Upcoming Events:
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Past Events:
Event summaries, where available, can be found by clicking on the event title.
Advocacy In Conflict: Do international public advocacy campaigns make an impact?
Thursday, February 28, 2013
12:30 p.m.
Cabot, 7th Floor
Join us for a panel discussion moderated by Alex de Waal and featuring:
Rony Brauman, former President of Doctors Without Borders, current Director of Research at the Doctors Without Borders Foundation, and Associate Professor at Sciences Po.
Laura Seay, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Morehouse College, expert on African politics, conflict resolution, and state reconstruction, and author of the Texas in Africa blog.
Amanda Taub, Adjunct Professor of International Law and Human Rights at Fordham University, co-author of the Wronging Rights blog, and editor of Beyond Kony2012.
Can Social Media Bridge Divides Between Diverse Muslim and Western Communities?
Monday, January 14, 2013
@WorldPeaceFdtn, #tweetingforpeace
6:45 p.m. EST
Join WPF for our first twitter event
Social media is today a critical platform where global youth communicate and express their political interests. But can these new technologies also play a role in bridging divides between communities? Posing this question in the crucial context of relations between diverse Muslim and Western communities, the World Peace Foundation at The Fletcher School will welcome guests speakers:
Farah Anwar Pandith (@Farah_Pandith), U.S. special representative to Muslim communities
Riyaad Minty (@Riy), head of social media at Al Jazeera (@AJArabic & @AJEnglish)
Join the conversation on January 14th at 6:45 p.m. EST on Twitter: #tweetingforpeace, @WorldPeaceFdtn, and @FletcherSchool.
More than 1.4 billion people are using social media worldwide. More than half of the world’s population is under 30 years old, with 62 percent of the Muslim population under 30. This young generation is one of the largest and most active age groups on social media, but it remains a question whether the media can overcome significant differences in language, politics, and assumptions to become a tool to support peaceful communication across social divides.
In her position as the first U.S. special representative to Muslim communities, Pandith, a Fletcher graduate (F95), focuses on youth and civil society, and on building and increasing the capacity for young Muslims to engage in positive ways, including through social media. Al Jazeera’s Minty ensures the network is part of the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. Most recently, his work has focused on the use of citizen media for crisis reporting. He is adept at discussing the role of new media and the challenges and opportunities that come with the technology.
Roundtable on the Crisis in Mali
November 15, 2012
Cabot 7th Floor
12:30
Join us as area experts discuss the evolving crisis in Mali. The panel will be moderated by WPF Executive Director Alex de Waal and will include:
· Jeremy Swift, author and scholar of nomadic pastoralists in and around the world’s great deserts, focusing on the pastoral Tuareg in Mali. Read Jeremy Swift's blog post about Mali.
· Roland Marchal, senior research fellow at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, with extensive publications on conflicts in the Greater Horn of Africa (from Chad to Somalia) and the policy of international actors on the continent;
· Jeremy Keenan, social anthropologist and professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London, focusing on the Sahara, North Africa and the Sahel region;
Libya Today
November 15, 2012
Barnum 104
6:00 p.m.
Join us as area experts provide up to date analysis of conditions in Libya today. Panelists are
Faraj Najem, a widely respected Libyan author, lecturer, historian, political commentator and advisor on Libyan matters, and a leading member of the Libyan diaspora in the UK; and
Dirk J. Vandewalle, an Associate Professor of Government at Dartmouth College, and a leading expert on Libya. The event will be moderated by
Hugh Roberts, Professor of History at Tufts University, formerly the North Africa Director for the International Crisis Group.
Wandering Jews: American Jews, Human Rights, and Humanitarianism
Sponsored by the Tufts Seminar Series: "Exploring the History of Humanitarianism and Development"
November 14, 2012
Rabb Room, Lincoln Filene Hall
5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Michael Barnett, Professor International Affairs and Political Science at George Washington University, and author of Empire of Humanity: A History of Humanitarianism will deliver remarks and a response will be given by Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation.
