United Nations Events Scheduled
This semester, the University will welcome four dignitaries who will lecture on campus as part of the United Nations Pathways Lecture Series. Videoconferences and NGO briefings also are scheduled.
United Nations Lectures
On Wednesday, February 25, Gunnar Pálsson, permanent representative of Iceland to the United Nations, will discuss “Iceland — Past, Present and Future” at 6:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Student Union Building, Metropolitan Campus.
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Amb. Gunnar Pálsson, left, presents his |
Prior to his appointment as permanent representative, Pálsson was Iceland’s ambassador to India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Nepal, Maldives and Mauritius. From 2002 to 2006, he was director of natural resources and environmental affairs at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He also was chairman of the senior arctic officials of the Arctic Council (2002–2004) and served as ambassador and permanent representative of Iceland to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Western European Union in Brussels and Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague (1998–2002). He was Iceland’s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York from 1994 to 1998.
Pálsson started his career as a journalist at the daily Morgunbladid in 1977. He joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1984 and then became a member of the international staff of NATO in Brussels in 1986. In 1988, he returned to Reykjavik as a counsellor at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, where he became a deputy under-secretary for political affairs in 1992. Prior to that, he was an ambassador to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and participated in negotiations on Confidence and Security-Building Measures and Conventional Forces in Europe (1991–1992).
On Wednesday, March 4, Khalid Abdalrazaq Al-Nafisee, permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations, will talk about “Saudi Arabia and Its Region in the World” at 6:30 p.m. in Lenfell Hall, Hennessy Hall, College at Florham.
Before his appointment to the United Nations in 2008, Al-Nafisee worked for many years at Saudi Aramco, the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia. Most recently, he served as Aramco’s vice president of Abqaiq Plants, Power and Pipelines (2001–2008), and previously as president of Saudi Petroleum International Inc. (1990–1992). He also worked at Aramco as manager of RT (relocatable terminal) terminal operations/maintenance, superintendent of operations and engineer at operations engineering.
Before joining Aramco in 1977, Al-Nafisee worked as a senior chemical engineer at C.F. Braun Company, an engineering firm in California, and served as a first lieutenant engineer with the Saudi Army Corps of Engineers, between 1973 and 1974.
Left photo: Amb. Khalid Abdalrazaq Al-Nafisee, left, presents his credentials to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Right photo: Amb. Lila Hanitra Ratsifandrihamanana, left, with, from left, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and Jean-Marie Ehouzou, permanent representative of the Republic of Benin and chairman of the African Group.
On Wednesday, March 25, Lila Hanitra Ratsifandrihamanana, permanent observer of the African Union to the United Nations, will discuss “The African Union — The Hope for a Brighter Future” at 6:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Student Union Building, Metropolitan Campus.
Prior to her appointment as permanent observer, she was stationed in Dakar as Madagascar’s ambassador to Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Cape Verde and Côte d’Ivoire. Between 1998 and 2002, she was appointed minister for foreign affairs after serving a year as minister for scientific research. As foreign minister, she participated in statutory meetings of the United Nations and its organs, of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the Non-Aligned Movement and the “Group of 77” developing countries and China. She was also active in regional organizations like the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Indian Ocean Commission, which she chaired in 2000.
Amb. Nawaf Salam.
On Wednesday, April 1, Nawaf Salam, permanent representative of Lebanon to the United Nations, will talk about “Lebanon — Past, Present and Future” at 6:30 p.m. in Lenfell Hall, Hennessy Hall, College at Florham.
Prior to his appointment to the United Nations, Salam served as chair of the political studies and public administration department at the American University of Beirut. A visiting associate professor of political science from 2003 to 2005, he also worked as a part-time lecturer at the institution while busy with his private law practice between 1992 and 2003. From 1989 to 1992, he was a foreign legal consultant at the law firm of Edwards & Angell in Boston, Mass.
Proficient in Arabic, English and French, Salam co-authored the draft law submitted by the Special Electoral Law Commission to the Government of Lebanon in June 2006, in addition to drafting and editing a related report of the Commission.
The U.N. Pathways lectures are free and are preceded by a half-hour refreshment and reception period. The series is presented by the Office of Global Learning in conjunction with The Ambassador’s Club at the United Nations.
Videoconferences
Two videoconferences originating at the United Nations can be viewed on Thursday, March 5, and Tuesday, April 7, at 10 a.m. in the ITV rooms on both campuses (Room 1132, Continuing Education Suite, Dickinson Hall, Metropolitan Campus, and Room 214, Dreyfuss Building, College at Florham).
On March 5, “The Relevance and Reform of the United Nations: Role of NGOs and Civil Society, Prospects of Reform, Likely Future Scenarios” will be discussed. Lydia Swart, executive director, and Jonas Von Freiesleben, senior research analyst, both from the Center for U.N. Reform Education, will be two of the panelists.
On April 7, the subject will be “The Problems of Outer Space: The Dangers of Weaponisation in Outer Space, Missiles and Satellites, Impact on Sovereignty,” with Randy Rydell, political affairs officer, Office of the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations, as a member of the panel.
NGO Briefings
Faculty, staff and students are also invited to attend nongovernmental organization (NGO) briefings held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. These U.N. briefings are open to Fairleigh Dickinson because it is one of 10 universities in the country to earn accreditation as an NGO from the Department of Public Information of the United Nations.
A pass is needed to attend the NGO briefings. To obtain a pass, e-mail jo-anne_murphy@fdu.edu at least three days prior to the briefing. To view a list of the topics, go to http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/index.asp and click on Briefing and Events Calendar for January–June 2009.
For more information contact 973-443-8876 or e-mail jo-anne_murphy@fdu.edu or go to the Web site http://globaleducation.edu .
