Sarasota World Affairs Council
LECTURE SERIES
The Sarasota World Affairs Council hosts high-profile foreign affairs lectures covering current international issues ranging from foreign intelligence to peace negotiations to immigration and trade.
These lectures are held in a public auditorium, and each lecture is followed by a wine and light-bites reception with the speaker for SWAC members. We hope that members will take advantage of such opportunities to speak face-to-face to with those working directly in the field of international affairs.
Oct. 10, 2022 - Collective Engagement for a Better World
Mr. Michael Alandu, Senior Director for Program Quality and Partnerships, Care USA
Nov. 3, 2022 - No Escape: China's Transnational Repression on American Soil
Mr. Nury Turkel, Senior Fellow, The Hudson Institute
Dec. 6, 2022 - The Uncertain Future of Human Rights
Ambassador Kelley Currie, Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N for Women's Rights,
Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security
Jan. 9, 2023 - Are We Overdoing it on China? Or Are We Getting Things about Right?
Dr. Michael O'Hanlon, Senior Fellow and Director of Research in Foreign Policy,
The Brookings Institute
Feb. 7, 2023 - Special Double Feature on Ukraine and Russia:
"Lessons from the Edge"
Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Senior Fellow
at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
"Putin's World: Russia Against the West and With the Rest"
Dr. Angela Stent, Director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies and Prof. of Government and Foreign Service, Georgetown University
March Date Pending -- Old Conflict, New Dynamics: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
and the Road Ahead
Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen, Director of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Program,
U.S. Institute of Peace
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PAST LECTURES
2021-22 Series
Oct. 14th, 2021
"The Rising Tide: Increasing Demand for Climate Action"
Mr. Ramon Cruz, National President, Sierra Club
Nov. 18th, 2021
"Navigating Isolationist and Internationalist Traditions
in U.S. Statecraft"
Dr. Charles A. Kupchan, Council on Foreign Relations,
Professor Georgetown U.
Dec. 9th, 2021
"Immigration Reform: Fact, Fiction, and Future"
Theresa Cardinal Brown, Managing Director, Immigration and Cross-Border Policy, Bipartisan Policy Center
Jan 20th, 2022
"International Understanding Through the Universal
Language of Music"
Mr. Brian Keane, Award-winning Musician and Composer
Omer Faruk Tekbilek, Award-winning Turkish Musician
February 15th, 2022
"Russia and Ukraine: Is There a Way Forward?"
Dr. Angela Stent, Brookings Institute, Professor Georgetown U.
and Ambassador William Taylor, U.S. Institute for Peace
March 17th, 2022
"Afghanistan: Post-Conflict Reconstruction under the Taliban"
Mr. Scott Worden, Director for Afghanistan/Central Asia,
U.S. Institute for Peace
Ms. Khris Nedam, Executive Director, Afghan School Project
April 5th, 2022
"LGBTQ+ Refugees: Securing Safe Passage from Iran"
Mr. Arsham Parsi, Founder and Executive Director,
International Railroad for Queer Refugees
2020-21 Series
"U.S.-Russia Relations in the Countdown to November 3"
Dr. Angela Stent
Nov. 17th, 2020 "
"The U.S. and China in an Era of Competition"
Mr. Richard Fontaine
(video available under "VIDEOS" tab)
Dec. 7th, 2020
"Why You Should Now Care Even More about
Public Health"
Mr. Richard Skolnik
(video available under "VIDEOS" tab)
Jan. 26th, 2021
"Endless Wars, Refugees, and the U.S. Role in a Turbulent World"
Ambassador Frederick Barton
Feb. 23rd, 2021
"Rebuilding and Restructuring Security Alliances
for Future Challenges"
Dr. Michael Edward O'Hanlon
Mar. 23rd, 2021
"The United Arab Emirates & the U.S.: Cooperation and Challenges"
Mrs. Shaima Haussain Gargash
DUE TO COMMUNITY PRECAUTIONS AGAINST THE SPREAD
OF COVID-19, WE HOSTED ALL OF OUR TALKS ON ZOOM.
2019-20 Series
October 23rd, 2019
"Venezuela: A Real Threat in our Backyard"
Mr. Diego Arria
November 11th, 2019
"Migration across a Common Border: A Challenge
for Mexico and the U.S."
Mr. Gustavo Mohar
December 3rd, 2019
"Global Health: Why You Really Must Care"
Mr. Richard Skolnik
January 14th, 2020
"The Politics of Hate Have Driven the U.S. and Iran
to the Brink"
Mr. Jamal Abdi
February 11th, 2020
"Not with a Bang: Moving toward the Endgame
with a Nuclear North Korea"
Mr. Evans Revere
DUE TO COMMUNITY PRECAUTIONS AGAINST THE SPREAD
OF COVID-19, THE MARCH AND APRIL EVENTS OF THIS
SERIES WERE RESCHEDULED TO THE FOLLOWING YEAR.
