Around the WorldBoston

September - October 2004

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 Letter From WorldBoston’s Executive Director

  Emerging Leaders  

World Affairs

  In the Media

  The WorldBoston Wish List

  Contact Us

A LETTER FROM WORLDBOSTON’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dear Members and Friends of WorldBoston,

With shorter days and cooler temperatures, Fall seems to be just around the corner.  For WorldBoston, this signals an exciting ramp-up of efforts to plan and finalize a range of World Affairs events and preparations to host the hundreds of international professionals who enter our doors each year through our Emerging Leaders program.

A Few Staffing Changes.  This Summer, the Emerging Leaders program has undergone some changes.  Although we continued to welcome professionals from around the world, we had to say good-bye to one of our own.  Kate Harvey, Director of International Visitors at WorldBoston, left the organization to pursue graduate studies at the Fletcher School at Tufts University.  We thank Kate for her service and dedication and wish her luck in her new endeavors.  We know she will be successful in all her pursuits.

At the same time, we are pleased to welcome Jennifer Field, our new International Visitors Project Associate, to WorldBoston and the Emerging Leaders program.  Jennifer comes to us with a wealth of experience in international cultural exchange.  We are thrilled that she has chosen to join the WorldBoston team!

Some New Programming Initiatives.  Our World Affairs program will continue to navigate the new global landscape by offering diverse public education programs to the Greater Boston community.  From business to politics to culture, the World Affairs program will provide the insights and perspectives on the key issues of the day.

Our opening event on September 16 will focus on Pakistan’s shift into extremism when we meet with Hassan Abbas, author of the soon-to-be-released Pakistan’s Drift Into Extremism: Allah, the Army, and America’s War on Terror.  Mr. Abbas was a member of the administrations of Prime Ministers Bhutto and Musharaff.  On October 6, we will visit Washington, D.C., where all trip participants will have the opportunity to lunch with one of three Ambassadors: Guenter Burghardt (EU). Sung-Joo Han (Republic of Korea) or His Excellency Al Asri Saeed Ahmed Al Dhahri (UAE).  More information about this day trip is provided in the World Affairs section of this newsletter.  In November, WorldBoston will host the Third Annual Boston-Montreal Conference in Montreal.  The focus of this year’s conference is “International Investment Management: Bridging Montreal and Boston.”

Initiation of Monthly Evening Events.  In order to respond to the requests of many WorldBoston members, beginning in September WorldBoston will be offering one evening event per month.  We believe that the addition of monthly evening events to our very popular lunchtime forums and discussions will allow both current members and potential new members to take better advantage of all that our organization has to offer.

A Membership Drive.  This Fall, WorldBoston will undertake a series of strategic initiatives to further develop our membership base.  We will also begin a major fundraising effort that will allow us to continue to serve the Greater Boston public in even more ways than we already do.  We hope that you, our members, will work with us in all of these endeavors.  As members, you are the best spokespeople we could ask for.  If each of you believes in WorldBoston as much as I do, I hope you will invite someone to become a member, make a donation or become involved in the organization in some way.  Together, we have the ability to make WorldBoston stronger than ever!

Brandie Conforti

Executive Director

EMERGING LEADERS

Natasha Palmroth, Director, Emerging Leaders

Jennifer Field, International Visitors 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.  

They keep coming and coming . . . .

by Natasha Palmroth

Summer, usually a slow time at WorldBoston, proved to be very busy this year.  In a two-week span alone, the Emerging Leaders program hosted a journalist from Rwanda, a priest from the Philippines, domestic violence prevention professionals from Japan, museum managers and women educators from Saudi Arabia, a politician and an academic from the island of Taiwan, public health/HIV specialists from China, a social educator from Brazil, a newspaper editor and a monetary policy analyst from Poland and a member of Parliament from Australia.  The diversity of the professionals who come to WorldBoston through the Emerging Leaders program never ceases to amaze me.

I am also frequently surprised by the requests that some of our visitors make for their visit to Boston, as well as the resources we are able to offer them.  Recently, we had a visitor from South Korea, Ms. Mi-Hwa Choi, whose primary interest in visiting Boston was to learn about our Route 128 corridor.  Ms. Choi wanted to know about its development because her country is considering planning something very similar.

Before starting on this program, like many people in the Boston area I considered Route 128 first and foremost as the cause of major traffic headaches.  And while I knew that Route 128 was Boston’s hi-tech corridor, I never realized that it was a model for technology corridors that is very well known around the world.

After doing some research, the WorldBoston staff was able to identify a number of professional resources to meet with Ms. Choi and offer her various perspectives.  They included a couple of local authors who have written books about the Route 128 corridor, a state-level official involved in economic development of the region and a representative of the Massachusetts Area Planning Council who was eager to discuss the development of the corridor.  Once again, developing a program for a visitor proved to be a learning experience not only for the visitor but also for WorldBoston.

