Around the WorldBoston

September - October 2003

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

Our Mission: WorldBoston is a catalyst for global engagement that offers cultural perspectives and promotes international thinking in individuals and organizations.  WorldBoston provides a staging ground for issues-focused forums, one-on-one dialog, networking and personal and professional growth for residents, businesses and institutions of 

Greater Boston and around the globe.

Note: We apologize to all of our members for delaying the publication of this newsletter.  Our intent was to thank all of you for your participation and support that made our 2003 International Citizen Award Dinner such a success.  We hope you will enjoy reading about it below and invite you to visit our website to view additional photos of this gala event.

FEATURES

2003 International Citizen Award Dinner

  A Tough Neighborhood: Jordan’s Place in the Middle East

    World Affairs

The WorldBoston Wish List

  Emerging Leaders

  In the Media

  Contact Us

2003 INTERNATIONAL CITIZEN AWARD DINNER

On Tuesday, November 4, 2003, at a dinner at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, WorldBoston presented its 2003 International Citizen Award to Ambassador Charles R. Stith in recognition of his many outstanding contributions to promote international understanding and build bridges between people from different communities as well as from different countries.  Joining WorldBoston in honoring Ambassador Stith were The Reverend Eugene Rivers; Senator Bill Nelson of Florida; Godwin Mfula, representing Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda, the first President of the Republic of Zambia; and Boston University Provost Dennis Berkey.

 WorldBoston extends a sincere thank-you to all of the sponsors and contributors who helped make this evening such a success.

 Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC ~ State Street ~ Citizens Bank ~ Sawyer School of Management, Suffolk University ~ Fidelity Investments ~ Regan Group ~ The Boston Foundation ~ Banknorth ~ Boston University ~ The Pauline Shaw Elementary School ~ MBT Transportation ~ Boston College’s Voices of Imani ~ Peggy Dray ~ Jennifer Hoegan ~ Steven Brittan ~ Paula Gold and The Plymouth Rock Foundation ~ John Hancock Financial Services ~ Donald E. Kissel ~ Peter C. and Suzanne Read

Please click on the photo to see more pictures!

A Tough Neighborhood: Jordan’s Place in the Middle East

Brandie E. Conforti, Executive Director

Everyone knows that the art of compromise requires both skill and diplomacy, attributes that not everyone is blessed with to the same degree.  For example, I have friends who have a great deal in common yet often have difficulty in reaching a compromise on what restaurant to eat at on a Saturday night.  Sometimes their negotiations appear to escalate to the point where one might think they were negotiating a multi-state peace treaty!

A few weeks ago I returned from a 10-day trip to Jordan as part of a World Affairs Councils of America “Leadership Mission” – a fancy name for a group of individuals that included 10 “average Americans” (read: 2 Ambassadors, some high-level consultants and a few Council leaders like myself) who traveled to Jordan to meet with government officials, NGO leaders and the press.

During this visit we were treated to a glass-bottom boat trip down the Gulf of Aqaba.  While one might expect the highlight of such a trip to be the opportunity to see an expansive coral reef and the vibrantly colored fish inhabiting it, for me the journey created a stunning awareness of Jordan’s geographic boundaries.  At night, if you stand on the banks of Aqaba, at the Southernmost tip of Jordan, you see the bright lights of Elat, Israel.  Sail down the Gulf and you enter the territorial waters of Israel, then Egypt and then Saudi Arabia, all in one short trip.  Move back up to Northern Jordan and you see where Syria borders to the North and Iraq to the East.  This perhaps explains why Jordan has become the bedroom of choice for many people in Iraq who feel that country remains too insecure for them to stay there over night.

Seeing first-hand the geography of Jordan filled me with an enormous appreciation of the difficult balancing act that country faces on a day-to-day basis.  In addition to facing the challenges presented by its own internal divisions, Jordan plays an increasingly complicated role in its dealings with the outside world.

As U.S. policy in the Middle East becomes progressively more controversial worldwide, it is being subjected to more and more criticism by the Jordanian public.  Literally all of the Jordanians I met were exceedingly angry about U.S. policy in the Middle East.  In addition to dealing with their country’s abject poverty and its struggle for development, they have had to deal with the repercussions of an inflow of Palestinian and Iraqi refugees, continued regional insecurity and a foreign policy that is shakily balanced between appeasing the West while maintaining loyalty to their Arab neighbors.

