SUBSTANTIVE NGO COMMITTEES IN VIENNA
(This listing of NGO Committees includes information provided by the Committee. Updates are entered as soon as they are received.)
Ver. 7 October 2024
{Note: Here is an introduction to the role of civil society and NGOs at UN at Vienna written by the United Nations Information Service at Vienna. It includes a section on the following CoNGO Committees in Vienna.}
NGO Committee on Ageing Vienna | Contact: ageingvie@gmail.com | ngoageingvie.org
Board of Officers:
Chair: Shantu Watt | International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse | INPEA | ngoageingvienna@outlook.com Vice-Chair: Dirk Jarré | European Federation of Older Persons | EURAG | dirkjarre@aol.com Vice-Chair: Hava Bugajer-Gleitman | Women’s International Zionist Organization | WIZO | havabugajer@gmail.com Treasurer: Sieglinde Teuwen | Verein zur Förderung der Völkerverständigung | fruehwald@netway.at Treasurer: Thomas Frühwald | International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics | IAGG | ÖGGG | fruehwald@netway.at Secretary: Rita Assogna | International Federation of Business and Professional Women | IFBPW | Rita.assogna@yahoo.de Vice-Secretary: Renate Amesbauer | Women’s Federation for World Peace | WFWP | renate.amesb@gmail.com
The Vienna NGO Committee on Ageing is a Substantive Committee at the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO). It is comprised of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) who address questions related to ageing and older persons. The Committee advocates on behalf of older persons’ rights before the UN Commissions, promotes further integration of ageing issues into UN policies and programmes and encourages Member States to include ageing needs and rights in their policies.
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*Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs | Web: http://vngoc.
Chair: Matej Kosir | Utrip | mkosir@vngoc.org
Deputy Chairperson:
Treasurer: Beatrix Vas | Youth Rise | bvas@vngoc.org
Deputy Treasurer: Augusto Nogueira | anogueira@vngoc.org
Secretary: Asia Ashraf | World Federation Against Drugs | aashraf@vngoc.org
Deputy Secretary: Penelope Hill | Harm Reduction Australia | phill@vngoc.org
Project Officer: Sarah Pirker | VNGOC | info@vngoc.org; spirker@vngoc.org
The committee is a vital link between NGOs and the key intergovernmental and international agencies involved in drug policy, strategy and control: the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), the International Narcotics Control Board and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Established in 1983, the Committee works with these organizations to provide information on NGO activities, draw attention to areas of concern, build partnerships between governmental and non-governmental organizations and to involve a wide sector of civil society in contributing to the development of global drug policies.
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NGO Committee on Family | viennafamilycommittee.org
Chairperson: Wolfgang Engelmaier M.A., | Kolping International | contact@viennafamilycommittee.org
Secretary: Dr. Peter Crowley | International Council of Psychologists
Treasurer: Alexandra Lugert M.A. | European Union of Women
Board Members:
Julia Birner, Families International,
Christin Kohler M.A., Families International,
Karin Kuzmanov B.A., Families International,
Oscar McConkie, Latter Day Saints Charities,
Isabella Nening M.A., Families International,
Franziska Reichel, Committee Coordinator,
United Nations Commission for Social Development,
Dr. Eleonora Reis Teixeira da Costa-Rossoll,
Federation of Catholic Family Associations,
Dr. Maria Riehl, Women’s Federation for World Peace International.
The Vienna NGO Committee on the Family was originally founded in 1985 as a platform for exchange of information on family issues with the support of the then United Nations Center for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, to offer coordination and facilitation and promotion of the activities of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) represented at the United Nations, who are interested in questions relating to families, and to convene meetings, and facilitate liaison with United Nations agencies, governments, other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), research institutions etc.
