Peace Picks | June 21-25, 2021

Notice: Due to public health concerns, upcoming events are only available via live stream.

1. World refugee day: Stories of resilient women | June 21, 2021 |  11:00 AM ET | Atlantic Council | Register Here

The Atlantic Council hosts a powerful conversation with refugee – and former refugee – women from around the globe as they share their stories of hope and triumph after surviving unforgettable hardship. These are stories of true resilience.

Speakers:

Adrienne Arsht (opening remarks)
Executive Vice Chair, Atlantic Council; Founder, Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center and Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, Atlantic Council

Reena Ninan (moderator)
Journalist and International Correspondent

Suzana Vuk
Account Executive, Zoom Video Communications

Priyali Sur
Founder & Managing Director, The Azadi Project

José Felix Rodriguez
Regional Coordinator of Migration, Social Inclusion and Non-Violence (Americas Region), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Lilia
Interviewed by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Sedighe
Interviewed by the Azadi Project

Masouma
Interviewed by the Azadi Project

Rebecca Scheurer (closing remarks)
Director, Humanitarian Initiatives, Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, Atlantic Council

2. What Iran’s election results portend | June 21, 2021 |  12:00 PM ET | Atlantic Council | Register Here

Following the June 18 presidential elections in Iran, a panel of experts discuss the political landscape and the ballot’s regional and international implications. The Atlantic Council’s Future of Iran Initiative invites you to a discussion of the implications of the election results for US-Iran relations, the 2015 nuclear deal, and Iran’s regional and domestic politics, including the succession to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Speakers:

Borzou Daragahi
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council

Fatemeh Haghighatjoo
Director, Nonviolent Initiative for Democracy

Azadeh Zamirirad
Iran Researcher and Deputy Head of the Africa and Middle East Division, German Institute for International and Security Affairs

Sadegh Zibakalam
Author and Professor, University of Tehran

Barbara Slavin (moderator)
Director, Future of Iran Initiative, Atlantic Council

3. Prioritizing clean energy investments in emerging and developing economies | June 21, 2021 |  12:00 PM ET | Brookings Institution | Register Here

Around the world, developing markets are facing a daunting challenge: how to strengthen their economies to improve the lives and livelihoods of citizens while not relying on high-carbon avenues for growth which have been deployed for generations. In many ways, the future of climate action relies on the decisions made in these emerging markets, and additional fiscal pressure brought about by the pandemic has made investing in necessary energy transformations to create sustainable, long-term growth even more difficult. A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), in collaboration with the World Bank and the World Economic Forum, outlines a plan for mobilizing and prioritizing clean energy investments in these economies.

The Brookings Initiative on Climate Research and Action will convene an event to discuss the new IEA report, “Financing clean energy transitions in emerging and developing economies” and the obstacles to mobilizing and deploying finance for clean energy transitions.

Speakers:

David G. Victor (introduction)
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Energy Security and Climate Initiative, Brookings Institution

Fatih Birol (keynote)
Executive Director, International Energy Agency

Michael Waldron (paper presentation)
Head of the Energy Investment Unit, International Energy Agency

David Dollar
Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Global Economy and Development, John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution

Samantha Gross
Director, Energy Security and Climate Initiative; Fellow, Foreign Policy, Energy Security and Climate Initiative, Brookings Institution

Rachel Kyte
Dean, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Steven M. Rothstein
Managing Director, Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Market

4. Terrorist Attacks, Cultural Incidents And The Vote For Radical Parties: Analyzing Text From Twitter | June 22, 2021 |  9:00 AM ET | Hoover Institution, Stanford University | Register Here

The Hoover Institution announces a new seminar series on Using Text as Data in Policy Analysis. These seminars will feature applications of natural language processing, structured human readings, and machine learning methods to text as data to examine policy issues in economics, history, national security, political science, and other fields. This third session features a conversation with Francesco Giavazzi speaking on Terrorist Attacks, Cultural Incidents and the Vote for Radical Parties: Analyzing Text from Twitter.

Speakers:

Francesco Giavazzi
Professor of Economics, Bocconi University; Research Fellow, Centre for Economic Policy Research; Research Associate, NBER

5. Views From the Ground: Perceptions of Domestic Conditions in MENA | June 22, 2021 |  10:00 AM ET | Middle East Institute | Register Here

The Middle East Institute (MEI) holds the third event in a four-part series in cooperation with Arab Barometer, on the occasion of the publication of Arab Barometer’s findings from the sixth wave of its surveys. The third panel will bring together experts from the US and Middle East alongside Abdul-Wahab Kayyali, senior research specialist with the Arab Barometer, to discuss the findings relevant to domestic conditions in the region. What have been the views of governments throughout the pandemic and ongoing crises? How are the economic conditions, and in what ways has the change of global work conditions impacted regional populations? What are the perceptions of civil liberty and freedoms?

