News & Announcements

  Find links to stories related to COP30 to be held in Belém, Brazil. (10 November - 21 November) The climate question: where COP fits into the world's response A Pacific climate change advisor, who has attended multiple iterations of the United Nations climate summit, the Conference of Parties (COP), says it is not perfect, but it is the only process the world currently has. Source: RNZ InternationalPosted: 14 April 2025 Pacific climate activists join over 180 groups urging COP30 hosts to end fossil fuels dependence Pacific climate activists this week handed a letter from civil society to this year's United Nations climate conference hosts, Brazil, emphasising their demands for the end of fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy. More than 180 indigenous, youth, and environmental organisations from across the world have signed the letter, coordinated by the campaign organisation, 350.org. Source: RNZ InternationalPosted: 12 April 2025 'We cannot let this moment pass': Palau leader is all-in for Australia-led Pacific COP Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr fully supports a Australia-led Pacific United Nations climate change conference (COP31) next year. Whipps, who is in Sydney to promote smart energy and support Australia's COP31 bid, said hosting the annual climate conference in partnership with the Pacific is Canberra's "opportunity to lead on the world stage-with credibility and conscience". Source:RNZ InternationalPosted: 10 April 2025   Image: Poetra.RH/shutterstock.com    

  In this interview with The Korea Times, Moon Chung-in, the James Laney Distinguished Professor at Yonsei University discusses U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, its impacts on South Korea and East Asia, and the pivotal role of China in the new international order. The interview was held on the occasion of the publication of Prof. Moon’s new book, titled “Why Has U.S. Diplomacy Failed?” The full interview can be accessed here.   Image: Maria Ajmal/shutterstock.com    

Hearing Peace: Music, Sound and Notes in Peace Education by Dieter Senghass is a new book due to be released by Springer in April 2025.   When social scientists, publicists and teachers approach the problem of peace, they pay special attention to the causes of violence and war. Recently, however, insights into the causes of peace have gained broad resonance. The question is which factors, individually and in their interaction, are sustainably conducive to peace. Aesthetic dimensions of a peace order, however, usually remain underexposed, although the problem of peace can be impressively conveyed through images of peace. The fact that the essays in this book explain that access to various dimensions of peace through musical and compositional contributions can also be illuminating: Which peace-relevant problems have composers addressed in their works? Striking examples are explained. They are all to be found in the offerings of classical, i.e. value-retaining music of the past five centuries. Dieter Senghaas, professor emeritus of international relations, University of Bremen, was one of most innovative contemporary German social scientists, with major contributions on peace and development research and on music and peace. He was awarded many prizes: the International Peace Research Award (1987), Göttingen Peace Prize (1999), Culture and Peace Prize of the Villa Ichon in Bremen (2006), and the Leopold-Kohr Prize of the Austrian Ministry of Science and Research (2010). This book is published as part of Springer's Pioneers in Arts, Humanities, Science, Engineering, Practice series.    

    A new book published by Springer charts John W. Burton's transition from practitioner in diplomacy to pioneer in the theory of peace research, thinking on world society and conflict resolution. The book includes an important chapter by Toda Peace Institute Director, Kevin P. Clements. This book is published as part of Springer's Pioneers in Arts, Humanities, Science, Engineering, Practice series.    

    The slew of executive orders signed within hours of Trump re-entering the White House and others since have caused consternation for Pacific leaders and communities and alarm for those operating in the region. Read more in this opinion column by Tess Newton Cain, Principal Consultant at Sustineo P/L and adjunct Associate Professor at the Griffith Asia Institute. This article published by RNZ News. Image: wikicommons