and Anya Schiffrin at EFA with the self-organizing group.

Nov 19: Discussing the connection between women’s security and the threat of various weapons systems (SDG Target 16.4) at an international conference.

Oct 19: Participated in two ‘Chatham House Rule’ events debating the future impact of Artificial Intelligence – both on the labor market and in the humanitarian field. Leveraging big data for social good is tricky, to say the least.

Oct 19: Did quite a few media interviews this month on topics ranging from the Austrian political landscape to the impact of US withdrawal from Northern Syria on the refugee crisis.

Oct 19: Developing a digital storytelling project enabling global youth to design eLearning modules. Emphasis is on youth of a refugee background and on preventing extremism.

Sept 19: A pleasure to speak about the humanitarian implications of Artificial Intelligence at an OSCE conference focused on HR topics.

Sept 19: Participated in the interactive data lab for the launch of the Women Count Data Hub, which provides public access to gender data that can be used to monitor SDG progress (credit: UN Women).

Sept 19: Delighted to participate in the Mental Health for All Evening Reception. HM Queen Mathilde of Belgium and President Maada of Sierra Leone keynoted (credit: SDG Action Zone).

Aug 19: What an honor to interview former UN SG Ban Ki-moon, a truly inspiring world leader. Many thanks to the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens for having facilitated this opportunity (credit: EFA – Matteo Vegetti).

Aug 19: I accompanied the self-organizing group of Scholarship Holders for part of their journey. Here they are developing a storyboard for the video  we did  together (credit: EFA – Bogdan Baraghin).

Sept 19: Attended the United Nations  General Assembly and corresponding SDG Action Zone activities in New York. Had some talks about a series of new digital projects I am developing.

Aug 19: Our first interview at European Forum Alpbach this year was with Pascal Lamy, former DG of the World Trade Organization, current President of the Paris Peace Forum (credit: EFA – Matteo Vegetti).

Aug 19: Nour Barakeh, Suad Mohamed and I interviewed H.E. Ban on everything from defunding war to promoting the SDGs. Stefan Yazzie Herbert was the videographer (credit: EFA – Matteo Vegetti).

Aug 19: With Jeffrey and Sonia Sachs at the pitch of the Telemedicine team at EFA. Suad Mohamed is part of this team with a medical background and a compelling digital project.

Jun 19: Participated in the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty SnT 2019 conference. Wonderful to see Marjeanne Nour at this important event.

Jul 19: Spent the weekend in Stockholm with the SDG 5 Thrive Founders. We consolidated plans for some exciting new projects focused on education and integration…

Jul 19: What an honor to co-interview former Austrian President Dr. Heinz Fischer at the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens (credit: WVPU).

May 19: Honored to chair a panel at the Diplomatic Academy with OSCE and UNIDO. Focus on creating
employment opportunities for young women.

Jun 19: It was my pleasure to support Suad Mohamed in preparing for her great speech for World Refugee Day 2019. (credit: KAICIID)

Jun 19: I wrote an op-ed which questioned how a recent political decision will impact capacity building regarding integration. (credit: KAICIID)

Apr 19: I’m stateside again for a week doing organizational development consulting and holding related workshops. I’ve missed the cherry blossoms in D.C.!

May 19: Participated in the Mayor’s reception celebrating the ‘40th Anniversary of the Vienna International Centre’ in the stunning City Hall. Most Vienna-based UN organizations were there in promotion of multidisciplinary cooperation.

May 19: UNHCR and others have partnered with Yo-Yo Ma on the Bach project to promote positive social activism. Delighted to meet UN SDG Guterres again at this event (credit: Caritas).

Mar 19: Had a great visit to the office of Austrian Parliamentarian Dr. Alma Zadić. Creative cooperation between government and civil society is crucial in reaching the SDGs.

Mar 19: Working in Madrid quite a bit this month due to an organizational development project. Wonderful city and great team!

Apr 19: Spoke at a UN event exploring capacity building in the Global South. Innovative and collaborative approaches for reaching the SDGs are critical.

Feb 19: Woman power at the United Nations in Vienna! Suad Mohamed (to my right) and I both joined panels at the “Migration and Interreligious Understanding in the Age of Globalization” conference.

Feb 19: In Seoul, South Korea for a series of conferences. At the Sunhak Peace Prize ceremony, Waris Dirie won for her anti-FGM work, and Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, won for his efforts to eradicate poverty through agricultural innovation.

Feb 19: So nice to see former UN SG Ban Ki-moon again at the Global Engagement & Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development in Seoul. Former Austrian President Heinz Fischer was also in attendance (credit: BKMC).

