I am pleased to invite you to YPFP's upcoming Conversation with Michael Doran, Senior Director for Near East & North African Affairs at the National Security Council. With a portfolio covering all countries in the region except for Iraq, Dr. Doran is in a unique position to discuss U.S. policy towards specific states as well as the area more broadly. This event will be held on Wednesday April 4, from 7:00 - 8:30pm, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Please note that you will have to arrive no later than 6:20 pm in order to pass through security.

Because space for this event is quite limited, please RSVP by responding to this email only if you are confident that you will be able to attend. This meeting is only open to YPFP members. When you RSVP, please include the following information which the Secret Service requires for security purposes:

The issue of global hunger has recently received increasing levels of attention, and has been the target of several important international initiatives. Large countries such as China, India, and Brazil have launched or expanded food policy programs for the poor. Non-traditional actors such as the business sector have also become more engaged in efforts to achieve development goals, reflecting both a new sense of corporate social responsibility and a better understanding of the potential of the poor in terms of business opportunities. However, benefits of the initiatives and of economic growth often fail to reach the poor. Action on the ground is required and must involve a wide set of actors including civil society and the private sector. Joachim von Braun is an expert in development economics and food policy, and he is author of an IFPRI Paper on the topics described above. His talk will address the challenges ahead including the potential for public- private partnerships. We hope you will join us for this engaging event.

On April 12 Neil Howe and Richard Jackson will give a briefing highlighting the findings of a major new CSIS Global Aging Initiative report on Korea.

Please join us at CSIS from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in conference room B1C for a discussion of demographics and retirement policy in the fastest aging country on earth.

Korea is still a young nation. But with a fertility rate of just 1.1—the lowest level in the world—it is about to undergo a stunning demographic transformation. Today just 9 percent of Korea's population is elderly, well beneath the developed-country average of 15 percent. By 2050, however, that share is due to rise to 38 percent, putting Korea in contention with Japan, Italy, and Spain for the oldest country on earth. By then, there will be more Koreans turning 90 each year than being born.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation cordially invite you to a luncheon panel discussion of a recent CSIS report: "Moving Beyond the U.S. Government Policy of Inadmissibility of HIV-Infected Noncitizens."

The recently published report of the CSIS Task Force on HIV/AIDS provides an overview of U.S. law and policy concerning inadmissibility of HIV-infected applicants for immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. It lays out a menu of concrete options that might be pursued, both in the short term by the administration in its proposed rulemaking for HIV-infected visitors, and in the longer term by the U.S. Congress as it weighs future legislative action to address HIV inadmissibility more broadly. The publication is available at:
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/movingbeyondinadmissibility.pdf

Back by popular demand, the Sejong Society will be hosting its fourth happy hour of the year at Eyebar Lounge. Come join and network with your fellow foreign policy young professionals. Drink specials end at 8pm, so get there early! Tell your friends and colleagues about this week's happy hour to learn more about the Sejong Society.

Date: Thursday, April 12, 2007
Time:
6:00 - 8:00PM

Location: Eyebar Lounge-Club
1716 I Street NW
Farragut West Metro

For the past half-century, the US-Japan relationship has been the bedrock of the United States' Asia policy. In recent years, the two countries' cooperation – from nonproliferation challenges in North Korea, to humanitarian crises in Southeast Asia, to the invasion of Iraq – has demonstrated both the necessity of and the potential for future collaboration between the two countries. Yet new domestic, regional, and global challenges to the alliance are mounting. As Asia's security, political, and economic architecture continues to change rapidly, how can the US-Japan alliance change with it to ensure the region's continued peace and prosperity? We are delighted to have Randall Schriver, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs and a Founding Partner of Armitage International, as our guest for a discussion of these issues.

Foreign Policy After Bush

with

Amitai Etzioni
University Professor, GWU

Michael Lind
Whitehead Senior Fellow
The New America Foundation

Moderated by

Nikolas Gvosdev
Editor, The National Interest

April 12 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

The Elliott School of International Affairs
Harry Harding Auditorium, Room 213
1957 E Street, NW

The Future of Democracy Initiative presents

Taking the Pulse of Latin American Democracy: The Andean Region and Beyond

Speakers:
Cynthia McClintock, GW Professor of Political Science and International Affairs
Cynthia Arnson, Director, Latin American Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Kevin Healy, GW Adjunct Professor of International Affairs
Lowell Fleischer, Senior Associate, CSIS, Americas Program

Keynote Speaker:
Michael Shifter, Vice President for Policy, the Inter-American Dialogue, Georgetown University Adjunct Professor of International Affairs

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20004-3027
T 202/691-4000

9:00 am
Welcome
Andrew Selee, Woodrow Wilon Center
Raul Abreu, Fundacion IDEA

9:15 am
Keynote Address: Agricultural Challenges in the Hemisphere
Alain de Janvry, Professor of Agricultural & Resource Economics at the University of California, Berkeley and Coordinator for the World Bank Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development

