Peace Picks October 28-November 3

Africa in Transition: The Role of Women in Peace and Security|October 29, 2019|9:30am-11:30am|Wilson Center|1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004 |Register Here

The prosperity of a nation cannot be divorced from the prosperity of its women. In sub-Saharan Africa, demographic trends, including rapid population growth and urbanization, ethnic tensions, and environmental degradation and climate change represent some of the compound security risks facing the region. A multisector and integrated approach that is inclusive of women is a precondition to curbing the underlying trends influencing instability in the region. When women are involved in security decision-making, the likelihood for conflict decreases, and peace negotiations last longer.  

Please join the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program and Maternal Health Initiative, in partnership with The Population Institute, to discuss holistic approaches to complex security challenges in sub-Saharan Africa at the third public event in our three-part series, Africa in Transition.

Speakers
Moderator: Monde Muyangwa, Africa Program Director
Ambassador (ret.) Phillip Carter III, President, Mead Hill Group, LLC; former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea
Chantal de Jonge Oudraat , President, Women in International Security (WIIS)
Alex Ezeh, Professor of Global Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University

Elizabeth Leahy Madsen,Senior Program Director, International Programs, Population Reference Bureau

Israel’s Tightening Control of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza|October 30, 2019|12:30pm-2:00pm|Middle East Institute|1763 N St. NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20036|Register Here

While some corners of Washington and the international community are waking up to the reality of Israel’s de facto annexation of Palestinian land in the West Bank and recurrent crisis in Gaza, few policymakers understand how the policies that have created this brutal and often tedious reality look like on the ground. This panel of seasoned Israeli experts will untangle the mess of occupation and annexation facing Palestinians living in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as the decisions required to address Gaza’s chronic problems.

This event is part of the George and Rhonda Salem Family Foundation Lecture Series. 

Participant Biographies

Avner Gvaryahu is the Executive Director of Breaking the Silence as well as an M.A. candidate in the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia.

Daniel Seidemann is a practicing attorney in Jerusalem who specializes in legal and public issues in East Jerusalem.

Celine Touboul is the Co-Director General of the Economic Cooperation Foundation (ECF), an Israeli policy planning think-tank designing and advancing initiatives aimed at creating the conditions for the resumption of a genuine Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the realization of a viable two state-solution.

Dr. Bashar Azzeh (moderator) is a Member of the PLO Palestine National Council, PLO Center Council, PPSF Party international secretary and Advisor to the PLO.

Recent Trends in Democracy and Development in the Emerging World|October 31, 2019|10:00am-11:30am|Brookings Institution|Saul/Zilkha Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington DC 20036|Register Here

By the end of 2019, more people will have cast a vote than ever before. Nearly 2 billion voters in 50 countries around the world will have headed to the polls to elect their leaders. At the same time, data show that citizens’ trust in governments is weak and political polarization is growing almost everywhere. Many are feeling left behind and find it hard to coexist with people who have different views. Social networks and echo chambers amplify this mistrust. Simultaneously, the world is getting richer, with just over half of the global population now middle class or wealthier. Many countries, ranging from autocracies to liberal democracies, are struggling to form political platforms that can satisfy a broad middle-class majority.

On October 31, the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings and the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies for Equity and Growth (CIPPEC) from Argentina will co-host an event to assess democratic trends in the developing world and tease out implications for growth and development, drawing from recent electoral results in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. The event will kick off with a brief presentation on global attitudes toward democracy by the Pew Research Center. A moderated panel with regional experts will follow.

Speakers

Homi Kharas (Welcome Remarks): Interim Vice President and Director, Global Economy and Development

Richard Wike: Director of Global Attitudes Research, Pew Research Center

Julia Pomares: Executive Director, Centre for the Implementation of Public Policy for Equity and Growth (CIPPEC)

Landry Signé: David M. Rubenstein Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Africa Growth Initiative

Irfan Nooruddin: Professor, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Richard Wike (Moderator): Director of Global Attitudes Research, Pew Research Center

Iran Hostage Crisis 40th Anniversary Panel Discussion|October 31, 2019|10:30am-12:00pm|Wilson Center|1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004 |Register Here

On November 4, 1979, a crowd of Iranian students charged into the US embassy in Tehran and took hostage 52 American diplomats and citizens. The resulting diplomatic standoff would last 444 days. Now, 40 years later, the Iran Hostage Crisis continues to loom as one of the defining moments in US-Iran relations. To mark the anniversary of this crucial event, a panel of US-Iran relations experts meet to discuss how the Crisis is viewed today and how it continues to play a role in US foreign policy.

The panel will be moderated by Haleh Esfandiari, former director and founder of the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program.

Dr. Esfandiari will be joined on the panel by:

Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow and Director of The Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institute.

Suzanne Maloney, Deputy Director of the Foreign Policy Program and Senior Fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy, Energy Security and Climate Initiative at the Brookings Institute.

John Limbert, retired US Diplomat and Distinguished Professor of International Affairs at the US Naval Academy. Ambassador Limbert was stationed in the US embassy in Iran in 1979 and was one of the diplomats held hostage, for which he received the Award of Valor.


Sophie Lobanov-Rostovsky

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