Union Initiatives Research Articles

University as a Champion of Sustainable Development: Objectives, Approaches and Practice

The article reviews the objectives connected with present day university functioning within the frames of the UN global agenda, i.e. to ensure sustainable development. The academic community is interested mainly in finding the answer to the question about new approaches to conducting education, research and administrative functions of the university. University is considered as an influential institution, which promotes innovation and train future specialists to make responsible decisions. Values and goals of sustainable development affect universities, thus the aim of the article is to show in what way university can pursue ideology of system changes through realization of its education mission. The UN initiative ‘Responsible Managerial Education’ (RME) is seen as an approach to promoting sustainable development in universities and to designing new education programs. It is pointed out that by realizing principles of responsible managerial education in master course universities can develop practices contributing to goal attainment in the field of sustainable development. As a driver for RME realization the Englishlanguage master course program ‘Sustainable Management' was advanced, which relies on orientation to goals of sustainable development and principles of responsible managerial education. The authors put forward a concept of the program for Russian universities that includes methodological approaches to its construction, rough curriculum and expected outcomes. It is shown that system efforts aimed at attaining goals of sustainable management through responsible managerial education shall be continued by using the proposed solutions and searching for new ones. The authors identify spheres of university functioning that require serious reforms. Conclusions are drawn about new discourses in the field higher education connected with comprehending the involvement of universities in initiatives of sustainable development.

European Union's Initiatives in the Struggle against the Propaganda of Terrorism

In the article, the author analyzes the EU initiatives that prevent radicalization, reduce the impact of destructive content, and increase public awareness and the ability to distinguish objective information from fakes and disinformation. The author emphasizes that the EU’s struggle against radicalization, extremism and terrorism is based on four “pillars”: 1) prevention, 2) protection, 3) persecution and 4) response. Each Member State develops its own prevention policy, but the Commission provides some regulatory framework for the exchange of experiences and good practices, so special attention is paid to the study of the Radicalization Awareness Network (RAN), which is an EU policy tool because it is aimed at developing programs of deradicalization and rehabilitation, assistance to teachers and youth in combating the causes of radicalization. The author argues that only the common efforts of the EU institutions, Member States, partner countries, media and technological organizations can effectively struggle against the propaganda of extremism and terrorism.

The World at a Crossroads – The Need for Cartography and Cartographers: How cartographers can contribute as data integrators in finding solutions to global problems

Abstract. The world is at a crossroads. The current global pandemic has had an impact on every person, their national and global economies, and their ability to preserve a sustainable environment. To understand the health impacts of such an intrusive consequence requires understanding of the pandemic’s cause, its spread among populations, preventive measures to contain its spread and plans for protecting people from future outbreaks. Each one of these factors requires specific types of data and each data point requires location to make it meaningful. This is complicated because of the extent of the challenges. It is further complicated by the lack of timely data, the required location precision, and concerns over policy issues like privacy. Maps, mapping, and cartographers are needed as part of the formula for finding solutions on each of these factors.The International Cartographic Association (ICA) is positioned to help in providing solutions. The structure of the ICA, through its various programs, is sufficiently flexible to respond to these critical issues in practical ways that yield useful results. As an example, new ICA Working Groups were recently established to focus on sustainability and bolstering national mapping and national geospatial organizations while a longer-term commitment centers on a revised research agenda to meet current and future cartographic and GIScience needs. These examples are in addition to other components of the ICA program including the ICA Commissions, conferences, and publications.As the pandemic is global, local to global solutions are needed. The ICA has been actively engaged with the United Nations through the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management. Three UN initiatives, two of which are geospatial frameworks, call out to the cartographic community for their help. The first is the Sustainable Development Goals that began in 2015 with a 2030 target to focus on a better understanding of national populations, their economies and their environments. Measuring and monitoring progress requires data, processes, systems, leadership, and commitment to be effective. The second effort is the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework, the next rendition of National Spatial Data Infrastructures (NSDI), that focuses on nine Strategic Pathways that are needed to create and maintain a sustainable geospatial program. The third initiative responds to the statistical and geospatial communities working together to create the Global Statistical Geospatial Framework which focuses on the integration of these two linked data types.Cartographers can contribute in two areas. The first calls on their knowledge and expertise in working with different data types. For example, geospatially referenced statistical data oftentimes benefits from basic generalization principles such as combination, simplification, exaggeration and displacement. The absence of a small-area global geography sometimes inhibits the usefulness of statistical information which has become painfully evident during this pandemic. The second area that calls out to cartographers is to use their skills in making as many useful maps as possible. These maps need to show current local conditions, illuminate deficiencies, tell a story, and/or inform strategies and plans for addressing the many challenges we face between the pandemic and the underlying conditions of people, their communities, and circumstances oftentimes outside of their control.The presentation shows examples of some of these points and the ICA’s participation thus far. Opportunities for involvement are left to the imaginations of each of us. What is needed now is for cartographers and the cartographic community to act in ways that help in solving current challenges, informing some of the root causes and systemic problems that need attention while outlining approaches for a path forward in our ever increasingly complex world.