On the Leadership group’s last night in Jordan, Saleem, our van driver, who supposedly earned an average of $120 a month to support his family, told us through an interpreter, “We [Jordanians] love the people of America, but we do not understand the policy of your government.  Please tell your government that all the Jordanians want is peace – just peace.”  So, while the Jordanian government seems to be outwardly steady in its balancing act, the Jordanian people maintain a desire for less compromise and more stability in their everyday lives.

In the days since my return to Boston, and with the continuing violence throughout the Middle East, I have been struck with the realization that Saleem’s wish for peace seems to be even further away now than when I stepped out of his van for the last time in order to head back to the prosperity and security that I know is America.

*          *            *            *            *

On November 13, 2003, the Honorable Karim Kawar, Jordanian Ambassador to the United States, spoke at a luncheon sponsored jointly by WorldBoston and Suffolk University as part of a newly established Global Leadership Series.  In his presentation, titled “Balancing Act: Jordan’s Reform, Growth and Politics Amid Regional Uncertainty,” Ambassador Kawar provided keen insights into the political and economic reforms currently under way in Jordan, commenting on women’s rights; the role of Jordan in the conflicts in the Middle East, most notably, the current Iraqi conflict; and what the future holds for his country.

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.

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. 

The Fall season was a very busy one, filled with interesting and engaging forums and trips.  We have been excitedly preparing the Winter schedule and are sure you will find a number of events of interest to you.  Once again we will be covering a number of sensitive topics; we will also present our annual Great Decisions lecture series.  Over the next couple of weeks, we will be offering the following.

December 4, 2003

“Freedom on Fire: Human Rights Wars and America’s Response”

With John Shattuck

Author John Shattuck will join us for a discussion of his newly released book, “Freedom on Fire: Human Rights Wars and America’s Response.”  Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor during the Clinton Administration, Shattuck bore witness to some of the worst human rights violations of our time.  In “Freedom on Fire,” he analyzes these occurrences and America’s response.

December 9, 2003

“Update from the Pentagon: ‘Hot Spots’ Around the World”

With Victor E. Bernson, Jr., Director, Office of Legislative Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense

Victor E. Bernson will join us for a discussion of current activities at the U.S. Department of Defense under Secretary Rumsfeld.  As a senior member of the Secretary’s team, Bernson has access to some of the most sensitive information that comes to the United States daily and has input into how situations are handled.  Bernson’s primary responsibilities are to provide support and advice directly to Secretary Rumsfeld in all matters affecting the Department of Defense.  With the United States engaged throughout the world’s “hot spots,” the Department of Defense is under intense scrutiny from the American public.  Join us for this insider’s perspective.

“Great Decisions” Lecture Series (starting in March 2004)

As in the past, the “Great Decisions” lecture series will take place on eight consecutive Tuesday evenings at the Boston Public Library.  Once again made possible through a grant from the Lowell Institute, the discussions are free and open to the public.  The topics to be covered this year are The Media and Foreign Policy, The Philippines, Weapons of Mass Destruction, U.S. and Europe, Diversity in Islam, Latin American Overview, Reform in the Middle East and Public Diplomacy.  More information will be coming soon.

For more information about these and future events, be sure to check our website or call World Affairs (phone: 617-542-8995, ext. 112).  If there are any topics that you would like us to address in the future or if you would like to offer feedback on events you have attended, please send an email to wac@worldboston.org. 

THE WORLDBOSTON WISH LIST

We hope that you will consider making a donation to WorldBoston.  Please visit our website and click on Give a Gift to see the kinds of activities your gift will support, as well as a donation form.

Other things on our Wish List are:

   * Volunteer part-time bookkeeper

    * 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. 

EMERGING LEADERS

Natasha Palmroth, Director, Emerging Leaders

Kate Harvey, Director, International Visitors

Julie Harmon, 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 programs:  the International Visitor Program and Community Connections.  

Social Hospitality: Sharing Glimpses of Real Life.  One of the great things about WorldBoston is the access it gives the Greater Boston community to all things international.  Through Emerging Leaders, WorldBoston offers people the opportunity to rub elbows with some of the world’s up-and-coming leaders.  In addition to the professional meetings we organize for our visitors, the social portion of their visits to Boston often end up being the part they remember best.  Social hospitality can be as simple as meeting someone for coffee and light conversation to something more involved like opening one’s home to a visitor for a few weeks.

Recently, two Chinese journalists from Beijing, Mr. Lujun Chen and Mr. Zhong Zhang, came to Boston through the International Visitors program with the purpose of examining the role of religion in U.S. society.  But at another level they were also interested in learning about how children are raised in America.  WorldBoston arranged for them to spend Halloween evening with a Cambridge family.  Through this experience, they not only learned about American family life and celebrations but also got to take part in the Halloween festivities.

