Home » Candidates » Vilmos KISZEL for position: Regional Councillor – East Europe, North and Central Asia

Candidate info

Particular qualifications to be a Regional Councillor:
Mr Kiszel, a scientist researcher and teacher by training, has served as the President of Göncöl Foundation, a leading environmental NGO in Hungary since 1986. Besides his civil society commitments, he also held various academic positions; he is a visiting fellow of the Apor College since 2005, and Senior Researcher of Department of Sustainable Development Studies of National University of Public Service since 2017. He was member and Chair of the National Council on Environment – a tripartite advisory body to the Hungarian government – from 1996 to 2006. He also participated in various international forums and projects; he has been a World Bank conservation expert (Black Sea nutrient reduction and hydropower) and member of the Steering Committee of the UNEP/TEMATEA Programme on Biodiversity Conventions. He was Senior Advisor and Tutor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary in the Szeged Peace Process during the second war in the Balcans from 2003 to 2007. He has broad experiences in this statutory region of IUCN, worked on local, trans-boundary, governmental and international levels as well. In appreciation of his long-standing international contribution to sustainable development, in 2012 the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary requested Mr Kiszel’s service in the position of a special envoy for environment.

Link to qualifications details

Experience in fields of concern to IUCN:

Mr Kiszel has actively participated in the work of IUCN for two decades. He has been a member of the Commission on Environmental Law since 1996 and member of the World Commission on Protected Areas since 2000. In 2002, Mr Kiszel created the Hungarian National Committee of IUCN. From 2008 to 2012, he has served as Regional Councillor of IUCN for East Europe, North and Central Asia, as Vice-Chair of the Governance Committee and member of the Finance and Audit Committee of the Council of IUCN. During his councillorship, he has initiated and/or coached several motions to the upcoming Congress of IUCN, decisions of the Council on governance and economic issues of IUCN, and contributed to essential policy matters with a view to fostering the adaptation of the IUCN to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The overriding objective of Mr Kiszel’s programme is to reinforce direct democracy by way of strengthening membership participation in decision-making as well as providing enhanced services by the Union’s various organs to the membership. It is only on the basis of the added value of the enormous contribution of the Members and the vast knowledge network of IUCN that the Union can prosper and reinforce its identity and its global, national, regional presence. These objectives can be implemented in harmony with the principles of continuity and stability and in full respect of IUCN’s invaluable heritage, organisational strengths and achievements.

Acceptance of Nomination
PDF icon revised_declaration_of_willing_to_serve_vilmos.pdf
Manifesto
PDF icon kiszel_manifesto_2020.docx_.pdf

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