Speakers:

Abdul-Wahab Kayyali
Senior Research Specialist, Arab Barometer

Sahar Khamis
Non-Resident Scholar, MEI

Saloua Zerhouni
President, Rabat Institute for Social Science

Ibrahim al-Assil (moderator)
Senior Fellow, MEI

6. Iran’s Pivotal Presidential Election | June 22, 2021 |  10:30 AM ET | Wilson Center and United States Institute of Peace | Register Here

The election on June 18 could mark the most important political transition in Iran for more than 30 years since the new president is likely to be in power when the next supreme leader is selected. Most Iranians—and now the majority of voters—were born after the 1979 revolution. One of the looming questions is how many will vote—and what will turnout say about public support for the regime.

The election intersects with critical negotiations between Iran and the world’s six major powers over the future of the JCPOA nuclear deal. Iran’s next president will set policy for years to come on foreign relations, including talks with the outside world on its nuclear and missile programs as well as on domestic affairs and the economy, which have been stifled by economic sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic.

This expert panel will discuss the election results and the implications for Iran, the Middle East, and the United States. How will the new president fare with the Biden administration?

Speakers:

Robin Wright
Distinguished Fellow, USIP-Wilson Center; Author and Columnist, The New York Times

Suzanne Maloney
Interim Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy Program, Brookings Institution; Senior Fellow, Brookings Center for Middle East Policy

Ali Vaez
Iran Project Director, International Crisis Group

James F. Jeffrey (moderator)
Chair of the Middle East Program, Wilson Center; Former Ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, and Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, US State Department

7. Re-Seeding Culture: Syrian Artists in Berlin | June 23, 2021 |  10:00 AM ET | Middle East Institute | Register Here

The Middle East Institute’s Arts and Culture Center in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Washington host a conversation about the development and influence of a thriving Syrian creative community in Berlin over the past decade with a panel of members of this community.

How did Berlin emerge as a new hub of Syrian arts and culture in diaspora? What challenges did Syrian artists face? How did they adapt and engage with this new artistic landscape? And what sort of influence has this exchange of cultures had on Berlin’s artistic community and cultural institutions?

Speakers:

Khaled Barakeh
Contemporary Artist

Kinan Hmeidan
Actor

Diana El-Jeiroudi
Filmmaker & Producer

Malu Halasa (moderator)
Writer

8. Advancing the role of women in Sudan’s transition | May 23, 2021 |  10:00 AM ET | Chatham House | Register Here

The contribution of women to Sudan’s transition is crucial to ensuring long-term peace, stability and development. In March 2020, the transitional government adopted its National Action Plan on women, peace and security, in line with UN Resolution 1325 which reaffirms the important role of women in peace and security efforts. Earlier this year, the cabinet also announced its priority to empower women in public affairs yet implementation of these commitments remains slow

At this event, panellists reflect on the role of women in the implementation of peace in Sudan and discuss how to increase the participation of women in political roles and other fields. They also examine outstanding priorities for legal reform, the impact of gender-based discrimination and the need for action to secure the rights and safety of women in the country.

Speakers:

Samia El Hashmi
Co-Founder and Chairwomen, Mutawinat Benevolent Company

Samia Nihar
Head, Gender Unit, Development Studies and Research Center, University of Khartoum

Manara Asad Begira Arbab
International Cooperation and Public Relations Officer, Sudan Youth Organization for Climate Change

Yousra Elbagir (moderator)
Freelance Journalist and Writer

9. A Conversation with Iraq’s Planning and Migration Ministers | June 23, 2021 |  10:30 AM ET | United States Institute of Peace | Register Here

Join USIP for a discussion with Iraq’s Minister of Planning Khalid Najim and Minister of Migration and Displacement Evan Jabro on the current situation and challenges to stabilization, reconstruction and reform efforts in Iraq. The discussion will also shed light on the status of Iraq’s displaced communities and recent returnees — including ethnic and religious minorities and those at al-Hol camp — as well as the Iraqi government’s plans for the future.

Speakers:

Michael Yaffe (opening remarks)
Vice President, Middle East and North Africa, U.S. Institute of Peace

Minister Khalid Batal Najm
Minister of Planning, Republic of Iraq

Minister Evan Faeq Jabro
Minister of Migration and Displacement, Republic of Iraq

Sarhang Hamasaeed (moderator)
Director, Middle East Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace

10. Book Discussion | Transforming Our World: President George H.W. Bush and American Foreign Policy | June 24, 2021 |  11:00 AM ET | Wilson Center | Register Here

From the fall of the Soviet Union to the Gulf War, the presidency of George H. W. Bush dealt with foreign policy challenges that would cement the post-Cold War order for a generation. Transforming Our World: President George H.W. Bush and American Foreign Policy offers readers a unique perspective on international events in the Bush administration — in the words of distinguished U.S. foreign policy insiders who helped shape them. They shed new light on and analyze President Bush’s role in world events during this historic period, his style of diplomacy, the organization and functioning of his foreign policy team, the consequences of his decisions, and his leadership skills.

Speakers:

Andrew H. Card Jr.
Author, Transforming Our World; Former White House Chief of Staff; Former Chair, National Endowment for Democracy

Andrew S. Natsios
Author, Transforming Our World; Director, Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University

Ambassador Mark Green (moderator)
President, Director, & CEO, Wilson Center