On Shifting Ground

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, with more than 13,000 reported cases and nearly 5,000 deaths so far, has laid bare the world’s inability to mount a rapid response to an infectious disease crisis. Emerging in a part of the world with weak governments and collapsing health systems, the disease has unleashed a massive humanitarian and economic crisis. In recent weeks, good news has begun to emerge: the World Health Organization declared Nigeria and Senegal Ebola-free last month and recently announced a decline in new cases in Liberia. Panic over cases in the United States has begun to subside.

Now, as the media wave of Ebola coverage begins to crest and the international aid machine at last grinds toward a response, it’s time to turn to the larger message of the outbreaks. Is Ebola a litmus test for poor health systems, demographic change and environmental degradation? What does this crisis tell us about culture, security and governance in a globalized world? Are we able, and willing, to respond to an epidemic of this scale?

This panel discussion includes two veterans from the front lines of fighting infectious disease in Africa. Dr. Alex Coutinho, director of Uganda’s Infectious Diseases Institute from 2007-2014, has led first response efforts again Ebola outbreaks. Jane Coyne, on the board of Médecins Sans Frontières USA, managed many on the ground emergency relief efforts in Africa for more than a decade. They will be joined by an Ebola survivor who will share his unique perspective on the outbreak.

Speakers Alex Coutinho, Chair, Board of Directors, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; former Executive Director, Infectious Diseases Institute, Jane Coyne, Director of Operations, We Care Solar; Member, Board of Directors, Médecins Sans Frontières USA, and Ebola survior and Infectious Diseases Specialist Ian Crozier will be in discussion.

The discussion will be moderated by Gavin Yamey, Lead, Evidence to Policy Initiative, UCSF Global Health Group.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/28

Direct download: 12_08_14_Ebola.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:12am PDT

Walter Isaacson discusses the personalities who created the computer and the Internet. What were the talents that allowed certain inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their visionary ideas into disruptive realities? What led to their creative leaps? Why did some succeed and others fail? Isaacson shares stories about the innovators who helped contribute to the current digital revolution and how they fostered innovation, creativity and teamwork to succeed.

Walter Isaacson is President and CEO of the Aspen Institute. He is in conversation with Jane Wales, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Affairs Council.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1389

Direct download: 11_03_14_Walter_Isaacson.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:45am PDT

Is it time to update US policy towards Cuba? Peter Kornbluh, Director, Cuba and Chile Documentation Projects, National Security Archive will share insights on negotiation attempts and the importance of mending relations between the two countries.

Speaker Peter Kornbluh is the Director of Cuba and Chile Documentation Projects at the National Security Archive.

Elizabeth Farnsworth, Special Correspondent, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, will moderate the conversation.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1375

Direct download: 11_13_14_Peter_Kornbluh.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:01am PDT

Despite countless international treaties, why has the world failed to address human rights violations? International law expert Eric Posner will discuss some of the reasons and what can be done to change it.

Speaker Eric Posner is the Kirkland and Ellis Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago.

The discussion is moderated by John Wilson, Partner, Shearman & Sterling.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1373

Direct download: 11_06_14_Eric_Posner.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:02am PDT

The American public has grown wary of foreign involvement and uncertain about the United States' place in the world today. This uncertainty has arisen from disillusionment with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the financial crisis, dysfunction in Washington and other real or perceived threats to the US's global dominance. How should the US adapt to the rapidly changing world? How involved should the US be in foreign conflicts and what can be done to address problems at home? How does America’s leadership ultimately impact these decisions? Rothkopf argues that, while the US has shown remarkable resilience, progress is often impeded by the human flaws of our leaders, the mismanagement of our system and an unwillingness to learn from the past. He will discuss how the country arrived in its current situation and what can be done to restore American leadership in the future.

