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Landmines: A disaster we can prevent

Photographic Exhibition by John Rodsted

'Halfway - Bosnia a decade after'

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Mine Ban Convention, the Australian Embassy in partnership with the Canadian and Norwegian Embassies, and Hellenic Aid, undertook a joint public awareness initiative on the humanitarian impact of landmines.

The major component of the initiative was an exhibition of photos taken by Australian photographer, John Rodsted, as part of a Norwegian People’s Aid project in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The exhibition was held at the "SYNTAGMA" Metro Station from 7-14 February 2007. Rodsted’s pictures contrast the progress made in the ten years after the war in Bosnia with the human tragedy of war and the devastating impact of landmines on people and communities.

John Rodsted’s pictures eloquently illustrate the complexity of the landmine problem. They show that clearing mines and rebuilding countries after the war is possible but it remains a time and resource-consuming task – in Bosnia’s case, the removal and destruction of an estimated 670,000 mines laid during the fighting. Beyond the ongoing human toll in places like Bosnia, the presence of mines represents a major obstacle to the economic recovery of a country by blocking the development of tourism and agricultural activities and other uses of the land.

Panel Discussion

The initiative also comprised a panel discussion on “The Mine Ban Convention: A decade on”, organised in cooperation with the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP). The panel discussion took place on Wednesday, 14 February 2007 at 7.00 pm at the Hotel Grande Bretagne

Moderator:

• Mr. George Kappopoulos, Journalist, Imerissia, Athens
  

Speakers:

• Mr. Craig Maclachlan, Deputy Permanent Representative
  to the Conference on Disarmament and Deputy to the
  President of the Mine Ban Convention
• Mr Per Nergaard, Director of the Mine Action Unit, Norwegian Peoples’ Aid
• Major Ioannis Promponas, Demining Battalion, Ministry of Defence
• Dr Stamatios A. Papadakis MD, PhD (Orthopaedic Surgeon), Medecins du Monde Hellas
• Dr Thanos Dokos, General Director of the Hellenic
  Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)

For more information on the mine action policy of Australia, please visit:

http://www.ausaid.gov.au/human/landmines.cfm

http://www.dfat.gov.au/landmines/Landmines

With the kind support of

ATTIKO METRO Operation Company SA
Hotel GRANDE BRETAGNE Athens

Communication Sponsors
ERT
NET 105.8
ELEFTHEROTYPIA 
 

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