Just transition on the ground: Challenges and opportunities for social dialogue

The process leading to a net zero carbon economy by mid-century will have massive effects on jobs, labour relations and income distribution. The idea of just transition – that achieving the ambitious objectives to bring climate change under control will only be possible if the transition to a net-zero carbon economy is balanced and just – has evolved in the last four decades from a union initiative to a complex policy framework adopted by international organizations, and also referred to in the COP21 Paris Agreement (UNFCCC, 2015). Building on literature analysis, this article deconstructs the concept of ‘just transition’ by discussing its various interpretations and dimensions and highlighting the role of trade unions in applying it. Based on sectoral case studies, concrete examples from two key sectors of the European economy – energy and automobile – are given, where massive employment transitions are under way and social dialogue plays a key role. Conclusions about the changing role of trade unions and the importance of co-operative industrial relations are drawn.

Clinical trial data transparency and GDPR compliance: Implications for data sharing and open innovation

Abstract Recent European Union (EU) initiatives and legislation have considerably increased public access to clinical trials data (CTD). These developments are generally much welcomed for the enhancement of science, trust, and open innovation. However, they also raise many questions and concerns, not least at the interface between CTD transparency and other areas of evolving EU law on the protection of trade secrets, IPRs, and privacy. This article focuses on privacy issues and on the interrelation between developments in transparency and the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR). More specifically, this article examines: (1) the origins and rationales of EU transparency regulations, including the incidents and concerns that have shaped them; (2) the features and implications of the GDPR which are relevant in the context of clinical trials; and (3) the risk for tensions between the GDPR and the policy goals of CTD transparency, as well as implications for data sharing and open innovation. Ultimately, we elaborate on factors that should be carefully considered and addressed to reap the full benefits of CTD transparency.

Lessons from the Danish-German Border Region for Post 2020 Interreg A – an Alignment with Cross-Border Functional Regions?

Interreg has been the European Union (EU) initiative to support territorial cooperation and integration across borders. 30 years of Interreg, though, have not changed the fact that different barriers persist at the inner borders of the EU, and that only a few cross-border territories have emerged as joint action spaces with in-depth political cooperation and people’s interaction. While it is consensus that cross-border economic flows are decisive for the development of functional and in the end institutionalized cross-border regions, regional econometric models demonstrate the persistence of border barriers within the EU, but also that the removal of these barriers greatly increases regional growth potential. In a research project focusing on the alignment of cross-border regional economic interests, cross-border networks between business and politics and cross-border policies in the Danish-German cross-border region Sønderjylland-Schleswig we have discovered issues on different communication codes between business and politics, lack of tangible cross-border development strategies and a lack of alignment of shortterm, time delimited Interreg project oriented operational programs to tangible, long-term strategies of cross-border regional economic development. EU territorial cohesion policies could be better aligned with long-term, cross-border economic strategies to create sustainable cross-border development. It will be important to rethink Interreg in a less project-oriented, but more strategy-oriented direction; focusing on flows and institutional settings promoting the development of flows by reducing cross-border barriers.

From Centralized Energy Generation and Distribution to Clean Energy Communities: Exploring New Modes of Governance for the Energy Sector

Community management is swiftly developing into a central research field in management literature. A growing body of conceptual and empirical studies is concerned with different aspects of communities, their initiation, management, and termination. One sector that offers a particularly exciting research topic in this respect is the energy sector. We elaborate on the radical transition of the energy industry from large, centralized power-generation facilities to a much more decentralized, community-based production of energy. We scrutinize the theoretical perspectives on managing communities and distinguish between different modes of governance for the production of energy. We also consider recent European Union initiatives that will have a noteworthy effect on the transition process. Our typology shows that the necessary management tasks vary across different types of coordination. Eventually, the establishment of clean energy communities might challenge the very identities of established utility providers.

