Around the WorldBoston

March - April 2005

Editor in Chief: Brandie E. Conforti                                                          Editor: Lorraine Goldstein - Communications

The mission of WorldBoston is to provide a private, non-profit, non-partisan forum for educating the public about matters of national and international significance.  We do this by presenting an ongoing series of distinguished speakers, and by bringing to Boston emerging leaders from around the world for the purpose of sharing ideas, discovering opportunities for mutual growth, and creating bonds of friendship and understanding.

FEATURES

A Word From Our Executive Director

Corporate Member Spotlight

World Affairs

Emerging Leaders

In the Media

The WorldBoston Wish List

Contact Us

A WORD FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

At some point in our lives, most of us have been told to never talk in public about money, religion or politics.  But as Executive Director of WorldBoston, I have to talk about all three.  I need to solicit donors for money, work with my staff to organize events on hot topics in international politics, and this week will be leading WorldBoston in launching a series of public discussions on “Religion and Foreign Policy.”  Details on this four-part series are provided below (see World Affairs).

This new series grew from our concerns that a large amount of misinformation exists about the three Abrahamic-based religions – Christianity, Judaism and Islam – and that such misinformation can lead to bigotry, blind hatred, and bloodshed.  It is my hope that by hosting this series, WorldBoston will be providing accurate information to the people of Greater Boston and open up the necessary dialogue that leads to a greater appreciation of our common values and hopes, and ultimately the policies that shape our nation

I realized exactly how necessary the information WorldBoston provides is on a recent trip to Canada.  A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to address the Quebec-New England Cross Border Forum in Stanstead, an entity that was created to bring the communities of Quebec and New England closer together in terms of economics, trade, security and tackling the toughest political issues.  Speaking about how the events of 9/11 have taken the lead in shaping many facets of U.S. foreign policy, as well as the ways in which September 11th defined a generation of Americans, was a great challenge.  But what I found most challenging was trying to answer questions which were generated on the basis of distorted information about US foreign policy decisions.

Although the United States and Canada share a common border, I could tell from the questions asked about policy that the gap between our two nations is growing larger each day.  I fear that this gap, when coupled with the spread of misinformation in both countries, is leading to an exaggeration of these differences.  To me, this is a stunning example of why, in order to function as effective democracies, people need to have access to clear, accurate information.  I am proud to be associated with an organization which has the ability to do exactly that.

Brandie Conforti

CORPORATE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

WorldBoston is pleased to welcome our newest corporate member, Sullivan & Worcester LLP.

Sullivan & Worcester LLP is a leading corporate law firm providing counsel to domestic and international clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to emerging businesses.  With more than 180 attorneys in Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., the firm offers services in a wide range of areas including corporate; finance; securities; mergers and acquisitions; litigation; tax; real estate; venture capital and private equity; bankruptcy; regulatory law and employment and benefits.  The firm is also recognized for its deep expertise in energy, REIT and mutual fund law.  For more information, please visit www.sandw.com. 

WORLD AFFAIRS

Melissa McDonald, Director, World Affairs

World Affairs strives to educate, inform and foster understanding of international affairs; and to provide accessibility for the general public to participate in the discussion of global issues. 

Over the next few months, World Affairs will continue to offer our members opportunities to meet with and listen to the perspectives of prominent world figures speaking on a wide range of issues.  In March, we will also be launching a new program, “Religion and Foreign Policy,” and will once again present the “Great Decisions” lecture series.

Upcoming Events

Soemadi D.M. Brotodiningrat, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia

“Recent Developments in Indonesia”

Date: Thursday, March 3, 2005

Time:  11:30-12:15 PM, Private Pre-event Luncheon

Noon, General Luncheon

12:15 PM, Discussion

Location:  The Offices of Foley Hoag, LLP, 155 Seaport Blvd., 13th Floor, Boston

Cost:  $10 for WorldBoston members/$20 for non-members for the General Luncheon & Discussion

$50 for Private Pre-event Luncheon & Discussion

In recent years, the Republic of Indonesia has experienced two financial scandals that raised concerns about government embezzlement and management of aid funds.  It has also suffered a string of terrorist attacks choreographed by extremist groups.  But on December 26, 2004, the island nation was the focus of a devastating tragedy when it was struck by a tsunami triggered by a powerful earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, leaving more than 220,000 Indonesians dead or missing.

Due to its history and financial scandals, the Indonesian Government has been very careful in monitoring the use of aid funds; it has also been extremely sensitive to the presence of foreign military on its soil.  Nonetheless, the Indonesian Government has graciously accepted U.S. aid for its tsunami victims but has asked for U.S. troops to depart by the end of March so that relief efforts can be directed from within.