2018-19 Series
October 15th, 2018
"From PIGS to Hotspot: How Portugal is Engineering the Great Comeback Story of Post-Crisis Europe"
Dr. Michael Baum
November 6th, 2018
"Kurdistan and Iraq After ISIS: What’s Next?"
Ms. Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman
December 12th , 2018
"The Boiling River: Adventure and Discovery in the Amazon"
Andrés Ruzo
January 10th, 2019
"Facing Nuclear Challenges-Russia, North Korea, and Iran"
Steven Pifer
February 4th, 2019
"Can We Prevent the Next Attack?: Understanding the Opportunities and Challenges of Countering Violent Extremism"
Dr. Stevan Weine, M.D.
March 5th, 2019
"Reconstructing U.S.-Russia Relations"
Dr. William Pomeranz | Co-sponsored with New Topics New College
2017-18 Series
October 5th, 2017
"The Future of Korea and U.S.-Korea Relations"
Jandi Kim, Tim Johnson, and Jenna Gibson | Co-sponsored by the Korean Economic Institute and the Ringling Museum of Art
November 6th, 2017
"Sustainability in a Changing World"
Alize Carrere | Co-sponsored with New Topics New College
December 5th, 2017
"The Gulf States: Vive La Revolution or Vive La Counter-Revolution?"
Dr. Peter Bartu
January 17th, 2018
"Global Financial Integrity"
Raymond Baker
February 6th, 2018,
"Florida and Climate Change: Can We Survive Without Paris?"
Dr. Robert K. Musil
March 22nd, 2018
"The Future of Cybersecurity and Trends in Technological Risk: Impacts for U.S. Foreign Policy and Politics"
Jonathan Reiber
2016-17 Series
October 12th, 2016
"The Panama Papers”
Rogelio Novey | Co-sponsored with the Northern Trust Company
November 16th, 2016
"South Africa Update: Report from the Field"
Charlayne Hunter-Gault & Ron Gault
Lecture and wine-tasting featuring Passages wines produced by the Gaults in South Africa | Co-sponsored with Northern Trust Company
December 6th, 2016
"Children of Paradise: The Struggle for the Soul of Iran"
Laura Secor | Co-sponsored with Suplee Shea Cramer & Rocklein, PA
January 26th, 2017
"Ocean Exploration and Protection for a Bold, Blue, and Prosperous Future”
Alex Tait | Co-sponsored with Mote Marine Laboratory.
Special event at the Mote Banquet Center
February 15th, 2017
"Nuclear Weapons: They're Back"
Robert Gallucci | Co-sponsored with New Topics New College
March 21st, 2017
"Terror Financing and International Money Laundering" John Cassara
2015-16 Series
October 13th, 2015
"Is Israeli-Palestinian Peace Possible in the Near Future?” Ralph Nurmberger
November 10th, 2015
“An Arc of Instability in Foreign Policy: Reporting from the West Wing and Abroad” Carol Lee
November 30th, 2015
“Peace Negotiations Taking Place in Colombia with Guerrilla Movements” Frank Pearl.
Co-sponsored with New Topics New College.
January 26th, 2016
“Genocide and American Humanitarianism: Lessons from World War I and Its Aftermath” Susan Harper
February 8th, 2016
“Will Africa Feed China? Think Again” Deborah Brautigam
March 7th, 2016
“Arab Voices: What They Are Saying and Why It Matters” James Zogby
2014-15 Series
October 15th, 2014
"Building a Regional Coalition to Combat Human Trafficking” Nola Theiss
November 25th, 2014
“The New Global Order, China's Rise, and Our Shared Future” Ronnie C. Chan and Dr. Fan J. Zhang
[Presented in affiliation with The Ringling's Asian Initiative]
January 15th, 2015
“Beyond Crisis and Conflict: Toward a Deeper Understanding of the Middle East” Professor and Colonel (Ret.) Derek Harvey
March 17th, 2015
“Outpost: Life on the Front Lines of American Diplomacy” Ambassador Christopher Hill
[Presented in affiliation with Bookstore1Sarasota, New College of Florida, and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation]
May 12, 2015
“Winds of Change in Havana and Washington” Ambassador José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez
Spring 2014
Inaugural Series
February 13th, 2014
"The Federal Courts Confront the War on Terror” Honorable Jon O. Newman
April 7th, 2014
“American and Afghanistan: Partners for Peace” Honorable Eklil Hakimi and Khris Nedam
[Note: Unforeseen circumstances prevented Honorable Eklil Hakimi from attending.]
May 1st, 2014
“Function and Dysfunction: How Mexican and U.S. Governments Interact over Immigration”
Ambassador Daniel Hernández Joseph