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Elisabeth Mann Borgese fonds Series
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Dalhousie University

Series consists of academic and administrative records, correspondence, publications, drafts, and reports from Elisabeth Mann Borgese's time at Dalhousie University. Borgese first came to Dalhousie University in 1978 as a Killam Fellow at the Center for Foreign Policy Studies, where she worked on a number of ocean-related projects. She later became a professor in the Department of Political Science, where her duties included thesis supervision, research, and teaching.

Other conferences and organizations

Series was designed to accommodate records of otherwise unrelated conferences and organizations with which Borgese was affiliated. It illustrates the breadth of her professional activities. Borgese was involved in a multitude of organizations and endeavours and participated in numerous conferences outside and apart from her primary professional foci (Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, the International Ocean Insitute (Pacem in Maribus), and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). Types of records include correspondence and memos, meeting minutes, flyers, brochures and pamphlets, conference-related materials such as proceedings and application forms, some related publications and articles, press releases, newspaper clippings, and speeches.

Audio-visual materials

Series consists of audio cassettes, reel-to-reel, VHS, and a 16-mm film. Contents include recordings of minutes of Pacem in Maribus conferences, UN conferences and meetings, presentations and seminars given by Elisabeth Mann Borgese, and radio/television interviews with her. Also included are some German reel-to-reel recordings concerning the work of Professor Golo Mann.

Pacem in Maribus

Series consists of administrative records, conference materials, correspondence, research materials, publications, drafts, reports, and speeches related to Pacem in Maribus conferences and the Committee to Frame a World Constitution.

Pacem in Maribus Convocation.

Club of Rome

Series consists of administrative records, correspondence, conference materials, publications, drafts, and reports relating to the Club of Rome and the Reviewing the International Order project/Foundation. A founding member (since 1970) of the Club of Rome, Elisabeth Mann Borgese's work within the organization was usually ocean-related. In addition to being a member of the Club, Borgese was also a member of Jan Tinbergen's team for Reviewing the International Order (RIO), a project sponsored by the Club of Rome that later became a foundation.

Club of Rome.

Photographic materials

Series consists of a range of black and white and colour photographs and negatives depicting Pacem in Maribus events and functions, and projects at sea and on land such as fish farming operations and experimental equipment. Also included are images of sketches and paintings intended for a children's book Elisabeth Mann Borgese wrote in the 1990s and personal photographs depicting Borgese, her house, dogs, colleagues, friends, family, and various travel locations. Friends and family also sent her photos of themselves, their families, and their pets, some of which are attached to greeting cards.

The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions

Series consists of administrative records, conference materials, correspondence, publications, drafts, and reports relating to the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions. Also included are publications, clippings, reports, correspondence, and other materials relating to Frank Kelly (a vice-president at the Centre) and Harry Ashmore (a chairman and later president of the Centre).

Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions.

United Nations

Series consists of administrative records, conference materials, correspondence, publications, drafts, speeches, and reports relating to the United Nations and to the UN Development Program (UNDP), the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLoS III), and the Independent World Commission on the Oceans (IWCO).

The United Nations was established on October 24, 1945. Elisabeth Mann Borgese had professional associations with several branches of the UN including, but not restricted to, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and activities such as the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLoS III). Often her ties to such branches was related to her other professional activities, such as those at the International Ocean Institute. For instance, Sidney Holt, one-time director of the International Ocean Institute, was also affiliated for a significant time with the FAO. Additionally, several UN organizations provided funding and guidance for International Ocean Institute activities.

However, Elisabeth Mann Borgese is largely known for her involvement in UNCLoS III. UNCLoS III succeeded two previous Law of the Seas conferences in 1958 and 1960. Preparations for it began in 1968 with the formation of the Committee for the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-bed and the Ocean Floor Beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction (Seabed Committee). Out of this committee began the conference proper in 1973 and it continued until 1982. Following the end of the conference, the Preparatory Commission for the International Sea-bed Authority and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Prepcom) commenced (1983-1995). Briefly, UNCLoS III concerned itself with boundaries in international waters (often relating to the Exclusive Economic Zone), seabed mining, fisheries and other ecological concerns, ocean technologies (including nuclear weaponry), and other related issues. The ideals behind the convention originated with the now famous speech delivered by Arvid Pardo to the General Assembly of the UN on November 1, 1967 in which he discussed potential problems related to the oceans in terms of the 'common heritage of mankind'.