Because Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation in the world and practices a moderate form of Islam, the United States is hopeful about its future relations with Indonesia.  It also looks to the possibility of Indonesia’s becoming another partner in combating terrorism.

What do the next five years hold for the Republic of Indonesia?  Join Ambassador Brotodiningrat to discuss recent events and what he sees as the future of Indonesian-U.S. relations.

“Religion and Foreign Policy”

This four-part series has been made possible through the generous support of the Boston Foundation’s Curtis International Fund.

Date:  Monthly, March - June

Time:  6:00 PM

Location:  Boston Public Library, Mezzanine Conference Room, 700 Boylston Street, Boston

Cost:  Free and open to the public

From the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, to the War on Terror, to genocide in Darfur, the intersection of religion and politics becomes increasingly complicated each day.  Join WorldBoston for a series of panel discussions focusing on the intersection of religion and foreign policy. Each of the major Abrahamic religions will be closely examined. 

Topic: Christianity

Date: Wednesday, March 2

Panel:  Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics and Public Policy Center; Father Raymond Helmick, Priest in the Jesuit Province; Harvey Cox, Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard University

Topic:  Islam

Date:  Thursday, April 21

Panel:  Muqtedar Khan, Visiting Fellow, The Brookings Institution; other panel member(s) not yet confirmed

Topic:  Judaism

Date: Thursday, May 12

Panel:  Hillel Fradkin, Fellow, the Hudson Institute; Rabbi Robert Goldstein, Temple Emanuel, Andover

Topic:  Summary

Date:  Thursday, June 2

Panel:  Wat Cluverius, former Ambassador and member of the all-American negotiating delegation following the Camp David Accords (1978-1983) and current President of the Cleveland Council on World Affairs; Ronald F. Thiemann, Professor of Theology and of Religion and Society, Harvard Divinity School

2005 “Great Decisions” Lecture Series

Made possible through the generous support of The Lowell Institute.

Date:  Weekly, Tuesdays, March - April

Time:  6:00 PM

Location:  Boston Public Library, Mezzanine Conference Room, 700 Boylston Street, Boston

Cost:  Free and open to the public, reservations not required. 

“Great Decisions” Briefing Books will be available for purchase ($15 each) at all of our upcoming events.  Because we have only a limited number of these books, we encourage you to purchase yours soon.

March 8:  Russia

Speaker:  Marshall I. Goldman, Davis Professor of Economics, Faculty Emeritus, Harvard University

March 15:  Outsourcing Jobs

Speaker:  Shih-Fen Chen, Professor of International Business, Brandeis University

March 22:  Don’t Judge a Country by Its Cover: Fair and Consistent Standards for Evaluating Rights and Democracy in China

Speaker:   Suzanne Ogden, Professor of Political Science, Northeastern University

March 29:  Sudan

Speaker:  Eric Reeves, Professor of English, Smith College

April 5:  Global Poverty Gap

Speaker:  Vincent Ferraro, Professor of International Politics, Mount Holyoke College

April 12:  War in Iraq: Will it change the Middle East?

Speaker:  Lenore Martin, Political Science Department Chair, Emmanuel College

April 19  Global Water Issues

Speaker:  William Moomaw, Professor of International Environmental Policy, Tufts University

April 26:  U.S. Intelligence

Speaker:  Arthur Hulnick, Professor of International Relations, Boston University

Save these dates . . .

Monday, April 4, 2005 – Osman Faruk Logoglu, Ambassador of Turkey to the United States

Friday, April 8, 2005 – Jehangir Karamat, Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States

Tuesday, May 10, 2005 – Imad Moustapha, Ambassador of Syria to the United States

For more information about these events and to learn about future events, please check our website periodically.  And keep the communication flowing by telling us what you would like us to address in the future or to provide feedback on events you have attended.  Your ideas are important to us.  

To reserve space at an event or to contact the program, please call 617- 542-8995, ext.112, or send an email to wac@worldboston.org.

EMERGING LEADERS

Natasha Palmroth, Director, Emerging Leaders

Jennifer Field, International Visitors Project Associate

Sokol Shtylla, Community Connections Project Associate

The mission of Emerging Leaders is to engage and develop dynamic thinkers from around the world who will drive global change in the future.  It involves the administration of two United States Department of State grants: International Visitors and Community Connections.  

16th Community Connections Group from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Completes Program in Boston.  For three weeks in February, WorldBoston hosted a group of 10 media managers from Nizhny Novgorod as part of our Community Connections project.  There are two major components in each Community Connections program that we design: a homestay with a host family through which participants experience American life firsthand, and a professional development program through which participants are exposed to American business practices in their chosen professions.