Порядок денний публічної дипломатії Європейського Союзу

The article considers the specifics of the agenda of public diplomacy of the European Union, and it is in this dimension that the emphasis is on building a coordinated policy. The documents of both the internal and external dimensions of the Commission, the Parliament, as well as the European External Action Service were also analyzed, namely, Plan D, The Global strategy for the foreign and security policy of the European Union, White Paper, Annual Activity Reports. It was emphasized that the actions carried out in the field of public diplomacy during 2018 were aimed at promoting joint responses to problems, raising awareness-raising measures, as well as building new strategies for the regions. At the same time, strategic communications remained a priority for the EEAS. It is concluded that EU public diplomacy, in line with the Union’s Global Strategy, should aim to improve strategic communications, investment and integration in various fields in order to better integrate foreign policy with citizens and better communicate it to partners. However, today the European Union also faces certain risks, such as changes in the priorities of member states, the economic crisis, the difficulty of assessing the effectiveness of public diplomacy, as well as low interest in new European Union initiatives.

The European Union initiative for cooperation with neighbours in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus: Objectives, limitations and challenges of integration without membership

Following the enlargement of the Union, new neighbours in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus became of great importance for the stability of Europe, which is why the EU formulated the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership. Bearing in mind that Russia views this area as a sphere of its own influence, its policy has become of great importance as well as its reactions to the Union?s initiatives in this region. This geopolitical context of the Eastern Partnership became apparent with the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis. In addition to the indicated limits of an often technocratic approach to the EU, the crisis has clearly shown there is a conflict of objectives of the European Union and the Russian Federation in the common neighbourhood and raised the issue of the security and geopolitical implications of this initiative. Also, the policies and interests of the European Union and the Russian Federation affect not only Ukraine but to a greater or lesser extent the development of opportunities in all other countries involved in the EU's Eastern Partnership - Georgia, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

Recent European Union (EU) initiatives to support national vaccination efforts

Abstract Background Vaccination is the main tool for primary prevention of disease and one of the most cost-effective public health measures available. Immunisation through vaccination is the best defence we have against serious, preventable, and sometimes deadly, contagious diseases. Thanks to widespread vaccination, smallpox has been eradicated, Europe made polio-free, and many other diseases almost eliminated. Methods This presentation provides an overview of recent European Union (EU) initiatives to support national vaccination efforts. Results The EU has launched a number of initiatives to strengthen national vaccination efforts. In December 2018 the European Council adopted a Recommendation to strengthen the EU cooperation on vaccine-preventable diseases. The initiative aims to tackle vaccine hesitancy, improve coordination on vaccine procurement, support research and innovation, and strengthen EU cooperation on vaccine-preventable diseases. EU countries are encouraged to develop and implement national vaccination plans with initiatives to improve coverage, and to introduce routine vaccination status checks. The European Commission is also reinforcing its support to national vaccination efforts to increase coverage, including through the preparation of a Joint Action on vaccination co-funded by the Health Programme. Launching in 2018, the Joint Action will address vaccine hesitancy and seek to increase vaccination coverage in the EU. It is coordinated by INSERM (France) and involves 23 countries (among them 20 EU countries). Conclusions Vaccination policy is a competence of national authorities, but the European Commission assists EU countries in coordinating their policies and programmes.

National and Planetary Interests in Preserving Balance between Nature and Economic Growth

The subjects of the research are international agreements on the environment protection and the national ecological policy. The importance of the research lies in the ongoing discussion about the role of developing countries in reducing unfavorable climate changes. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate that nowadays we need not only joint efforts of different groups of countries to restore the equilibrium in the “nature — society” system, but also a new economic growth policy philosophy. The article shortly analyses the history of the international cooperation development in the attempts to solve ecological problems within the framework of UN initiatives, and considers the stages of the cooperation and the role of Kyoto Protocol. The author examines the discussions about Paris Agreement, analyses its impact on the development of international and national efforts to achieve ecological climate aims, demonstrates the role of the positions and disagreements in G20 countries, as well as the role, goals and policy of decarbonization in modern economy.

European Union initiatives in child immunization-the need for child centricity, e-health and holistic delivery.

Low childhood immunization rates in Europe are causing concern and have triggered several EU initiatives. However, these are counter-factual as they make immunization a stand-alone issue and cut across best practice in integrated child health services. They also focus unduly on 'anti-vax' pressures, generalize 'vaccine hesitancy' and overlook practical difficulties and uncertainties encountered by parents in real world situations about presenting children for immunization. Meanwhile European expertize in child health electronic record systems and relevant standards are ignored despite their being a potentially sound foundation ripe for enhancement. Situation and literature reviews, and cohesion of two European research projects, led to shared investigation. As a result, two cross-sectoral expert workshops were held to consider digital health standards for harmonizing integrated preventive child health including immunization, and the work of other stakeholders such as the World Health Organisation and the European Centre for Disease Control. Progress in child health information models and digital health standards was assessed, areas needing further standards development identified and desirable steps towards innovation in service delivery and record keeping agreed. The European Commission, member states and child health stakeholders should take an integrated approach to child health with immunization as a component. Service delivery should be sensitive to parental concerns and challenges, and the way child- and family-centric data are recorded and used should be enhanced. Services should be enabled by the International Patient Summary and related electronic health record standards and linkages, and evaluated to assess most effective systems and practice.