Friday, April 13, 2007
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Location:
U.S. Institute of Peace
2nd Floor Conference Room
1200 17th St, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Trade preferences, debt relief and extensive donor support have improved Haiti's economic prospects. After decades of international sanctions and economic decline is Haiti finally about to be open for business? The answer to that question will be discussed at the next meeting of the Haiti Working Group.

a http://www.usip.org/events/2007/0413_haiti_business.html

Speakers
H.E. Raymond A. Joseph
Haiti's Ambassador to the United States

Expert Panel on Cultural Anthropology Knowledge and/for/of the U.S. Military and Intelligence

Speakers:
David Abramson, Foreign Affairs Analyst, Office of Analysis for Russia and Eurasia, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, US Department of State

Robert Albro, Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs, Department of Anthropology, George Washington University

Kerry Fosher, Culture and Language Center, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base

Clementine Fujimura, Professor of Language and Culture Studies, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD

Washington DC Pre-MBA Conference
DATE: Saturday, April 14, 2007
TIME: 10:00am – 1:30pm

LOCATION:
Johns Hopkins University
Carey Business School
1625 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

AGENDA
10 - 10:30 Registration
10:30 - 11 Opening Remarks
11 - 1:00 MBA Fair
1:30 Adjourn

Workshops
11:00 am The Application
11:45 am What to Expect
12:20 am Financial Aid Options

EVENT DETAILS:
The Washington DC Chapter Board invites members and friends to the 2007 Pre-MBA Conference. The event aims to empower participants by introducing them to the resources and information necessary to navigate the application process and learn about various sources of financial aid. For more information click here.

H.E. Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi, Minister of Finance & Noorullah Delawari, Governor of Da Afghanistan Bank

The Brookings Institution
Falk Auditorium
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC

On April 16, the Brookings Institution will host a discussion with two of Afghanistan’s most senior and influential leaders, H.E. Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi, minister of finance, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and Noorullah Delawari, governor of Da Afghanistan Bank. The session will provide an opportunity to explore Afghanistan’s fiscal health, progress to date, and the challenges the country continues to face.

POLICY FORUM
Monday, April 16, 2007
12:00 PM (Luncheon to Follow)

The Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Featuring Johnny Munkhammar, Program Director, Timbro, Sweden; Ezra Klein Writing Fellow, American Prospect; and Dan Mitchell, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute.

Most of Western Europe suffers from high taxes, high unemployment, and low growth rates, but some observers see Scandinavia as an exception that has managed to combine an extensive welfare state with robust economic growth. New Republic recently lauded Denmark as an example for the United States to follow. Should the United States adopt the Scandinavian model? What are the real lessons from Denmark, Norway and Sweden?

The Mortara Center for International Studies, the Georgetown University Initiative on International Development, and the Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor are pleased to sponsor 'Legal Empowerment: Building Stable Societies and Economic Democracy in the Developing World' featuring distinguished speakers Madeleine Albright and Hernando de Soto.

Location: Gaston Hall, Georgetown University campus (See http://explore.georgetown.edu/locations/?Action=View&LocationID=87 for a map)

RSVP: This event has been marked as open to the public.
To RSVP for this event please visit: http://www12.georgetown.edu/sfs/rsvp/index.cfm?Action=View&EventID=1150

The Pakistani American Leadership Center cordially invites you to attend

“A Discussion with Dr. Shamshad Akhtar and Dr. Salman Shah�

Dr. Shamshad Akhtar is the Governor, State Bank of Pakistan and will discuss "Pakistan's Banking Sector Reforms: How Does It Compare With Its Neighbors in Asia."

Dr. Salman Shah is the Advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan for Finance, Revenue, and Economic Affairs. He will discuss "Pakistan in South Asia: Prospects for Regional Economic Integration."

Monday, April 16 2007

SAIS Rome Auditorium, Johns Hopkins University

Speakers:

Dr. Luis Javier Garrido, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), and Academic and Political Analyst

Tania Modesta Martinez-Cardenas, UNAM Ph.D candidate and UNAM researcher

* Monday, April 16, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
* Location: Lindner Family Commons, The Elliott School of International Affairs, Suite 602, 1957 E Street, NW
* Sponsor: The Mexico Solidarity Network and the GW Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Program
* No RSVP is required. This event is free and open to the public.

Please join the Center for American Progress and Campus Progress for a special presentation:

Political Engagement and Youth Today: A New National Poll of America's 18-24 Year-Olds

Featured Speakers:

Sarah Bianchi, Member of the Institute of Politics Senior Advisory Committee, former National Policy Director for the John Kerry Presidential Campaign, and former Domestic Policy Advisor to Vice President Gore
John Della Volpe, Polling Director at the Institute of Politics, Harvard University
David King, Kennedy School Lecturer in Public Policy and Institute of Politics Director of Research
Matthew Valji, Institute of Politics Survey Co-Chair and Harvard undergraduate '08

The Center for National Policy invites you to a discussion entitled

How To Raise Labor Standards in Asia: A Case Study

with Dr. Ying-Yuan Lee, Minister of Council for Labor, Government of Taiwan.

