Date: 22 April 2020, 11am-1pm
Location: Marienstr. 19/20 10117 Berlin

As part of the Global Days of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS) 2020, IPB will host a seminar for students and young professionals interested in learning more about how military expenditures weigh up against social spending on issues such as combatting climate change, improving infrastructure, and investing in education. The seminar will commence with a overview of worldwide and country-specific military spending based on available data from SIPRI and other reliable sources. Subsequently, the group will look at the figures for spending on various social programs.

In addition to presenting a review of military and social spending, the seminar will lay out practical methods and procedures of demilitarization and disarmament at a governmental level as well as how individuals can engage others in the conversation to produce societal change and pressure on national governments. Participants will be given the opportunity to brainstorm and share their ideas with each other and the IPB team and explore how they can best use their skills to engage in the conversation about disarmament and demilitarization.

The event will be held in central Berlin near IPB’s headquarter office and is open to 20-25 participants who are students or young professionals in the field. Data will be presented by Reiner Braun, Executive Director of IPB, and Amela Skiljan, IPB Coordinator, and discussion will be led by IPB Interns Eskil Grav and Sean Conner. Those interested can register for free by sending an email to info@ipb-office.berlin with their name and profession or area of study.

Jordi Calvo, vice-president of IPB and coordinator of GCOMS, attended the PyeongChang Peace Forum 2020 (PPF 2020). This year, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, the PPF 2020 gathered top speakers from home and abroad to explore practical measures to attain peace in the Peninsula and go beyond the feud and division that have existed during these 70 years.

In his presentation, the GCOMS coordinator advocated for major reductions of military spending and for their reallocation to peacebuilding and human security policies. By describing and comparing the global trends of military spending, arms transfers and armed conflicts of the last 70 years, which are visibly connected when displayed in graphs, Calvo made evident the urgent need of halting ongoing militarization and weapons build-up processes, as a means to reduce the possibility of war and conflict but also as a way to free up the necessary resources to provide social and environmental security and to implement programs as the UN SDGs.

Read more here

The Global Days of Action on Military Spending will take place from April 10 – May 9 2020 in sites all over the world. We invite everyone to join GDAMS! Visit our events, make your own action, and tell us how you would reallocate the money for the military. For more information, click here.

Sean Conner

Sean grew up in Rochester, New York and obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Intercultural Communication from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 2013. Upon completion of his degree, he moved to Nicaragua to work with the NGO Enlace Project on economic and community development in the town of El Sauce. In 2015, he returned to the US to work for the Center for Cross-Cultural Study where he promoted study abroad and cultural exchange.

In 2017, Sean came to Berlin to being a Master of Arts in Intercultural Conflict Management at Alice Salomon Hochschule, during which he participated in workshops on conflict mediation and resolution and designed a social project with the Salaam-Schalom Initiative to foster relationships between Muslim and Jewish groups in Berlin. His master’s thesis analyzed the polarizing rhetoric surrounding the 2018 outbreak of violence and peace process in Nicaragua. Sean’s passions are cultural exchange and peaceful conflict resolution.

Eskil Grav

Eskil holds a Master’s Degree in Human Security from Aarhus University and obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, Politics & International Relations at Oxford Brookes University. At Oxford Brookes he focused on Developmental Economics and Conflict Politics, writing his Dissertation on the contrasting nature of East-Asian development. Further, in Aarhus he gained experience in various aspects of Human Security, from Environmental Security to Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution. He wrote his Master’s Thesis on Peacebuilding and the role of NGOs in Lebanon.

Before working with IPB, Eskil was already an active Civil Society member, having previously worked as a Fundraising Leader for Childreach International, volunteered in Tanzania as part of the UK International Citizen Service, and Interned with Fighters for Peace in Lebanon. Eskil is interested in the intensifying effect of Climate Change on Conflicts across the world, with a particular interest in the MENA region and South Asia.

Interview with Reiner Braun, Executive Director of IPB

Question: What role do inheritances play in financing the peace work of IPB?

Reiner: To put it bluntly: IPB’s future can only be secured in the long term with legacies and inheritances. Inheritances are indispensable in order to secure our future financially and to look beyond the basic funding necessary for everyday politics. In these times, IPB's commitment to sustainable peace requires legacies and inheritances more than ever!

What are inheritances and legacies used for?

Inheritances and legacies provide us with long-term and stable financing for key projects and campaigns against nuclear weapons and military spending and allow us to take action on these matters. But they should also help to equip the IPB offices with modern infrastructure. They enable us to hire peace workers and are indispensable to the expansion of our social media network.

We can only secure a full-time staff in the long term through inheritances, since membership fees of the member organizations, which work hard to provide us with their support, cannot secure the work of IPB alone. If we want to intervene more, educate and inform more, and support more actions, we also need legacies and inheritances.

What should I do?

Testaments should be very precise and legally binding. You should make it clear who the will is made out to. Advice from a notary or lawyer in the relevant country is very helpful. Sometimes it may also be helpful to ask a colleague about the possibility of leaving behind an inheritance together.

Is it clear what the money will be spent on?

IPB has a detailed annual financial plan, which the board adopts after intensive discussion. This is continuously reviewed and audited. All finances are checked by an independent institution under Swiss law at the end of the year to ensure that they have been spent in accordance with the Articles of Association. However, I can clearly say that we have done this every year to the satisfaction of the IPB committees and the authorities.

Every cent was spent on active peace work. I very much hope that it will continue to intensify. The treasurer of IPB, my colleague Lucas Wirl (l.wirl[at]gmx.net), is available for any further information, as am I of course (hr.braun[at]gmx.net).

Please support IPB! Peace also requires financial resources. For more information on donations and legacies, please follow this link.