Fonds MS-2-744 - Elisabeth Mann Borgese fonds

Across the oceans : the International Ocean Institute newsletter : [issues from volume 1 and volu... Audit and evaluation committee of the International Centre for Ocean Development : [meeting docum... Executive committee of the International Centre for Ocean Development : [meeting documents] Resolutions passed by the Privy Council and the board of directors Financial documents of the International Centre for Ocean Development International Centre for Ocean Development special examination : follow-up report Photograph of Barbara Kwiatkowska, with friends and family Photograph of Gloria Zuleta Rodriguez on the waterfront Photograph of Gloria Zuleta Rodriguez with kids from a summer camp Photograph of Dr. Mary Jo Duncan and others Photograph of Phyllis and Ken Emery Photographic negative of an aquaplane Photographic negative of an aquaplane Photographic negative of an aquaplane Photographic negative of an aquaplane Photographic negative of an aquaplane Photographic negative of an aquaplane Photograph of the members of Independent World Commission on the Oceans (IWCO) Photograph of head table at Pacem in Maribus XVII Photograph of Professor Anatoli Kolodkin, Elisabeth Mann Borgese, and Mrs. Busha Photograph of Professor Anatoli Kolodkin, Elisabeth Mann Borgese, and Mrs. Busha Photograph of head table at Pacem in Maribus XVII Photograph of fishers and boat Photograph of sunset Photograph of sunset Photograph of a group from Commonwealth Secretariat Photograph of Elisabeth Mann Borgese and others at the Embassy of Colombia, in Helskinki, Finland Photograph of Elisabeth Mann Borgese and others at the Embassy of Colombia, in Helskinki, Finland Photograph of Elisabeth Mann Borgese and others at the Embassy of Colombia, in Helskinki, Finland Photograph of Elisabeth Mann Borgese and others at the Embassy of Colombia, in Helskinki, Finland Photograph of Elisabeth Mann Borgese and others at the Embassy of Colombia, in Helskinki, Finland Photograph of Elisabeth Mann Borgese and others at the Embassy of Colombia, in Helskinki, Finland Photograph of Manhar Jagota with wife Deepti Vijh Photograph of the 1992 Marine Environmental Research Institute (MERI) board meeting Photograph of the 1993 Marine Environmental Research Institute (MERI) board meeting Photograph of Dave Kreiger and family Photograph of B. Spangenberg Photograph of Peter Brady Photograph of Ambassador Layachi Yaker Photograph of Elisabeth Mann Borgese giving a speech Photograph of Anthony Micallef Photograph of Krishan Saigal and two women Photograph of Anita Coady Picture of Stella Maris Vallego Photograph of Elisabeth Mann Borgese and three men Photograph of Elisabeth Mann Borgese and Laura Facey Photograph of Dr. Federico Mayor, Elisabeth Mann Borgese and others Photograph of Elisabeth Mann Borgese in front of a painting Photograph of Elisabeth Mann Borgese receiving an honourary degree from Concordia University Photograph of Elisabeth Mann Borgese and others at Concordia University convocation
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Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Elisabeth Mann Borgese fonds

General material designation

  • Cartographic material
  • Graphic material
  • Multiple media
  • Sound recording
  • Sound recording (electronic)
  • Textual record
  • Textual record (microform)

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Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

MS-2-744

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1938-2002, predominant 1969-2001 (Creation)

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Physical description

55.5 m of textual records and other material (370 boxes)

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Name of creator

(1918-2002)

Biographical history

Elisabeth Mann Borgese was born in Munich in 1918 to Katia Pringsheim and Nobel Prize-winning author Thomas Mann. The fifth of six children, Elisabeth was raised in an intellectual family whose views supported the post-war movement for World Federalism. In exile from Nazi Germany, Elisabeth earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classics and a diploma from the Conservatory of Music in Zurich before her family immigrated to the United States in 1938. The following year, Elisabeth married Giuseppe Antonio Borgese, an Italian-born writer and professor at Princeton University, with whom she had two children, Domenica and Angelica.

Working as a research associate with Giuseppe Borgese and other international scholars at the University of Chicago, Elisabeth helped to form "The Committee to Frame a World Constitution" and edited their monthly journal, Common Cause. Her publishing and translation work expanded to include editorial positions in Italy with the Ford Foundation's Intercultural Publications, Perspectives USA, and Diogenes, a UNESCO quarterly. She also served as Executive Secretary with the Board of Editors of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Widowed in 1952, Elisabeth continued to pursue the ideas articulated by the committee, writing a critical introduction to the Constitution of the World, which was reissued in 1966 by the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions in Santa Barbara, California. It was through the Center, where she was Senior Fellow from 1964 to 1978, that Elisabeth first focused her attentions on the law of the sea as an area of critical international concern. She began to publish ocean-related research, including The Ocean Regime, a blueprint for a "constitution for the world's oceans," in an effort to urge world leaders to re-examine ocean governance. In the late 1960s, she organized the first Pacem in Maribus conference as a forum for discussing the law of the sea, bringing it to the attention of international governmental and non-governmental organizations.