Nov 18: Honored to speak at the ‘RELX Group SDG Inspiration Day Amsterdam’ which explored the power of partnerships. RELX Group has been at the forefront of innovation in related areas. (photo credit: Minji Kwag)

Jan 19: Honored to have made this website for Doaa Al Zamel – doaa.news. A Syrian refugee, she is one of 11 survivors of the 2014 Malta migrant shipwreck that killed approximately 500.

Jan 19: At the United Nations Vienna to meet the young researchers of the study I reviewed: ‘Electoral reform in Haiti: Ensuring increased women’s participation.’ SDG implementation. Congratulations to RAUN for a great conference!

Oct 18: The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) segment that we shot last month on refugee topics in Austria aired. Many thanks to ORF and to the Austrian Parliamentary team supporting this program.

Oct 18: Did some organizational development consulting focused on learning architecture in Sicily this month; great project. Also took a few days to see the incredible sites in Taormina and Catania. Mt. Etna awaits…

Nov 18: Foreign Policy in Focus ran an article of mine discussing Assange and press freedom issues

Sept 18: Filming an Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) television segment covering various elements of my initiative to impact the narrative on refugee topics in Austria. Shown are: Doaa Al zamel, Suad Mohamed and Nour Barakeh.

Sept 18: I co-moderated the ICDO event at the Vienna City Hall and was very happy to see Rania Ali again. A journalist, her “Escape from Syria: Rania’s Odyssey” has been viewed over 9 million times (credit: Abdulla Abood).

Sept 18: For the International Day of Peace, I initiated a refugee-related event at The World Museum. Many thanks to Second President of the Austrian National Council Doris Bures for hosting, to Doaa Al Zamel, Rania Ali and Nour Barakeh for their keynotes, and to Suad Mohamed for her contribution.

Aug 18: Held ‘Be the Media’ workshops at European
Forum Alpbach. I emphasized media literacy in the
context of societal cohesion, violence prevention,
and user-generated content.

Aug 18: At European Forum Alpbach, I have held
seminars and talks on topics ranging from capacity
building for human rights to peer-learning methods
(Photo credit: © Laurent Ziegler / Forum Alpbach).

Aug 18: Pure joy after our theater piece premiere.
The topic was preventing violent extremism in
youth in post-war settings. Honored to have
former UNSG Ban Ki-moon in the audience.

Apr 18: Co-hosted a two-hour event at the massive Wiener Stadthalle event center. 10,000 participants in the audience and far more via live stream.

May 18: Spoke on a panel at the No Home for Hate
event re. social media’s effects on the perception
of women and girls in society and strategies for
dealing with hate speech and attacks on females
in digital spaces.

Jun 18: Had the pleasure of meeting Ambassador
Khojesta Fana Ebrahimkhel of Afghanistan at the
Women in International Security Vienna event at
the Diplomatic Academy. We discussed gender-
driven violence and mitigation factors.

Feb-Mar 18: Participated in the Opening Session at Elevate, an interdisciplinary festival uniquely combining critical political discourse and contemporary music and art.’ This year’s event focused on Risk and Courage. (photo credit: Elevate)

Feb-Mar 18: At Elevate, I gave a 45-minute talk on the Psychology of Risk and Courage. ‘How can the natural urge for personal growth impact life’s adversities?’ Is there a shared psychological denominator in courageous people?’ (photo credit: Elevate)

Feb/Mar 18: Met with some of the most impactful whistleblowers of our time: Thomas Drake, Matthew Hoh, Cian Westmoreland, Jesselyn Radack and others. Humbled by those who sacrificed so much for the greater public good.

Jan 18: Doaa Al Zamel has been described as ‘the refugee boat hero who saved a child and stirred a continent.’ This amazing young Syrian woman spoke eloquently at our UN SDG 5 event (photo credit: UNIS Vienna).

Jan 18: In the Opening Session of the ACUNS Vienna 2018 Conference, Dr. Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization keynoted on the importance of empowering women in achieving peace. (photo credit: UNIS Vienna)

Jan 18: Closing shot of the wonderful team of volunteers who carried out our three-day United Nations event dedicated to exploring SDG 5 within the context of refugee issues. Honored to have been the Conference Coordinator.

Dec 17: Poster for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) event I initiated and will help moderate. Two of UNODA’s Global South graduates will join, along with Doaa Al Zamel. We will discuss disarmament, inspiring young people… Side Event live-streamed to viewers on four continents.