Speaker David Rothkopf is the CEO and Editor of FP Group.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1376

Direct download: 11_04_14_David_Rothkopf.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 10:17am PDT

In this age of globalization, it is clear that America's prosperity and security depends on that of our political and economic partners. Yet, today we see mounting evidence that our partners' stability is threatened by global environmental change. Increasing pressure on limited resources is disrupting global supply chains, causing social instability, destabilizing regional relations and expanding illegal trade. Join this group of top policy leaders, security experts and change makers who will discuss why environmental sustainability must become a central tenet of US foreign policy in order to protect our national security and promote global prosperity.

Speakers Richard L. Engel, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program, Strategic Futures Group, National Intelligence Council, David Reed, Senior Vice President of Policy, World Wildlife Fund, and Amy Luers, Director of Climate Change, Skoll Global Threats Fund, are in conversation with Jane Wales, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Affairs Council.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1360

Direct download: 10_29_14_Prosperity_Pursuit.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:55am PDT

To mark a century of The New Republic, editor Franklin Foer will join us for a discussion on the pivotal issues of modern America. Highlighting seminal contributions to the magazine, Foer’s Insurrections of the Mind is an exploration of such topics as America’s role in the world, the rise and fall of communism, the economy, terrorism, and technology, not to mention race, civil rights and the women’s movement. As political discussions increase in the lead up to the midterm elections, these issues remain just as important today as they were throughout the past century. Insurrections of the Mind, an anthology of the magazine's most seminal articles, celebrates a cultural, political and intellectual institution that has stood the test of time. Select contributors include Virginia Woolf, George Orwell, Philip Roth, Michael Lewis, Zadie Smith, William Faulkner, Ralph Ellison, Langston Hughes, John Updike and Margaret Talbot.

Speaker Franklin Foer is the Editor of The New Republic.

The discussion will be moderated by William Drummond, Professor, Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1363

Direct download: 10_27_14_Franklin_Foer.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:48am PDT

The World Affairs Council and its Global Philanthropy Forum recognizes eBay and PayPal CEO John Donahoe and the company he leads for its commitment to creating economic opportunity and fostering an inclusive global economy, including its pioneering role in creating the peer-to-peer economy. The evening celebrates and gathers entrepreneurs and innovators who are further advancing this movement worldwide.

eBay and Paypal are global commerce platforms whose success is tied to their purpose – connecting more people with more opportunity while making a positive social impact. A Bay Area innovation with global reach, eBay and PayPal helped spark a movement. Today the continuously evolving peer-to-peer economy enables individuals to participate in local and global economies, without the requirements of start-up capital or proximity to physical markets. A new entrepreneurial class is being built. Where there was a will, there is now a way.

Speaker John Donahoe is the President and CEO of eBay, Inc.

The conversation is moderated by Jane Wales, President and CEO of the World Affairs Council.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1365

Direct download: 10_23_14_John_Donahoe.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:41am PDT

US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson will discuss the US-Pakistan relationship as it is, and what it could become. Weathering setbacks over the years, the relationship has proven itself resilient. Ambassador Olson will explain why it is in our national interest to continue to engage with Pakistan and why this will require more than a transactional or single-issue relationship with Pakistan.

Speaker Richard Olson is the US Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Embassy of the United States of America.

The conversation will be moderated by Anja Lucia Manuel, Partner, RiceHadleyGates LLC.

For more information please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1358

Direct download: 10_15_14_Richard_Olson.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 12:44pm PDT

Even now, in the twenty-first century, intractable problems remain: poor early-childhood education, sex trafficking, inner-city violence, poverty and malnutrition, homelessness and many others. What can be done in the face of such enormous challenges? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof suggests that new, innovative approaches to philanthropy could offer answers, allowing individuals and organizations to make a difference in the world. At the end of the day what matters most is the impact on the ground.

Kristof has lived on four continents, reported on six and traveled to 150 countries, reporting on global health, poverty, education, gender inequality and much more. He will share stories from his experiences on the ground and discuss the art and science of giving.

Speaker Nicholas Kristof is a columnist at The New York Times.

The discussion will be moderated by Jane Wales, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Affairs Council.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1351

Direct download: 10_7_14_Nicholas_Kristof.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:47am PDT