The first Pacem in Maribus conference was held in Malta in 1970. The annual event has since been hosted by countries including Algeria, Cameroon, Canada, China, India, Japan, and Sri Lanka. Over time, the dialogue of diplomats, civil servants, industrialists, fisheries experts, oceanographers, biologists, economists, and legal experts regarding the factors affecting "the common heritage of mankind" laid the foundation for the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea. A founding member of groups such as the Club of Rome, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and the Group of '78, Elisabeth invested great effort in working with organizations to influence international policy. In 1972, she established the International Ocean Institute (IOI) at the Royal University of Malta with the cooperation of the United Nations Development Programme and the Government of Malta. As Chairman of the Planning Council, she worked with the IOI to sponsor Pacem in Maribus, to conduct training programmes, and to facilitate and publish research with the goal of promoting peace and a deeper understanding of oceans and their resources in world policy and sustainable economic development.

In 1978, Elisabeth relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, taking up Canadian citizenship. As a Killam Fellow at Dalhousie University, she taught courses in political science and continued to pursue projects relating to disarmament, international development, integration of marine resources, and marine management. Serving as a member of the Austrian Delegation to the Third United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, the Preparatory Commission for the International Seabed Authority and the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea, Elisabeth was instrumental in the 1982 adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its entry into force in 1994.

Elisabeth's career was prolific and diverse. Attracted by Ghandi and his policy of sovereignty through peace, fascinated by the lives of animals and their methods of communication, a curious and creative writer of poetry, plays and fiction, Elisabeth expressed her interests and dedication to the environment through the written word and countless addresses. She published fifteen books, including The New International Economic Order and the Law of the Sea, The Drama of the Oceans, and The Ascent of Woman, as well as essays and short stories in publications such as New Directions, Nation and Atlantic Monthly. Embracing challenge and diversity, Elisabeth acted as a consultant to the World Bank, UNIDO and UNESCO, lectured internationally, and was awarded with three honorary doctorates. She received prizes and honours from the governments of Austria, Canada, China, Colombia, Germany and the UK, as well as awards from the Francis of Assisi Environmental Committee, the United Nations and the World Conservation Union. In 2001Germany bestowed its most prestigious award on her, the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit. She was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. A true citizen of the world, Elisabeth Mann Borgese — the "Ambassador of the Seas" — died at the age of 83 in St. Moritz after a morning on the slopes.

In 2018 Elisabeth Mann Borgese was named one of 52 Dalhousie Originals, a list of individuals identified as having made a significant impact on the university and the broader community since Dalhousie's inception in 1818. https://www.dal.ca/about-dal/dalhousie-originals/elisabeth-mann-borgese.html

Custodial history

Materials were donated to Dalhousie University Archives in five accessions. The first three accessions took place in 2002 and 2003. These records were previously in the custody of the Estate of Elisabeth Mann Borgese. The materials of the 2009 accession were previously in the custody of the International Oceans Institute. The latest accession took place in 2013. Prior to that, the records from this most recent donation were in the custody of Betsy Baker.

Scope and content

Fonds consists of records pertaining primarily to the professional activities of Elisabeth Mann Borgese, focusing on major organizations and projects with which she was affiliated from the beginning of her North American career in the 1940s. The collection includes correspondence, publications and drafts, administrative records, conference materials, sound and video recordings, research materials, photographs, and other materials.

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Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

To make the materials more accessible to researchers, materials originally filed together were separated on the basis that they belonged to series identified in the arrangement structure. Such series are 'subject'-based.

When possible, and if applicable, file titles were taken from the original folders. Alphabetical correspondence files, which originally had a variety of "standard" names, were uniformly re-titled "X." These files indicate that Elisabeth Mann Borgese largely kept her correspondence alphabetically by last name or by the name of the organization. Other miscellaneous files are composed of odds and ends - i.e., personal correspondence that was found loose, scattered, and/or whose composer is difficult to decipher.

Language of material

  • Multiple Languages

Script of material

Language and script note

English and some German and Italian.

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Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

Some restricted files are found within the following series: Dalhousie University; International Ocean Institute; Personal records; Publications, drafts, and speeches; and The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. All other materials are open for research.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Materials do not circulate and must be used in the Archives and Special Collections Reading Room. Materials may be under copyright. Contact departmental staff for guidance on reproduction.

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Accruals

Further accruals are possible, but not expected.

General note

Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Elisabeth Mann Borgese fonds, MS-2-744, Box [box number], Folder [folder number], Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

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