Dec 17: Final planning stages for the three-day conference I am organizing to take place at the UN Vienna in a few weeks. Massive volunteer effort but will be worth it. Heavy media involvement, live-streamed interaction with universities, etc.

Jan 18: The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation’s Klaus Unterberger (Public Value) and Andreas Pfeifer (Intl. News) on stage. Karuna Parajuli discussed the role of women in post-armed-conflict, peace-building efforts. (photo credit: Webster Vienna Private University)

Sept 17: At  the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna, I moderated an event which gathered stakeholders in aviation security and education to reduce human trafficking. Here, doing a bit of pre-planning with Nancy Rivard, President, Airline Ambassadors International.

Sept 17: To my right is Ismail H. Balla, the Chief of UNODA Vienna. He gave a great talk on the connection of disarmament to both development and sustained peace.

Nov 17: Setsuko Thurlow will jointly accept the Nobel Peace Prize on ICAN’s behalf next month. I initiated and produced a short video of her contribution to the 2014 Humanitarian Impact Conference, her testimony to students, and reaction to the Austrian Pledge. What an amazing woman she is!

May 17: Airing of my televised interview with Dr. Alex Wellerstein, a historian of science who specializes in the history of nuclear weapons and nuclear secrecy. Wellerstein discusses his blog (Restricted Data) and his innovative tools such as NUKEMAP.

Aug 17: For the past two years, I have helped organize and implement Genbaku No Hi, a United Nations event which honors those who died at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and calls for nuclear disarmament.

Sept 17: I moderated the panel on ‘Perspectives for the 21st Century – Migration, Refugee Crisis, European Identity’ at a Peace Day event at the United Nations in Vienna.

Mar 17: Spent the afternoon at the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) filming a news segment about contemporary challenges re. racism, xenophobia, and human rights.

Apr 17: Supported a workshop at the United Nations in Vienna for educators to learn about the Sustainable Development Goals and related human rights factors such as regarding refugee issues.

Apr 17: Airing in the USA of my televised interview with Dr. Robert Jervis, Professor of International Affairs at Columbia University. We discussed human rights and non-proliferation.

Jan 17: Spoke at Act.Now’s International Mayors’ Conference focused on refugee ‘Children under
the Radar.’ Emphasized human-centered and
trauma-informed approaches.

Feb 17: Wonderful to see Ela Gandhi again and to take her for a private tour of the Parliament. As a Parliamentarian in South Africa, she was integral in developing the country’s Constitution.

Feb 17: Inside the ornate Federal Assembly Chamber of the Austrian Parliament, Ela Gandhi reminisced about her grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi, and her time with Nelson Mandela.

Dec 16: At the Czech Republic Foreign Ministry, took part in a global forum for disarmament and human rights. Warsaw Pact signed in this room.

Jan 17: Took part in the event at the UN in Vienna for the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.

Jan 17: I supported the coordination of the ACUNS  conference at the UN Vienna on implementation of the 2030 Agenda for the SDGs.

Sep 16: I co-organized an International Day of Peace  conference at the UN Vienna. This ACUNS/UNODC event looked at the importance of intercultural understanding and disarmament for sustainable development.

Nov 16: “Femicide Watch” event with UNODC, OSCE and others aimed at systematizing data collection and analysis on gender-based violence. I arranged TV coverage from the Austrian Broadcasting Corp.

Nov 16: Part of the multidisciplinary team promoting “Femicide Watch” to reduce violence against women and girls. This digital initiative, aiming at prevention, will curate, categorize and contextualize global data.

Aug 16: Invited to Kazakhstan participate in a global conference of government representatives, religious
leaders, and disarmament experts: Building a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World.

Aug 16: A military person accompanying us to Ground Zero of the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan – measuring radiation levels with a handheld Geiger counter.

Aug 16: Lunch at the Semipalatinsk Test Site. To my left is Ela Ghandi, the former parliamentarian, peace activist, and granddaughter of Mahatma Ghandi. What a beautiful and inspiring soul.

May 16: My Letter to the Editor of the New York Times was published. Denuclearization Must Be Global argues for multilateral nuclear disarmament and a halt to the current related spending expansion.

May 16: Attended Geneva’s Open-ended Working Group of the UN General Assembly on nuclear weapons. A significant working paper was submitted by 126 states which had endorsed the pledge originating at the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in 2014.

Mar 2016: Supported in the UN Vienna screening of “Burden of Peace”, a documentary about the pursuit of justice and the importance of empowering women as agents of change. The film looks at the first female Attorney General of Guatemala, Claudia Paz y Paz, who tackled genocide and fought impunity.