Convention 169 and the perspective of the trade union movement of the Americas

ABSTRACTThis article describes the position of the trade union movement of the Americas regarding the rights of indigenous peoples and Convention 169, identifying the process carried out to strengthen and consolidate the relationship between the two forces, within the framework of an intercultural dialogue, and commenting on concrete trade union initiatives in favour of indigenous people.

SPORT AS A MEANS OF INCLUSION AND INTEGRATION FOR "THOSE OF US WITH DISABILITIES"

Can sport provide a platform for disability awareness as regards both social and biological dimensions? How can sport serve as a tool or means of social inclusion for persons or athletes with disabilities? To address these questions our qualitative study begins with a review of current research on the social dimensions of disability, namely diverse forms of social exclusion experienced by " those of us with disabilities " (McCall, 2016), such as attitudinal, institutional and environmental barriers, subsequently followed by a case study in Greece. Initially, we discuss today’s shift to inclusion—which advocates a more inclusive and people-first perspective as well as a more empowering language—and distinguish between two concepts/approaches, integration and inclusion, mainly through educational schemes, so as to facilitate the analysis that follows on sport’s role in eliminating social and institutional barriers and promoting inclusion. Inclusive education is a central objective of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and other UN and UNESCO initiatives. In this context researchers have been examining sport and physical education as tools, instruments or means of social inclusion and/or integration. Accordingly, to determine whether—and to what extent—sport participation contributes to the inclusion and integration of people with physical disabilities, interviews were conducted with 20 athletes in Athens: semi-structured interviews with 14 male and 6 female Paralympic and World Champions. The findings confirm that both genders confront many forms of social exclusion (attitudinal, environmental and institutional), however their sport participation plays a significant and positive role in their lives. All 20 acknowledge or report sport gives them a social identity, a sport identity and a meaning in life , in addition to contributing to their social integration/inclusion. Conclusions : The lack of disability awareness, information and knowledge accounts for many of the barriers. Recognizing both the social and biological dimensions of disability is important. The disability community needs visibility , i.e. coverage in mainstream media to cultivate inclusion, promote and reproduce role models and mentors, along with a wider disability awareness campaign, in which sport could play a vital role in changing stereotypes and attitudes, in addition to eliminating the supercrip identity. Article visualizations:

SPORT AS A MEANS OF INCLUSION AND INTEGRATION FOR "THOSE OF US WITH DISABILITIES"

Can sport provide a platform for disability awareness as regards both social and biological dimensions? How can sport serve as a tool or means of social inclusion for persons or athletes with disabilities? To address these questions our qualitative study begins with a review of current research on the social dimensions of disability, namely diverse forms of social exclusion experienced by those of us with disabilities (McCall, 2016), such as attitudinal, institutional and environmental barriers, subsequently followed by a case study in Greece. Initially, we discuss today’s shift to inclusion—which advocates a more inclusive and people-first perspective as well as a more empowering language—and distinguish between two concepts/approaches, integration and inclusion, mainly through educational schemes, so as to facilitate the analysis that follows on sport’s role in eliminating social and institutional barriers and promoting inclusion. Inclusive education is a central objective of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and other UN and UNESCO initiatives. In this context researchers have been examining sport and physical education as tools, instruments or means of social inclusion and/or integration. Accordingly, to determine whether—and to what extent—sport participation contributes to the inclusion and integration of people with physical disabilities, interviews were conducted with 20 athletes in Athens: semi-structured interviews with 14 male and 6 female Paralympic and World Champions. The findings confirm that both genders confront many forms of social exclusion (attitudinal, environmental and institutional), however their sport participation plays a significant and positive role in their lives. All 20 acknowledge or report sport gives them a social identity, a sport identity and a meaning in life , in addition to contributing to their social integration/inclusion. Conclusions : The lack of disability awareness, information and knowledge accounts for many of the barriers. Recognizing both the social and biological dimensions of disability is important. The disability community needs visibility , i.e. coverage in mainstream media to cultivate inclusion, promote and reproduce role models and mentors, along with a wider disability awareness campaign, in which sport could play a vital role in changing stereotypes and attitudes, in addition to eliminating the supercrip identity. Article visualizations:

