Tariq Ramadan is very much a public figure, named one of Time magazine most important innovators of the twenty-first century. He is among the leading Islamic thinkers in the West, with a large following around the world. But he has also been a lightning rod for controversy. Indeed, in 2004, Ramadan was prevented from entering the U.S. by the Bush administration and despite two appeals, supported by organizations like the American Academy of Religion and the ACLU, he was barred from the country until spring of 2010, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finally lifted the ban. Tariq Ramadan is Professor of Islamic Studies on the Faculty of Theology at Oxford University, Senior Research Fellow at St. Antony’s College (Oxford), Doshisha University (Kyoto, Japan) and the President of the European Muslim Network (EMN) think tank in Brussels. He is the author of Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation, In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons From the Life of Muhammad, Western Muslims and the Future of Islam, and Islam, the West, and Challenges of Modernity.

Next year, Amnesty International—the world’s largest grassroots human rights organization—will recognize a 50-year legacy of advocating for the release of tens of thousands of “prisoners of conscience,” ending torture and execution, exposing human rights crises and generating public pressure to stop government and corporate abuse. Since 1961, the organization has evolved to meet the most pressing human rights violations of our time. The World Affairs Council will host the Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, Larry Cox, to discuss the next chapter for this global force of 2.8 million worldwide members: addressing poverty as a human rights issue.

From Egypt to South Africa, Kenya to Senegal, Africa’s economies are on the move. With a population that will double in the next five years and a range of untapped markets, is Africa the next China? The continent’s increased economic momentum is widely recognized, but less is known about its sources and staying power; and while the rate of return on foreign investment is higher than in any other developing region, so are the number of potential pitfalls. The San Francisco Based Director of McKinsey Global Institute, James Manyika, will present the results of a new report, Lions on the Move: The Progress and Potential of African Economies, and discuss the causes of Africa’s recent growth acceleration, the economic outlook for the years ahead and the emerging opportunities for business. Will the short term hurdles of corruption and violence deter future investors, or is this a place that global executives and shareholders cannot afford to ignore?