Since 1966 – International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts – Italian Pugwash Group

Report

by Carlo Schaerf
Folgaria was again the venue for the IV ISODARCO winter course that took place during the period 3 – 10 February 1991. The general theme was “Security Problems in the New Europe”, while the particular topics dealt with new and old threats to European security, nuclear weapons, the status of the discussions on arms control and the correlation between Europe and the Mediterranean region. But of course, it was impossible to forget the war that had just started and one session was dedicated to the Gulf Crisis in the form of a round table discussion.

The works took place in 17 sessions: 3 per day and 2 on Saturday. Each day there ‘was one session in the morning and two in the afternoon. Each session lasted one and a half hours, 45 minutes of which were devoted to the lecture and the remaining 45 minutes to an open discussion.

The interest shown in ISODARCO went beyond expectations and several applications had to be rejected both for financial and logistical problems, while the course itself proved to be a success both for the interesting and satisfactory lectures and discussions and for the friendly and warm atmosphere that prevailed throughout the stay of the participants.

For their valuable assistance in the local organization our thanks go to Prof. Giuseppina Orlandini of the University of Trento and Dr. Mirco Elena of the IRST (Institute for Scientific and Technological Research) of Trento.

We also wish to thank Ms. Isabella Colace and Ms. Claudia Vaughn, secretaries to the course, the Tourist Board for their precious collaboration and the management of the Hotel Vittoria who proved to be wonderful hosts.

For their financial support we wish to express our gratitude to the following organizations:
– The John D. and Catherine T.
– MacArthur Foundation
– The University of Trento