Dr. Lee, Taiwan's Minister for Labor, will discuss the achievements and challenges in the process of enhancing Taiwan's labor standards in a competitive, globalized region.

Tuesday, April 17 2007 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch will be served; space will be limited

Location:
Rayburn House Office Building
Room B-369
Washington, D.C.

RSVP at the Center website:
http://www.cnponline.org/index.php?tg=addon/2/form&idx=2&id_app=2&id_step=28&id_form=8&form_row=71&popup=0&parent_id_form=7&parent_id_step=10&form_menu=&trt_step=1&form_value=How%2BTo%2BImprove%2BAsian%2BLabor%2BStandards

Location: Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

North Korea presents a troubling paradox in modern development: it is one of the dwindling number of countries continually on the verge of famine, but it also the newest member of the select club of states to possess both nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic rocketry. This marriage of economic privation and military aggressiveness is not coincidental—to the contrary, argues AEI’s Nicholas Eberstadt, it faithfully reflects the priorities and policies of North Korean leadership.

Speaker:
Dr. Rafael Pardo, former Minister of Defense of Colombia

Commentator:
Dr. Gabriel Marcella, Professor of Strategy, Department of National Security and Strategy, United States Army War College, and Phillip McLean, Adjunct Professor, The George Washington University, and Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Moderator:
Dr. Norman Bailey, Adjunct Professor of Economic Statecraft, Institute of World Politics

* Wednesday, April 18, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
* Location: The George Washington University, Duques Hall, Room 451, 2201 G Street NW
* Sponsor: The Center for Latin American Issues (CLAI) and the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) of the U.S. Army War College
* The official street address of Duques Hall is 2201 G Street, NW. However, for easier access to the event venue, we suggest you enter the building from the 22nd Street side, between G and H streets. Take the elevator to the 4th floor.

The Association of Women in International Trade

Africa/Middle East and Asia Pacific Committees

Invite you to a panel discussion on:

China - Africa Trade Relations and
Impact on U.S. Trade

Featured Panelists:

Mr. Liu Youfa – Minister Counselor, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
Mr. Mário Miguel – Economic Affairs, Embassy of Angola
Mr. Mudunwazi Baloyi – Minister Counselor, Embassy of the Republic of South Africa
Invited: Ms. Mary Jo Wills – Director, Office of Economic Policy Staff, Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

The mixed performance of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq in 2003–04 has been documented in great detail. Do United Nations administrations work better? What is the best possible outcome that can be hoped for in any such stabilization and reconstruction effort? What might the international community do differently in future post-conflict administrations? What lessons can we learn from Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor, and the more distant past?

At this AEI event, panelists Kimberly Marten, author of Enforcing the Peace: Learning from the Imperial Past; Michael Rubin, author of Eternal Iran: Continuity and Chaos; and Rory Stewart, author of The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq will explore these and other questions.

Turkey's geostrategic position has always made it a pivotal state for US foreign policy. This is especially the case today due to Turkey's access to energy resources and its relations with Iran, Israel, Iraq, and the greater Middle East. As Turkey deals with economic challenges and financial instability, its relations with the United States and Europe are likely to become increasingly important. We are delighted to have Ambassador Donald Bandler as our guest for a discussion of the broader foreign and security policy issues facing Turkey today, in regards not only to the Middle East but also to developments in Cyprus, Turkey's ongoing bid to join the European Union, and broader cultural relations between Muslim and non-Muslim communities in Europe.

What is the nature of the relationship between Congress and other federal government agencies in regards to the U.S.-ROK alliance? How has the recent Democratic majority influenced how Congress perceives relations between the U.S. and the Korean Peninsula?

GUEST SPEAKER

Mr. Keith Luse
Senior Professional Staff Member
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee

LOCATION

Johns Hopkins University SAIS
1717 Massachusetts Ave. NW
5th Floor - Room 500

Media Note: Please Be Aware That This Policy Lecture is OFF THE RECORD.

Refreshments will be served.

The Middle East Institute is pleased to host British politician the Rt. Hon Michael Ancram QC MP to discuss the practice of talking to terrorists, with particular reference to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Rt. Hon Michael Ancram QC MP has served in prominent posts in British government, opposition, and Privy Council since 1979, including as Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office. He was responsible for the peace process in the John Major government, where he became the first British minister to meet with the Sinn Fein and Irish Republican Army in 25 years.

Mr. Ancram, who in 2006 founded an independent foreign affairs think tank called the Global Strategy Forum, continues to study peace processes and pragmatic approaches to negotiating with terrorists, specifically focusing on conflicts in the Middle East. He has recently returned from visiting the region, where he held a series of meetings with representatives from Lebanon, Syria, and Israel regarding the recent escalation of regional tensions.