WorldBoston relied on a number of host families that welcomed members of this group into their homes in Boston, Needham and Weston, among other places.  The majority of these homestay hosts had participated in the program in the past, including Irene Sinteff and Craig Cowles, who have hosted members from every Community Connections group that WorldBoston has welcomed since 1999.  We were also pleased to have first-time homestay hosts Carol and Jim Kent join us.  As many of our Russian guests noted in their remarks during the program’s farewell dinner, the homestay experience was a very special part of their time in Boston and they will cherish the bonds formed during their stay for many years to come.

The professional development component of this particular group’s program spanned a two-week period and included meetings with various media organizations in the Boston area.  WorldBoston reviewed the applications of all of the participants prior to their arrival in order to design a program that addressed as many of their areas of interest as possible, with a particular focus on the management side of media operations.  As a result, the group learned about the management of several major newspapers, including The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and The Christian Science Monitor, as well as the management of smaller scale newspapers ranging from the Boston Metro to The Beacon Hill Times.  The group also met with editors at special-focus publications such as Boston Business Journal, Atlantic Monthly, The Boston Phoenix, and Spare Change.

The group explored other areas of interest such as advertising, newspaper design, and technology during meetings with representatives from Boston.com, the Society for News Design, The Providence Journal, and MIT’s Comparative Media Studies Program.  In visits to some of the area’s main universities, including Harvard, Boston University and Northeastern, the group received an overview of the history of American media and learned about journalism education in the United States.

One of the most important themes emphasized throughout the program was freedom of the press and first amendment rights afforded to journalists in the United States.  These topics were explored in detail during meetings with media lawyers at the firm of Prince, Lobel, Glovsky & Tye LLP and with professors at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.  Although the program was very intense, it gave the participants a unique opportunity to be exposed to American journalism and media management practices, an experience that they all agreed will impact their own work upon returning to Russia.

We thoroughly enjoyed welcoming our guests from Nizhny Novgorod to Boston and look forward to learning about how the Community Connections experience has contributed to their future professional success.

Other Emerging Leaders Program Activities.  After a brief break, the Emerging Leaders Program is once again gearing up to welcome many visitors coming to Boston over the next couple of months.

Some of the visitors/groups that the International Visitors Project will be hosting include:

March 17:  Civil Society and Emerging Leaders (Israel)

March 23:  Ms. Ana Luz Duran (Chile)

March 30:  Telecommunications (Azerbaijan)

April 24:  Foreign Policy (Middle East)

In the Spring, we will also be welcoming some Eisenhower Fellows.  On the calendar so far are:

April 17:  Ms. Varya Gornostaeva (Russia)

May 7:  Dr. Mmakgomo Rose Laka-Mathebula (South Africa)

And lastly, on April 29, WorldBoston will be welcoming its 17th and final group of Community Connections participants.  Members of this group will come from Russia and their area of interest is Youth Advocacy.

If you would like to get involved with the Community Connections project as a homestay host or professional host, please contact Sokol Shytlla, Community Connections Project Associate, for more information. 

If you would like to get involved with the International Visitors project and interact with a diverse group of individuals, please contact Jennifer Field, International Visitors Project Associate. 

Be sure to check our website for up-to-date listings of all of our upcoming visitors. 

IN THE MEDIA

The January 21, 2005 issue of Newbury Street and Back Bay Guide, in an article about membership organizations in Boston, “Where Back Bay-ers Join to Connect,” featured WorldBoston and Brandie Conforti as the cover story.  In addition to citing past speakers and upcoming events, Brandie talked about the mission of WorldBoston and how it differentiates itself from other similar organizations in the Boston area.

The February 14, 2005 issue of The Calendonian Record (VT) quoted several comments in a speech made by Brandie Conforti at the third session of the Quebec-New England Cross Border Forum in Stanstead, Quebec.  The focus of the forum was cross-border politics and security.

Other newspapers that covered Brandie’s presentation include Journal les Affaires (Montreal) and The Sherbrooke Record, La Tribune, Le Reflet du Lac, and Stanstead Journal (all in Quebec); and The Chronicle and Caledonian Record (both in VT).  Log Cabin Chronicles (a web magazine in Stanstead) also covered the story.

THE WORLDBOSTON WISH LIST 

On our Wish List are:

    * Color printer (PC compatible, 14ppm color;

       installation software must be included)

    * Event sponsors and space

If you are able to donate your time or a top-quality color printer, or are interested in event sponsorship, please contact Brandie Conforti. 

Check Our Website. We are continually updating the WorldBoston website to keep you informed about our programs, upcoming events and visitors, and to make it easier for you to contact us. Please check out our website regularly.