Institute notes.

• Position: New Zealand Institute of International Affairs - Conference notes

National Office and branch activities.

On 1 July Elhadj As Sy, the secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, addressed a meeting at Victoria University on 'The Changing Face of Humanitarian Action: the Role of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement'. This meeting was a joint effort with the New Zealand Red Cross and the International Federation of the Red Cross.

On 28 July Prof Alan Johnson, a senior research fellow at the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre, gave a lecture at VUW on 'Understanding and Countering Extremism Among Young British Muslims.'

On 10 August, in conjunction with the Embassy of Belgium and the Delegation of the European Union to New Zealand, a meeting was convened at VUW to hear Prof Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, the vice chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and professor of climatology and environmental sciences at the Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, speak on 'Key Messages from the IPCC 5th Assessment Report--Challenges and Opportunities Ahead of the COP21 in Paris'.

A meeting was co-hosted with the Embassy of Germany at Te Papa on 26 August to hear Freiburg University's Professor Jorn Leonhard give an address on 'Empires, Nation States and Violence: the First World War in Perspective'.

Auckland 20 Jul Jim Donegan (US consul-general), 'Challenges and Prospects for South Sudan'. 29 Jul Col Colin Richardson (Centre for Strategic Studies VUW), 'The Continuing Relevance of the Classics to Military and Strategic Thinking'. 5 Aug Tim Wright (Asia-Pacific director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), 'The Transformative Potential of a Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons'. This meeting was co-convened with the International Law Association. 11 Aug Dr Thitinan Pongsudhirak (Sir Howard Kippenberger visiting chair in strategic studies, VUW), 'South-east Asia Between Democracy and Authoritarianism: Implications and Lessons'. Christchurch The following meetings were held: 22 Jul Gabriela Roldan (doctoral candidate, Gateway Antartica, University of Canterbury), 'Celebrating Antarctica's National Day: Nationalism and the Construction of an Antarctic Identity in Ushuaia, Argentina'. 29 Jul Dr Pongsudhirak, 'ASEAN Between Mainland and Maritime: Implications for New Zealand'. 4 Aug Dr Jenny McLeod (visiting Canterbury fellow), 'Gallipoli, Commemoration and the Rhetoric of International Friendship'. Nelson In...