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Federico Mayor

Mayor, Federico

Mayor, Federico

Founder and Chairman, Foundation for a Culture of Peace; Former Director General of UNESCO

Job Title

Founder and Chairman, Foundation for a Culture of Peace; Former Director General of UNESCO

Prof. Federico Mayor is professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Rector of the University of Granada (1968-1972), Minister of Education and Science of Spain (1981-1982), Deputy Director General of UNESCO (1978-1981) and Director General of this Organization (1987-1999). President of the Foundation for a Culture of Peace (2000/ ), which main activities focus on education for peace, human rights and democracy, struggle against poverty and exclusion, defence of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, and conflict prevention.

ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR

Moving from Reason of Force to Force of Reason   ( Peace and Security )
Get Full Text in PDF Faced with global threats that are today looming over mankind—some of them possessing an irreversible nature—and looking into the eyes of our descendants and the forthcoming generations, it is inevitably up to “Us, the Peoples” to fulfil our essential duties, now that we are aware of the seriousness of the situation and we know, at last, that we are equal in dignity and able to express ourselves freely. Joining our voices in a big popular clamour we shall firmly promote the...
Pressing International Responsibility: A New Concept of Human Security   ( War in Ukraine ), ( Peace and Security )
Get Full Text in PDF “There is no challenge beyond the reach of the creative capacity of human beings”. – John F. Kennedy, 1963 Abstract The transition to the future we long for requires moving from imposition to discussion, from power to word, from the use of weapons to mediation. And to reduce or, at least, cease to increase the arsenals of bombs, allocating all necessary resources to youth, education, health, intergenerational legacy, so on and so forth. We urgently need a...
Invent the Future   ( Measures & Indicators ), ( New Economics ), ( Peace and Security )
Get Full Text in PDF The time has come to take steps allowing us, before it is too late, to correct current trends on a global scale. Otherwise, we would not fulfill our inter-generational duties and the Earth’s habitability would be seriously deteriorated. In the past, social evolution used to be very slow. For centuries, power was in the hands of just a few men. Citizens had no voice and were deprived of the capacity to take action. Today the reins of global governance are still in the hands...
The Ethics of Time in the Face of Global Challenges   ( Education ), ( International Organizations ), ( Global Governance & Law )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Taking into account potentially irreversible processes, it is our common responsibility to bear in mind “the ethics of time”. We should act in a way that will prevent us from taking a path that allows no return. We have to specifically take into account next generations: our legacy cannot condemn them to have the worst standard of living and prevent them from fully exercising their distinctive capacities. The past has already been written. It must now be...
A New Beginning*
 Get Full Text in PDF “I pretended not to know. / And now / my conscience / is without rest / night and day”. Abstract In the last few years, there has been an enormous decline on all fronts and in all areas. The world, Europe and Spain undoubtedly suffer its effects. Our political leaders have surrendered to the rules of the markets and obediently subjected our society to “austericide”, with profound negative social effects. The present economic guidelines don’t work and there is no end...
Seeking Alternatives in a Global Crisis   ( Global Governance & Democracy )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Replacing the United Nations system and large international institutions with plutocratic groups (G-7, G-8, G-20) and universal principles with the laws of the market has led to multiple crises that require immediate reaction to prevent them from becoming irreversible. Neoliberalism has placed military, energy, economic and media power in the hands of a very few (the “great domain”). The markets – for the most part undeservedly “rescued” – are now harassing...