After decades of hard work, the conference produced a constitution for the seas, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was ratified by eighty-five countries by 1996. On November 16, 1994, the Convention entered into force. During UNCLoS III, the need for an International Sea-bed Authority (ISBA) and an International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLS) was recognized, and a Prepcom was initiated after the close of UNCLoS III to establish these organizations. The ISBA is based in Kingston, Jamaica, and came into existence in November 1994. The ITLS is based in Hamburg, Germany, and began operations in July, 1996.

Elisabeth Mann Borgese was actively involved in both UNCLoS III and Prepcom. She acted as an Ambassador to the Austrian Delegation at UNCLoS III and as a representative for the International Ocean Institute at the Prepcom. To further the work of UNCLoS III, Elisabeth Mann Borgese initiated the International World Commission on Oceans (IWCO) in 1995. Under the direction of the Portuguese President Mario Soares, IWCO (many members of which were hand-picked by Borgese) produced a report that was published in 1998, the UN Year of the Oceans. Borgese was one of IWCOs vice-chairmen, but she resigned in 1998 due to her frustration with the Commissions under-representation of the developing world. In response to IWCOs report, Borgese wrote The Oceanic Circle: A Report to the Club of Rome, which she regarded as a summary of thirty years of work.

University of Chicago

Series consists of meeting proceedings for the Committee to Frame a World Constitution, correspondence relating to world federalism, and materials belonging to or sent to Quincy Wright, a law professor at the University of Chicago who served on the Central Committee of this Association. Series also contains materials pertaining to the World Citizen's Association that belonged to Quincy Wright.

The University of Chicago was founded in 1890 by the American Baptist Education Society and John D. Rockefeller. Robert Hutchins became the University's fifth president in 1929 and was responsible for many curricular innovations that enhanced the University's reputation. Relevant to this collection is the gathering of a group of humanists, social scientists, anthropologists, philosophers, and lawyers, including G.A. Borgese, Robert Redfield, Richard McKeon, and Mortimer Adler. In 1945, these individuals were joined by scholars from other institutions, including Albert Guerard and Erich Kahler, to form the Committee to Frame a World Constitution under Robert Hutchins and G.A. Borgese. In 1948, the Committee produced a draft World Constitution intended to strengthen the United Nations and guard against international and/or nuclear war. The draft proposed that peace in the world (Pacem in Terris) was impossible without justice, which required decolonization and a new international economic order. The arms race was a symptom of global inequality and disarmament was linked to development. The draft also redefined the concept of property, claiming that the earth's natural resources were the common property of all of mankind, and suggested that instead of nation-states, the world government should be composed of regions. Elisabeth Mann Borgese was a research associate for the Committee to Frame a World Constitution and wrote analyses and reports for use during Committee sessions.

Administrative records of the International Ocean Institute

Series consists of administrative records, correspondence, publications, drafts, speeches, and academic records relating to the International Ocean Institute, its Training Programme, and the Ocean Yearbook. Actively involved in the International Ocean Institute until her death, Borgese was its founder, Chairperson of the Planning Council, and Honorary President.

International Ocean Institute

Microform

Series consists of microform records of papers prepared for several conferences, including the UN and the Club of Rome.

Personal records of Elisabeth Mann Borgese

Series consists of correspondence from family and friends, office day planners during Borgese's employment at Dalhousie University, address books, curriculum vitaes and related biographical materials, newspaper and magazine clippings about the Mann family, legal forms concerning familial estates, a few financial documents, and some ephemera such as award certificates. The series also includes material collected by the International Oceans Institute in Halifax after Borgese's death, such as letters of condolence and a programme from her memorial service.

Publications, drafts, and speeches

Series consists of publications, drafts, and speeches created or collected by Elisabeth Mann Borgese that are unconnected to other series. Also included are research materials and correspondence. These papers are related to her many and varied research interests.