Senator Chris Dodd
on America's Energy Challenges

The Center for National Policy is pleased to present the next installment of our Presidential Series: America's Role in the World.

Senator Chris Dodd will join us this Thursday, April 19 2007. He will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing America's energy policy.

With five percent of the world's population, the United States consumes nearly 25 percent of the world's energy production. As the "keystone resource," energy policy decisions made in Washington over the coming years will impact national, economic, and regional security.

Given the challenging situation in Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions and the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the transatlantic partners share the belief that only a regional approach will be successful in creating a sustainable peace. Americans and Europeans, however, pursue different strategies towards the common goal.

Should the Americans engage in a bilateral dialogue with states like Syria and Iran or should Europeans facilitate a new "trialogue"? Are there strategies that have worked in the past in other regions and what are the common lessons we have learned? How can Europeans and Americans, both states and non-state actors, develop an integrated approach to the region and ensure coherence?

The Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies at Georgetown University and the Embassy of Australia, Washington DC invites you to attend The ANZAC Lecture 2007 on Thursday April 19, 2007 at 6.30 pm with a reception to follow.

The guest speaker will be Thomas Keneally, AO, author of Schindler’s List, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, American Scoundrel, The Great Shame, Abraham Lincoln, Our Republic, and The Commonwealth of Thieves.

Venue: Inter Cultural Center (ICC) Auditorium, Room 230, Georgetown University, 37th and O Streets NW, Washington DC.
http://explore.georgetown.edu/maps/index.cfm?Action=View&MapID=2

The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, Department of Economics and Center for International Business Education and Research

Present

A Symposium on New Directions for Research on Microfinance

April 20, 2007
9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Alumni House
1925 F Street, NW

RSVP to Patrick Funiciello itip@gwu.edu.

The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for work in microfinance that served as “an important instrument in the struggle against poverty.� This symposium will explore this evolving field.

AGENDA:

Armed Conflict as a Public Health Problem: Current Realities and Future Directions

U.S. Institute of Peace
2nd Floor Conference Room
1200 17th St, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Public event sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and U.S. Institute of Peace Task Force on Conflict and Public Health

The Task Force on Conflict and Public Health wraps up its 2006-2007 activities with a public event featuring Dr. Christopher Murray of Harvard University. A prominent physician and health economist and former Executive Director of the Evidence and Information for Policy Cluster at the World Health Organization, Dr. Murray will address the relationship between armed conflict and public health. While conflict has obvious detrimental effects on health, less is known about the correlation between maintaining healthy populations and resolving or managing armed conflict. This discussion will address current research on these issues and suggest possible avenues for fruitful communication between the fields of public health, public policy and conflict management.

Women's Role in the Reconstruction of Liberia
A public meeting of the Liberia Working Group co-hosted by USIP and The Initiative for Inclusive Security

Monday, April 23, 2007
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Location:
U.S. Institute of Peace
2nd Floor Conference Room
1200 17th St, NW
Washington, DC 20036

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has made it a priority to include women in Liberia's reconstruction. Women head the ministries of commerce, justice, finance, youth and sports, as well as the Ministry of Gender and Development. They also are 5 of the 15 county superintendents. Women were crucial in bringing peace to Liberia and are eager to aid the rebuilding effort. The recent Partners' Forum, at which the donor community committed significant aid to Liberia, highlighted the role women need to play in development.

Georgetown's Center for Latin Amercan Studies presents a discussion with Mr. Angelos Pangratis, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Commission in the United States.

Location: Murray Room, Lauinger Library, Geogetown University Campus (See http://explore.georgetown.edu/locations/?Action=View&LocationID=36)

RSVP: This event has been marked as open to the public. Please RSVP to https://www12.georgetown.edu/sfs/rsvp/clas

For more information, contact the Center for Latin American Studies; phone (202) 687-0140; email clas@georgetown.edu; website http://clas.georgetown.edu.

Location:
U.S. Institute of Peace
2nd Floor Conference Room
1200 17th St, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Join Harriet Martin, author of Kings of Peace, Pawns of War, the inside story of some of the world's most intractable conflicts and the mediators who sought to resolve them, and senior practitioners of mediation and peacemaking Søren Jessen-Petersen and Charles Snyder as they explore the role of third-party mediators in intractable conflicts. How do they shape the process and interact with the other institutions involved? What makes an international mediator successful? What skills and characteristics of mediators and their institutions are most essential, and how can they be developed?

RECONSTRUCTING THE RELATIONSHIP: A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON AVERTING ARMED CONFLICT BETWEEN THE U.S. AND IRAN

Location:
National Press Club
First Amendment Lounge
529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
Washington, DC 20045

Participants:

Dr. Trita Parsi, President, National Iranian American Council

Wayne Gilchrest (MD-01), Founder and Co-Chair, Dialogue Caucus, U.S. House of Representatives

James P. Moran (VA-08), Member, Appropriations Committee, U.S. House of Representatives

Joseph Montville, Chairman of Board, Center for the Study of World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict, George Mason University; Diplomat in Residence at American University.

