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Home > What is INES

What is INES?

International Network of Engineers and Scientists
for Global Responsibility

Globe, montage Photo: Barun Patro, sxc.hu

The International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility (INES) is an independent non-profit organisation committed to influencing the role and the impact that science and technology have on society.

INES efforts focus on disarmament and international peace; ethics in science; responsibilities of scientists and the responsible use of science and technology; just and sustainable development.

INES was founded in 1991 in Berlin at the international congress “Challenges - Science and Peace in a Rapidly Changing Environment“ and has become a network of over 200 organisations and individual members.

Innovative Reorganisation

A thorough reorientation of science and technology is necessarily based on integrated system approaches and the acceptance that science can never claim to fully tackle all aspects of reality. Only through innovative reorganisation and public accountability can the scientific and engineering communities meet their obligation to contribute to a sustainable future.

Challenges for Scientists and Engineers

Rapid changes in our environment and our societies are forcing us to become more conscious of our role in the world. Science and technology are employed in a worldwide competition for military and economic power. The impacts of this competition have global implications. We have entered a phase in which global developments are in conflict with basic requirements for human survival. Large stocks of weapons of mass destruction, the overexploitation of limited common resources, and a heavily unbalanced world economy provide fundamental challenges to human civilisation and may even threaten its existence.

Engineers and scientists play a key role, both in developing new knowledge that might threaten international security and in providing positive solutions for the future. They are as much a part of the problem as they can be a part of the solution.

INES Activities

• Lobbies for nuclear disarmament and sustainable science.
  
• Works for the reduction of military spending.
• Promotes the awareness of ethical principles and the specific responsibility
  of engineers and scientists.
  
• Participates in “whistleblowing“ campaigns, which support those who have
  been victimised for acting upon such principles.
• Encourages and facilitates public discourse and international communication
  among concerned scientists.
• Organises international conferences and regional workshops.
  
• Raises public awareness.
• Promotes environmentally sound technologies.
• Supports publishing books, e.g., Einstein, Peace Now!; Joseph Rotblat: Visionary for Peace.

INES is a member of the International Peace Bureau (IPB) and closely cooperates with IPB as well as the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA).

INES actively participates in the Middle Powers Initiative and has been present at the European Social Forums since 2000 and at the World Social Forums. INES is currently initiating a World Social Forum on Sciences.

INES Goals

• Abolition of nuclear weapons
• Promoting the responsible and sustainable use of science and technology
• Implementing ethical principles in the education of scientists and engineers
  

The Structure of INES

Organisation Chart

To get an overview about the INES organisation have a look at the INES
Organisation Chart

INES Council

The Council elects an Executive Committee to implement the decisions of the Council and to manage the overall activities of the Network. Member organizations may designate one of its own members as a Council representative. To view the list of all Council members go to our council members list

INES Executive Committee

The Executive Committee implements the decisions of the Council and manages overall activities of the Network which cannot be taken care of by decentralized action within the Network. The Executive Committee shall serve as the official representative of the Network.
The Executive Committee appoints an Executive Secretary who shall implement its decisions and shall be responsible to the Executive Committee. It also determines the duties and responsibilities of all other staff employed by the Central Network Office. You find the members of the INES Executive Committee listed here

INES Advisory Board,

The Executive Committee may invite individuals to an INES Advisory Board, which can be asked to give advice on specificissues related to the Networks’ activities. For names and CVs go to our advisory board page

Founding statement

International Network of Engineers and Scientists
for Global Responsibility (INES)

An International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility (INES) has been founded in Berlin 29 November 1991. The primary aim of the Network is to encourage and facilitate international communication among scientists and engineers seeking to promote international peace and security, justice and sustainable ...read on

§ 1 Name

The Network bears the name "International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility" (INES). In the following it is referred to as the Network.
...read on

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