Also, as you will read below, in October WorldBoston hosted a group of Community Connections visitors from Ukraine.  These visitors got a first-hand view of American family life by living with host families during their stay in Boston.  For the guests and the hosts, the connections made will perhaps be the most rewarding outcome for all involved!  Social hospitality visits not only give our international visitors an opportunity to learn more about American life and values, but they also give us an opportunity to learn about another part of the world without ever leaving the comfort of our homes.

Community Connections.  Ten experienced journalists from Vinnytsya, Ukraine, arrived in Boston on October 3rd to participate in WorldBoston’s 13th Community Connections program.  While in Boston, the group met with their professional counterparts in the field of print media, saw the historic and cultural side of the city, spent time with their host families and enjoyed some wonderful New England Fall weather.

The group was anxious to learn about journalism in America and was pleased to have the opportunity to meet with a number of people who offered different perspectives on journalism and how it is practiced in the United States.  The group visited The Boston Globe where it learned about circulation and was given a tour of the print process.  The group also had the privilege of sitting in on one of Mayor Menino’s press conferences and speaking privately with his Press Secretary afterwards.  During this meeting, the group presented the Mayor’s Office with a letter from the Mayor of Vinnytsya.

Other meetings were held with a Boston-area lawyer who defends the rights of journalists, as well as with the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Massachusetts and Natasha Lisman, who founded the first ACLU-type organization in Russia.  When two of the visitors expressed a strong interest in becoming ACLU members, the Executive Director graciously waived the membership fee for them so that they are now card-carrying members of the ACLU!

It was not all work for the group, however.  Thanks to generous donations from local organizations, everyone in the group got free tickets to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts and reduced admission to the Museum of Science.  A tour of the Massachusetts State House and Oktoberfest celebrations in Harvard Square rounded out their Boston-area itinerary before they headed to New York City for two days for a tour of the Big Apple and a Broadway performance of “Beauty and the Beast,” clearly the highlight of the trip and a New York City evening they will long remember.

For me, as a first-time host to a Community Connections group, the most fulfilling aspect of this experience was seeing the connections and friendships that were forged between the members of the group and their homestay hosts.  The night before our visitors departed, at a farewell dinner with their homestay hosts and the WorldBoston staff at McCormick and Schmick’s, I was amazed to see everyone communicating and having such a wonderful time.  Even though the language barrier was a hurdle for some, they all found ways to communicate, enjoy each other’s company and develop friendships.  It was the perfect close to a great program!

Click on the photo to see more shots from this group's visit.

WorldBoston would like to thank the following for donating their time to support the Community Connections program.

The Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute ~ Harvard University ~ The Associated Press ~ Northeastern University ~ Boston.com ~ Suffolk University ~ The Beacon Hill Times ~ The Boston Phoenix ~ The ACLU ~ Boston Business Journal ~ The New England Press Association ~ Prince, Lobel, Glovsky & Tye, LLP ~ Spare Change ~ The Boston Globe ~ Boston Herald ~ Boston Magazine ~ Boston Metro ~ Boston Public Library ~ The Mayor’s Press Office at City Hall ~ Boston University ~ The Christian Science Monitor

The Community Connections program is very excited about the next two groups that will be coming to Boston.  In February, WorldBoston will be hosting a business group from St. Petersburg; in May, we will welcome a professional group from Kazakhstan.  As more information becomes available about these groups, we will post it on our website.

If you are interested in learning more about Community Connections or in becoming a homestay host or business host for our visiting professionals, please contact Julie Harmon. 

If you would like to get involved with the International Visitor Program, please contact Kate Harvey.   Be sure to check our website for up-to-date listings of our International Visitors.

IN THE MEDIA

“Business Savvy Non-Profits: Securing the Means Behind the Mission,” an article written by Brandie Conforti, was published in September by “The Business Forum Online” .

On September 24, Bloomberg News cited WorldBoston’s luncheon at which Han Sung-Joo, South Korea’s Ambassador to the United States, spoke on “Security on the Korean Peninsula and U.S.-Korea Economic Relations.”

On October 26 and November 6, The Boston Globe published some photos and brief text about this year’s recipient of the International Citizen Award, Charles R. Stith, Former U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania and Director and Founder of Boston University’s African Presidents Archives and Research Center, as well as the dinner held in his honor.

Boston Metro published an interview with Brandie Conforti on October 29.

The Jordan Times newspaper published several articles about the World Affairs Councils of America’s study tour to Jordan and the meetings the delegation held with various Jordanian leaders and government officials.