Who's Afraid of North Korean Regime Collapse?
With Robert Joseph, Former Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security

Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

In the decade and a half since its Soviet patron collapsed, Pyongyang's leaders have striven to make the international community regard North Korean collapse as a frightening—even unthinkable—risk to the region and to the world. Against all odds, Kim Jong Il's starving police state has been remarkably successful in this campaign. Today, numerous arguments against regime change in North Korea are routinely offered in Western foreign policy circles. These arguments include the incalculable economic costs of reconstructing northern Korea, the unpredictable mass exodus of refugees that might be triggered, the grave military and proliferation uncertainties entailed in any political transition from North Korea's current nuclear-armed dictatorship, and the geostrategic tensions that could be provoked between Great Powers in an area that historically has been prone to Great Power conflicts.

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS IN FOREIGN POLICY

Arms and Influence in the 21st Century

Thomas Schelling, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Economics

Wednesday, April 25  |  7:00 – 8:30 p.m.

The Hungarian Revolution and the Olympic Spirit: Screening of "Freedom's Fury"

Tuesday, April 24, 2007
7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Room: 2172 Rayburn

The Ambassador of Hungary invites you to a special screening of The Sibs' (Colin Keith Gray and Megan Raney Aarons) Freedom's Fury, a powerful feature documentary about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. Please join the Congressional Human Rights Caucus for this special event honoring the more than 15,000 victims killed by the Soviet Red Army in November 1956 and the members of the Hungarian Olympic water polo team.

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is proud to announce its second annual Carnegie Junior Fellows Conference

The Carnegie Junior Fellows Conference:

Is U.S. Primacy Fading? Searching for Answers at Home and Abroad

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

This conference will bring together leading thinkers and a select group of young professionals from the foreign policy field to discuss how recent global trends in politics, security, and economics have challenged U.S. primacy. Our aim is to create an elite forum in which a new generation of foreign policy leaders may be exposed to the key policy challenges facing the United States and be given the opportunity to network with equally dedicated and focused peers.

The Russian Economy: "Irrational Exuberance" in an Election Year?
With Yegor Gaidar, Former Prime Minister of the Russian Federation

Wednesday, April 25, 2007, 9:30–11:00 a.m.
Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

In 2003, on the heels of an incredible economic recovery, Russian president Vladimir Putin pledged to double Russia's GDP within a decade. Buoyed by high energy prices and steadily growing at around 7 percent a year, Russia's economy is still on pace to fulfill this prediction. All of the country's foreign debts have been paid off; gold and currency reserves stand at $300 billion; and another $100 billion has accrued from windfall oil profits in the country's Stabilization Fund, created to soften the blow when oil prices go down.

Location:
U.S. Institute of Peace
2nd Floor Conference Room
1200 17th St, NW
Washington, DC 20036

As Zimbabwe’s economic and political conditions continue to deteriorate, there are increasing incidents of civil unrest, worker’s strikes, and reports of divisions in the ruling party. In recent weeks, the security forces have once again cracked down on political parties and other groups that challenge the ruling party. The severity and breadth of the attacks by the Zimbabwean security forces renewed calls for the region’s governments and the international community to act more forcefully to ensure respect for human rights and democracy in Zimbabwe.

RUSSIAN ENERGY:
Toward a Russia-Led "OPEC for Gas"?

Presenter:
Vladimir Socor
Senior Fellow, The Jamestown Foundation

Discussant:
Professor Marshall Goldman
Associate Director, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Harvard University

Chair:
Glen E. Howard
President, Jamestown Foundation

_____

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
The Jamestown Foundation
1111 16th St. NW
Washington, DC 20036

_____

The Gas-Exporting Countries' Forum, just held in Qatar, has initiated steps toward creating a cartel at the interstate level that would be opposed to Western interests. Unlike OPEC, such a cartel could involve a set of regional arrangements that allocate certain markets to certain suppliers, fix prices, coordinate delivery volumes and even plan exclusive LNG development projects.

Congressional Human Rights Caucus (CHRC) Briefing:

On the Panchen Lama's 18 Birthday: A Look at Religion in Tibet Today

Wednesday, April 25th, 2007
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Room: 2200 Rayburn

We invite you to attend a briefing of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus on the 18th birthday of the Panchen Lama to discuss the situation of religion in Tibet today.

April 25th will mark the 18th birthday and official adulthood of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, a young man recognized by the Dali Lama as the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. However, Gedun has not been seen since he was taken into custody of the Chinese authorities in 1995 at the age of six. Years of attempts by international organizations and governments world-wide to gain access to the Panchen Lama remain unsuccessful. In his place, the Chinese government installed their own Panchen Lama, a young man named Gyaltsen Norbu. Despite a decade of propaganda by the Chinese leadership promoting Gyaltsen, Tibetans refuse to accept him as the true reincarnation, referring to him as the "Chinese Panchen."