As we look to the Fall, we are already seeing the start of a very busy season.  Some our visitors will include a group of young business leaders from the Middle East, cultural preservationists from the West Bank, university administrators from Bosnia-Herzegovina, a museum manager from Mexico and a group of civic leaders from Azerbaijan.  

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 International Visitors.

IN THE MEDIA

WorldBoston’s hosting of the event featuring Commissioners Fred F. Fielding and Jamie S. Gorelick of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States was widely reported in the press, in hard copy, on television and on the Internet.  Articles appeared in The Boston Globe and Metro while other publications such as The Dallas Morning News, The Union Leader and The Worcester Telegram made reference to the Boston event.  In addition, a variety of news sources around the county ran an Associated Press article.  Television stations WLVI (WB56), NECN and WHDH (TV7) reported on the event as did the CBS (Channel 4), the Massachusetts State House News Service and the boston.com websites.  In its reporting, cable station NECN showed a video clip on its evening newscast as well as on its website.  Be sure to visit the WorldBoston website, click on “About WorldBoston” and “WorldBoston in the News” to read much of this coverage.  

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:

    * 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.

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. 

A Summary of This Summer’s Events.  Because Summer is the traditional time for extended holidays, many of you were not able to attend our last few events.  Because they covered topics of such critical importance, I have described them briefly below.

In July, Susannah Sirkin, Deputy Director for Physicians for Human Rights, spoke about the allegations of prisoner abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo Bay.  Sirkin deftly and sensitively covered various details of the allegations of abuse and provided a brief but important history about abuse and its role in war.  Sirkin educated the attendees about the effects that torture can have on an individual, the findings that have surfaced in the investigation, and the thoughts and ideas of Physicians for Human Rights about torture and abuse.

In August, WorldBoston was honored to be the exclusive Boston speaking venue for Commissioners Fred F. Fielding and Jamie S. Gorelick of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.  Commissioners Fielding and Gorelick each spoke about the roots of the 9/11 Commission and their experiences as members of the Commission.  They also provided a detailed account of the Commission’s findings and recommendations for avoiding future terrorist activity against the United States.  Both Commissioners were candid in their comments and in answering questions from the audience.  This was a thought-provoking event that left everyone in attendance anxious to learn more about the issues being discussed.

Some Upcoming Events.  The World Affairs program has been busy planning for a stimulating and engaging Fall lineup and will soon be distributing the details of our early Fall schedule.  But please mark your calendars for the following.

“Walking the Beat in Baghdad”

A Conversation with Jerry Burke, former Senior Advisor to the Chief of Police, Baghdad

Thursday, September 23, 2004

6:00 P.M. at the Boston Public Library

After the liberation of Baghdad in April 2003, there were many pieces to put together to get the city on track for full participation in world affairs.  But how does one begin the task of reshaping a city that has been under a totalitarian regime for more than two decades?

Jerry Burke worked daily on the streets of Baghdad with the Iraqi police command staff, American military commanders and civilian administrators from the Coalition Provisional Authority.  His duties took him to all the districts of Baghdad, from Saddam City to the upper class Mansor neighborhood, as he worked in all 57 police stations across the city.  He faced the overwhelming task of rebuilding a police department in what had been a totalitarian police state and transforming it into a modern police service respectful of the rule of law and human rights.

Join us for Burke’s perspective on the situation in Iraq immediately after the fall of Baghdad and listen to his predictions about the future of the city that historically has been both a cultural center as well as a center of great conflict

Reservations for this event are required and can be made by calling 617-542-8995, ext.112, or by sending an email to wac@worldboston.org.  The event is free and open to the public.

A Day Trip to Washington, D.C., and Lunch With an Ambassador

Wednesday, October 6, 2004

WorldBoston presents a day-trip to Washington, D.C.  The trip will begin with a visit to one of three embassies: the Embassy of the European Union, Republic of South Korea or the United Arab Emirates.  While at the Embassy, attendees will have an opportunity to meet with the Ambassador and key staff for discussion, followed by lunch with the Ambassador.

After lunch, all attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a self-guided tour of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  The visit to the Museum will conclude with a briefing from Nesse Godin, a Holocaust survivor.

The cost for this trip is $350 per person and includes round-trip airfare between Boston and Baltimore, ground transportation, an Embassy visit and lunch, and the museum tour and briefing.  The trip is limited to 30 participants, each of whom will be assigned to one of the three Embassies.

For more information about these events and to learn about future events, please check our website periodically for up-to-date information as new events are scheduled.  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 contact the program, please call 617- 542-8995, ext.112, or send an email to wac@worldboston.org.