The Ocean Decade Heritage Network: Integrating Cultural Heritage Within the UN Decade of Ocean Science 2021\u20132030

The Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021–2030 is a UN initiative that promotes a common framework for supporting stakeholders in studying and assessing the health of the world’s oceans. The initiative also presents a vital opportunity to improve the integration of archaeology within the marine sciences. With the First Global Planning Meeting of the Decade held in Copenhagen at the National Museum of Denmark in May 2019, steps are already being taken to make the best of this opportunity, and the resulting creation of an Ocean Decade Heritage Network is proposed as a way forward to continue to raise awareness in the cultural heritage community about the Decade and to facilitate information sharing regarding this endeavour.

Pushback Against Supervisory Systems: Lessons for the ILO from International Human Rights Institutions

The ILO supervisory system, which has reviewed compliance with international labor standards for nearly all of the organization’s 100-year history, is widely hailed as cornerstone of its institutional architecture. In 2012, however, the employer representatives challenged the longstanding position of ILO expert bodies that Convention No. 87 on freedom of association implicitly protects the right to strike. The resulting “crisis of tripartism” has raised questions about the proper interpretation of international labor law and the future competences of ILO monitoring mechanisms. This chapter, a contribution to a forthcoming edited volume on the centenary of the ILO, offers a wider perspective on these events. It begins by analyzing how states and non-state actors have pushed back against the treaty monitoring bodies created by UN human rights conventions. The chapter then compares the similarities and differences between pushback against human rights treaty bodies and challenges to ILO expert committees over the right to strike. The chapter concludes by highlighting ongoing UN and ILO initiatives aimed at strengthening international supervisory systems.

Parliaments as Human Rights Actors: The Potential for International Principles on Parliamentary Human Rights Committees

ABSTRACTParliaments have long been overlooked as national human rights actors. Yet given their powers to oversee the executive, and functions that can ensure laws, policy and practice are in compliance with the state's international human rights commitments, they have significant potential in supporting the international human rights system and improving the implementation of international standards at the domestic level. Building on previous UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly resolutions encouraging human rights engagement by parliaments, in June 2018 the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a set of draft principles aimed at strengthening the interaction of parliaments with the national and international systems, and placing them as an active part of the national human rights system through the establishment of dedicated parliamentary human rights committees. In the context of these ongoing efforts, this article considers the potential for the new (soft) standards for parliamentary human rights mechanisms, critically assessing the UN initiative. It discusses the challenges inherent in formal parliamentary engagement on human rights through committees, particularly at the international level, argues for necessary safeguards, and makes proposals for further research and institutional initiatives to solidify parliaments' role as effective national human rights actors.

Learning from failure: cross-border confiscation in the EU

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to critically examine the strengths and weaknesses of a new European Union (EU) initiative attempting an interesting paradigm shift in the field of cross-border asset freezing and confiscation. The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and lessons learned from the manifest failure of past EU initiatives (Framework Decisions 2003/577/JHA and 2006/783/JHA) have allowed for such a paradigm shift for the strengthening of mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders in the EU.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on reports, legal scholarship and other open source data to examine a legislative innovation for the mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders in the EU.FindingsThe EU legislative initiative that will be examined is innovative in nature and goes beyond international norms on cross-border asset freezing and confiscation. The new initiative needs to be integrated into the broader EU framework that targets criminal proceeds, and at the same time, to be anchored to respect for human rights.Originality/valueThis study examines the strengths and weaknesses of an important new EU initiative, its compatibility with human rights standards and its relationship to international standards of cross-border asset freezing and confiscation.

The Difficulties of Combating Inequality in Time

Scholars have argued that disadvantaged groups face an impossible choice in their efforts to win policies capable of diminishing inequality: whether to emphasize their sameness to or difference from the advantaged group. We analyze three cases from the 1980s and 1990s in which reformers sought to avoid that dilemma and assert groups’ sameness and difference in novel ways: in U.S. policy on biomedical research, in the European Union's initiatives on gender equality, and in Canadian law on Indigenous rights. In each case, however, the reforms adopted ultimately reproduced the sameness/difference dilemma rather than transcended it. To explain why, we show how profound disagreements about both the histories of the groups included in the policy and the place of the policy in a longer historical trajectory of reform either went unrecognized or were actively obscured. Targeted groups came to be attributed a biological or timeless essence, not because this was inevitable, we argue, but because of these failures to historicize inequality.