Restructuring World Economic Power Relations Through High Oil Prices
Unintended Consequences of the Iraq War

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

New America Foundation
1630 Connecticut Ave, NW, 7th Floor
Washington, DC

Featured Speakers
Oystein Noreng
Professor and Chair, Petroleum Economics and Management
Norwegian School of Management

Flynt Leverett
Senior Fellow & Director, Geopolitics of Energy Initiative
New America Foundation

Moderator
Steven Clemons
Senior Fellow & Director, American Stragegy Program, New America Foundation
Publisher, www.TheWashingtonNote.com

Sustaining the Surge
Phase II of "Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq"

Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

President George W. Bush has announced his new strategy to achieve victory in Iraq and has named a new team, led by General David Petraeus, to accomplish this mission. As part of this strategy, the president has called for a surge of American troops into Baghdad and the surrounding area in order to pacify violence in the capital, halt sectarian strife, and provide security and stability to the Iraqi people.

Bruce Dickson, Woodrow Wilson Fellow and professor of political science and international affairs, The George Washington University

Cheng Li, professor of government, Hamilton College and visiting fellow, the Brookings Institution
Melanie Manion, professor of political science and public affairs, University of Wisconsin

Yan Sun, professor of political science, City University of New York Graduate Center and Queens College

Location:
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20004-3027
Map and Directions: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.map

Congressional Friends of Denmark (CFD)

Members Roundtable:

Islam and Democracy: Promoting Dialogue and Political Participation among Muslims in Western Societies

Featuring:

Hon. Keith Ellison, Muslim Member of Congress

Hon. Naser Khader, Muslim Member of the Danish Parliament

Hon. Karen Hughes, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (Invited)

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

2200 Rayburn House Office Building

**** This event is open to the general public and media.

Wednesday, April 25 | 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Location Busboys and Poets
2021 Fourteenth Street, NW

You are invited to the screening of the documentary “Operation Free Voice� (43 minutes). A Q&A session will follow with film director Hasta Gurung and a group of leading visiting Nepali journalists.

Hasta Gurung’s documentary, “Operation Free Voice,� depicts the struggle of the Nepali media to reinstate freedom of speech and press freedom in the country. Popular anger at King Gyanendra's autocratic rule since February 1, 2005 boiled over in April 2006, resulting in massive demonstrations across the country and broad public support for the nationwide general strike called by Nepal's seven major political parties. The King's government responded by arresting demonstrators and political activists, closing media outlets and imposing daily curfews. The security forces' use of violence against demonstrators resulted in at least 16 deaths and thousands of injuries, but the democracy movement passed every test of its resolve, forcing the King in the end to recognize that the people of Nepal would not rest until their sovereignty was restored. On April 24, the King bowed to public pressure and announced the reinstatement of Parliament.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Inter-American Foundation present a half-day conference to share perspectives, experiences, and lessons regarding the best ways to promote gender equity and increase development effectiveness.

Location:
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20004-3027
Map and Directions: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.map

Conference Agenda

Panel 1: 8:30am-10:00am

Fighting Poverty through Entrepreneurship in Africa

A panel discussion with development scholars and African entrepreneurs

Location: Washington Press Club Building
First Amendment Room
529 14th Street NW
Washington DC 20045

*Continental breakfast served at 8:30am

To register, visit http://www.mercatus.org/Events/eventID.443/event_detail.asp.

Panelists
Peter J. Boettke, Professor of Economics, George Mason University, and Research Director, Mercatus Center

Karol Boudreaux, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, and member of the Working Group on Property Rights at the United Nations Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor

Commentator:
Michael Green
Japan Chair and Senior Advisor
Center for Strategic and International Studies; Associate Professor, Georgetown University

Authors:
Richard Bush
Senior Fellow and Director
Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution

Michael O'Hanlon
Senior Fellow
Foreign Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution

Location:
Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC

Strategists dwell on how the rise of China will affect the position of the United States in East Asia and the world. They debate strategies of containment, hedging, and accommodation. But they discuss less precisely which points of Sino-American friction could result in conflict. In A War Like No Other, published in April 2007 by Wiley and Sons, Brookings scholars Richard Bush and Michael O'Hanlon argue that despite the tricky dynamics of great-power transitions, Washington and Beijing can probably manage China's rise to produce a cooperative relationship with the possible exception of one issue – the Taiwan Strait.

Defining Complementarity: National Justice and the International Criminal Court
Senior Fellow Project Report

Location:
U.S. Institute of Peace
2nd Floor Conference Room
1200 17th St, NW
Washington, DC 20036

An internationally recognized expert on transitional justice, Senior Fellow Michael Johnson considers how to improve the complementary relationship between higher judicial bodies such as the International Criminal Court and national judicial institutions responsible for handling war crimes. The expected closure of the ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in the next several years demands a focus on the shared relationship between international courts and their national complements.