The New Peace: A Presentation by Mary Kaldor
Co-sponsored with the Institute for Global Leadership
October 30, 2012
Cabot ASEAN Auditorium
5:00 p.m. book signing
5:30 p.m. public program
Join us as Mary Kaldor discusses the third edition of her landmark work on New and Old Wars. Kaldor's work on new wars, first published in 1999, crystallized thinking about the changing nature of war in the globalized post-Cold War era, in particular focusing on the proliferation of non-state actors and the systematic targeting of civilians, the importance of identity politics, and the inter-relationship between private and often criminal interests and political conflict. As this book enters its third edition, Kaldor has further developed her thinking, updating her material to include Iraq and Afghanistan, responding to some critiques and providing a richer conceptual and evidence-based backdrop to explain “new wars.”
Mary Kaldor is Professor of Global Governance and Director of the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit at the London School of Economics.
Getting Somalia Wrong?: Faith, War and Hope in a Shattered State
The Fletcher School
September 25, 2012
Cabot 206
5:00 p.m. Book signing
5:30 p.m. public program
Mary Harper, author of Getting Somalia Wrong?: Faith, War and Hope in a Shattered State, discusses how this "failed state" is far from being a failed society, as alternative forms of business, justice, and local politics still flourish. Arguing that there is a lot to be learned from the Somali way of doing things, Harper's examination of Somalia sheds light on why international engagement has had limited impact. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.
Mary Harper is the Africa Editor at the BBC World Service. She has reported on Africa for the past twenty years, and has a special interest in Somalia.
You Define the Issues: The Student Seminar Competition
The Fletcher School
September 18, 2012
5:30 p.m.
Cabot 206
The WPF invites all Fletcher students to participate in the student seminar competition, where you define the issues and we cover the expenses for a two-day seminar with leading global experts on the topic of your choice. Seminar proposals will be due October 11th, the winner announced on October 16th for a seminar to be held in February 2013.
Join us for this event to learn more about the competition and to gain insights from the students who won last year's competition with the seminar, "Transnational Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking: Re-Framing the Debate." WPF staff will also be available to answer questions regarding this year's competition.
For additional information, including competition guidelines, look here.
Conflict in the 21st Century
Institute for Global Leadership
Tufts University
February 22 - 26, 2012
WPF's Alex de Waal will be among the speaker in the The 27th Annual Norris and Margery Bendetson EPIIC International Symposium sponsored by the Institute for Global Leadership. For more information, visit their website.
Inauguration of the African Union Human Rights Memorial
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
January 28, 2012
The African Union headquarters will inaugurate a new human rights memorial dedicated to the memory of the victims of Alem Bekagn central prison, creating permanent memorials to the Rwanda Genocide, Apartheid and slavery. The inaugural event will commemorate those who perished during the Red Terror campaign and victims of other human rights violations. For more background information, see Alex de Waal's article on Alem Bekagn.
A Celebration of 101 Years of Working for Peace
By invitation only
January 17, 2012
The January 17 reception will mark the official launch of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School. For more information contact the World Peace Foundation.
How Mass Atrocities End
November 17, 2011
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Cabot Intercultural Center, Room 205
There is perhaps no other phase of mass atrocities that is less studied yet more debated than endings. An ideal ending dominates policy and activists' imaginations – victims saved, perpetrators defeated, and some form of transitional justice accomplished. But this rarely occurs. Actual endings are little researched, yet provide a rich field of study and valuable arena for policy development. Scholars and policymakers have developed tools for defining when a genocide is happening – but not for when it is over. For example, can we say that the mass atrocities in Darfur have finished or not?
Speakers:
Alex de Waal, Director of the World Peace Foundation
Jens Meierhenrich, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science
Bridget Conley-Zilkic, Research Director, World Peace Foundation