The Vienna NGO Committee on the Family has grown to understand itself as a bridge between families-oriented Civil Society Organisations, the United Nations, Member States of the United Nations, and their governments, and Academic Institutions. The Vienna Committee further offers knowledge resources, on issues relating to families, through the online networks set up and maintained by the Committee at: www.civilsocietynetworks.org and the online archive of the tenth anniversary of the United Nations International Year of the Family (IYF) in 2004 at: www.10yearsIYF.org as well as at www.20yearsIYF.org to observe IYF+20 in 2014. The online publication, by the Committee, of the Quarterly Bulletin Families International can be accessed and downloaded on the homepage of the Committee at: www.viennafamilycommittee.org
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NGO Committee on Peace in Vienna
OFFICERS
Chair: Maria Riehl | WFWPI | mariariehl@gmx.at
First Vice Chair: Pete Hämmerle | International Fellowship of Reconciliation | petehaemmerle@versoehnungsbund.at
Second Vice Chair: Dr. Helga Kerschbaum | Pax Romana | helga.kerschbaum@aon.at
Secretary: Christian Pavlovsky | Soka Gakkai International | pavlovsky@oesgi.org
Board Members:
Past Chair: Klaus Renolder | International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) | reno@wvnet.at
Stephanie Fenkart | IIP | office@iip.at
Hans Michael Maitzen | Universal Esperanto Association | hans.michael.maitzen@univie.ac.at
Treasurer: Franz Schneckenleithner | PCI | franz.schneck@gmail.com
Deputy Treasurer: Gebhard Fidler | VFV | gebhard.fidler@chello.at
The NGO Committee on Peace in Vienna has 32 member NGOs, which are practically all interested and active in the fields of disarmament, especially nuclear disarmament, peace keeping and peace building. About one third of our NGO members have a religious background, and about another third is related to NGOs focusing on women and their interests.
Goals and future plans: For the period 2018/2020, the Committee decided to focus on two issues: 1) Disarmament and especially nuclear disarmament, and global peace education and its promotion. Global peace education seems to be an urgent need, if not a necessity in our time. We want to hear experts about it, but also support its implementation. And we hope for the interest and support of CoNGO and many other Committees worldwide for it.
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NGO Committee on the Status of Women Vienna | ngocswvienna.org
Chair: Evelyn Duermayer | International Association of Democratic Lawyers | ngocswvienna@gmail.com First Vice-Chair: Christine Peer | Soroptimist International | christine.peer@aon.at
Second Vice-Chair: Christiane Ugbor | African Women’s Organization
Secretary: John Clarke | World Union for Progressive Judaism | john@chello.at
Deputy Secretary: Elisabeth Francis | Graduate Women International | elisabeth.francis@gmx.at
Treasurer: Ceja Gregor-Hu | International Inner Wheel | ceja@aon.at
Deputy Treasurer: Anne Marie Weinzettl | Pax Romana | annemarieweinzettl@hotmail.com
The NGO Committee on the Status of Women Vienna, accredited at the United Nations Office in Vienna, was founded in 1982 and works on a voluntary basis on the national and international level. The committee is comprised of 30 international organizations with a focus on women’s issues. The Committee’s main purpose is to facilitate the activities of its member organizations in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women among member organizations and in relation to UN Women. It acts as a forum for the exchange of information and views on matters of common interest, and coordinates the drafting of joint statements to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Its goals are to:
- follow the work of the UN Commission on the Status of Women and the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, including submission of statements, organization of events, and dissemination of related documents;
- follow the work of the Vienna-based UN Commissions and Agencies including UNODC and UNIDO, submit statements to respective sessions, organize side events, and disseminate related documents;
- disseminate information on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Beijing Platform for Action, etc.
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NGO Committee on Sustainable Development—Vienna | ngocsdvienna.org/
Chair: Ingeborg Geyer | Zonta International
Vice Chair: Brigitte Landesmann | WIZO
Treasurer: Marion Prechtl | Soroptimist International
Secretary: Sieglinde Teuwen (VFV)
Deputy Secretary: John Clark | World Union of Progressive Judaism
The focus of the Committee is on the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development. It provides a forum for NGOs interested in discussing and analyzing the work of the UN intergovernmental bodies in the field of sustainable development, as well as the related activities of the Vienna-based UN organizations. It encourages new initiatives and seeks inputs into civil society’s contribution to Agenda 2030 of the United Nations, as well as to monitoring the progress towards achieving the goals and evaluating national reports.
The Committee interacts with the high-level political forum on sustainable development, the successor body to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, the Vienna-based UN organizations (UNOV, UNIDO, UNODC, IAEA and CTBTO) and the Vienna-based NGO Committees, as well as with other international organizations in Austria, such as IIAS, OSCE and SDG Watch. The Committee focuses on the potential for practical cooperation with the United Nations and other international organizations in areas it deems especially relevant, such as:
- Agenda 2030 and the 17 SDG Goals and the interdependence between the goals;
- Sustainability in the context of global economic expansion, with particular attention to: sustainability in the early stages of economic development, and sustainable technology at various stages of economic development;
- Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation;
- Sustainable Urban Development;
- Food security: provision of the necessary quantity and quality of food for all
- Provision of sustainable energy for all;
- Education for sustainability.