The Ideological Struggle of European Muslims:
Which Islam and Which Muslims?

featuring

Naser Khader
Member of the Danish Parliament

Yunis Qandil
Jordanian-French Lecturer on Political Islam

Mohammed Sifaoui
Algerian-French Investigative Journalist and Author

moderated by

Zeyno Baran
Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

Thursday, April 26, 2007
3:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.

There is no denying the conflict that exists within Islam. Even in the liberal democracies of Europe, moderates and radicals are waging an ideological war for the right to lead and represent the rapidly growing Muslim communities on the continent. This panel will bring together three prominent European Muslim intellectuals to discuss their views on the current tensions within the Islamic world, focusing on the Western states in which Muslims are not in the majority. The panelists will also address the policies that democratic governments should pursue in order to foster more moderate interpretations of Islam.

Re-engaging the Art of Peacebuilding: Afghanistan and the Emergence of European Security Policy

Speakers:
Ysbrant Marcelis, Associate Director for International Policy and Geo-economics at the Center for the Study of Presidency, Advisor to the Iraq Study Group

* Friday, April 27, 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
* Location: The Elliott School of International Affairs, Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412
* Sponsors: The Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, the Ambassadors' Forum, and the Conflict Resolution Forum
* Please RSVP to ieresgwu@gwu.edu or 202.994.6340.

Crackdown in Zimbabwe: Keeping democratic hopes alive amid rising repression

The Africa Program is pleased to join the Open Society Institute in presenting a briefing with Zimbabwean civil society and opposition leaders. Panelists include a human rights lawyer, an NGO leader and an MDC representative, two of whom were brutally assaulted by police on March 11th. Panelists will provide a first hand account of the escalating crackdown by police and security agents of the ZANU-PF government involving the abduction, detention and torture of grass roots activists across the country. At least 600 people are estimated to have 'disappeared'. In addition to the recent waves of repression, the ZANU-PF government is accused of attempting to undermine opposition support ahead of 2008 polls. Panelists will also provide an assessment of the conditions facing international organizations working in Zimbabwe.

BOOK FORUM

Terror in the Balance: Security, Liberty, and the Courts

Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Please register for this event online at www.aei.org/event1507.

In the wake of 9/11, the George W. Bush administration has gone to great lengths to protect the United States from terrorist attacks, instituting certain controversial policies that critics have decried as violations of domestic and international laws. From wiretapping to coercive interrogation of suspected terrorists, the administration's actions have led some to suggest that the legislative and judicial branches should play a more prominent role in determining appropriate security measures in response to national emergencies.

The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Chrisitian Understanding is pleased to welcome Maliha Masood, author of Zaatar Days, Henna Nights: Adventures, Dreams and Destinations across the Middle East.

Location: Intercultural Center 270, Georgetown University Campus
Map: http://explore.georgetown.edu/locations/?Action=View&LocationID=21

After years of working behind a desk, Seattle dotcommer Maliha Masood was desperate for a change of scene. So she bought a one way ticket to the Mideast. Compelled to explore her Islamic roots as well as satisfy her wanderlust, Maliha embarked upon a year-long overland trek, from the streets of Cairo, Beirut, Damascus to Kurdish mountain villages and border checkpoints. In a region associated with terrorist havens, Pakistani-born Masood meets ordinary Muslim men and women navigating the everyday politics of culture, religion and identity. Zaatar Days, Henna Nights offers a street savvy take on the contempory Arab world seldom seen on the evening news. This is a story of discovery and faith, of making bonds and breaking sterotypes, and of finding oneself where one least expects to.

Greece and the U.S.: Strategic Bi-Lateral Worldview

Speaker:
Alexandros P. Mallias, Ambassador of Greece to the United States of America

* Monday, April 30, 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
* Location: Lindner Family Commons, The Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E Street NW, Sixth Floor
* Sponsors: The Security Policy Studies Program invites you to a lecture in the Insurgency and Counterinsurgency Lecture Series
* This event is open to the public, but space is limited. Please RSVP to security@gwu.edu. Light refreshments will be served.

The Center for American Progress invites you to a special book event:

Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror

Featured Panelists:
Frederick A.O. Schwarz, Co-author, Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror
Aziz Huq, Co-author, Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror

Moderated by:
Morton H. Halperin, Senior Fellow and Director of Security and Peace Initiative, Center for American Progress

Thirty years after the Church Committee unearthed COINTELPRO and other instances of illicit executive behavior at home and overseas, the Bush administration has elevated flaws of Cold War intelligence abuse into first principles of government.

Featured Speaker:
Stein Ringen
Professor of Sociology and Social Policy University of Oxford

Introduction and Moderator:
William A. Galston
Senior Fellow The Brookings Institution

Commentator:
R. Kent Weaver
Senior Fellow The Brookings Institution

Location:
Saul/Zilkha Rooms
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC

In a new book, What Democracy is For: On Freedom and Moral Government (Princeton University Press, 2007), Stein Ringen points out the failure of the world's democracies, most specifically the United States and Britain, to live up to their own founding ideological values and expectations. Ringen, professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Oxford, argues that citizens are increasingly distrustful of their government and apathetic to participating in public affairs.

*Nigeria: 2007 Elections Debriefing*

Room 205, Rome Building, 1619 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.

Peter Lewis, director of the SAIS African Studies Program, Christopher
Albin-Lackey, a researcher for Human Rights Watch*s African Division,
and SAIS students Joshua Marks and Jennifer Bussey, will discuss their
experiences as observers of the recent Nigerian elections.

Members of the public should RSVP to smjackson@jhu.edu or 202.663.5676.

World Affairs Council of Washington DC presents

TOWNHALL SERIES EVENT A PANEL DISCUSSION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Moderated by: Hon. R. James Woolsey Former Director of Central Intelligence

Monday, April 30, 2007

6:00 - 8:00pm

National Association of Homebuilders-Conference Center

1201 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005

WACDC Members: $10 - Non-Members: $15 – Students: $5

A Light Reception Will Follow the Panel Discussion

Climate change is one of the most talked about issues facing our globe today. The controversy over its existence, its causes, and what is to be done about it remains at the forefront of many scientific and policy discussions. This panel discussion will host some of the most renowned experts on the subject. The panelists will discuss their views, what factors have influenced their views and what they see as the future of the issue.

Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan

Speaker:
LTC John A. Nagl, Fort Riley, Kansas

* Monday, April 30, 7:00 p.m.
* Location: The Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E Street NW, Lindner Family Commons, Suite 602
* Sponsors: The Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, and the Ambassadors' Forum
* Please RSVP to ieresgwu@gwu.edu or 202.994.6340.

Coca and Illicit Drug Control Policies in Bolivia Today

Speakers:
Felipe Caceres, Bolivian Vice Minister of Social Defense
Col. Manuel Vasquez, Commander in Cheif, Bolivian National Police

* Tuesday, May 1, 8:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
* Location: The Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E Street, NW, Lindner Family Commons, 602
* Sponsors: The GW Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Program, and the Washington Office on Latin America
* Event is free and open to the public.
* Please RSVP to jeby@wola.org.
* Presentations will be in Spanish. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided on a limited first-come, first-served basis.
* Registration begins at 8:45; presentations will begin promptly at 9:00. Light refreshments will be served.

The Africa Program is pleased to join The Initiative for Inclusive Security and International Crisis Group in inviting you to a discussion on the urgent need for an inclusive political process in Darfur with Carla Koppell, Director of The Initiative for Inclusive Security, and Dave Mozersky, Africa Project Director, International Crisis Group. Ms. Koppell will present Inclusive Security's strategy for increasing women’s participation in renewed efforts to resolve the conflict, and Mr. Mozersky will highlight findings from Crisis Group's new report, Darfur: Revitalizing the Peace Process, which lays out a comprehensive strategy for a new political process in Darfur. Ken Bacon, the President of Refugees International, will moderate the discussion.

Before joining Inclusive Security, Carla Koppell was Senior Advisor and interim Director of the Conflict Prevention Project at the Wilson Center. Dave Mozersky has been with the International Crisis Group since 2002, previously as the Senior Analyst on Sudan, based in Nairobi.

Location:
6th Floor Board Room, of the Woodrow Wilson Center in the Ronald Reagan Building. One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC

America, the Arab World, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Speakers:

Samuel W. Lewis, Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel

Aaron David Miller, Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Center

Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, University of Maryland and non-resident Senior Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution

Location:
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20004-3027

Tuesday, May 1, 2007, 2:00–4:00 p.m.
Wohlstetter Conference Center , Twelfth Floor, AEI
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Why do Americans devote so much more time to working for pay than continental Europeans? Which population groups display the biggest differences in work activity across countries? Do taxes and entitlement programs explain the large national differences in work activity and their evolution over time? Richard Rogerson, a professor of economics at Arizona State University, will present his recent work on the subject, and Gary Burtless, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, will respond.

*Emerging Markets and the Global Financial System: The View of the
International Financial Industry*

Kenney Auditorium, Nitze Building, 1740 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.

Josef Ackermann, chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank, will discuss
this topic at the next W.P. Carey Global Leader Lecture.

Members of the public should RSVP to saisevents@jhu.edu or 202.663.5673. Members of the media should RSVP to Felisa Neuringer Klubes at 202.663.5626 or
fklubes@jhu.edu.

Location:
American Enterprise Institute
Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036

Amid rising concerns about America’s international competitiveness, increased attention has been paid to serving high-achieving students and to improving math, science, and technology instruction in K–12 schooling. Some proponents have been quick to suggest that this effort readily complements the No Child Left Behind Act’s emp