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Dear Friends,
Welcome to this week's WorldBoston Recommends email, highlighting high-quality programming for the upcoming week, special opportunities, and event recordings, whether our own, from other World Affairs Councils, or other excellent venues.
We hope these recommendations help you stay internationally engaged, wherever you may be.
Best regards,
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Mary P. Yntema
President & CEO
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August 16th – 17th
Get ready for an unforgettable experience at the 15th Annual African Festival of Boston! This year’s celebration will be bigger and better, with a festival at Boston Common. This vibrant event will showcase the best of African culture, heritage, and community, bringing together local and international artists, performers, vendors, and families for an immersive cultural experience! Fashion lovers can enjoy the Afro-Live Designer Fashion Show, and art enthusiasts will be amazed by our cultural exhibits. This event will include a diverse line-up of live performances, panels to engage with community leaders, youth empowerment activities, authentic African cuisine, and cultural exhibits on African crafts, art and history.
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Monday, August 18th
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM ET
Biotechnology holds transformative potential for security, competitiveness, human flourishing, and democracy. Increasingly, it is central to U.S.-PRC science and technology competition. This program will discuss the state of play in biotechnology and its implications. What are the current challenges facing U.S. competitiveness in biotechnology? How can we foster a biotechnology innovation ecosystem that addresses urgent needs and aligns with American values of safety, security, and responsibility? What role should government play? The panel will feature D. Michael Ackermann, Osanni Bio and Stanford University Byers Center for Biodesign, Drew Endy, Martin Family University Fellow for the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, CISAC, and senior fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, Anna Puglisi, Hoover Institution and Technology and Security Fellow at RAND, Todd Renshaw, Downeast Biopharma and operations at UC Berkeley’s Bakar Bio Labs, and Glenn Tiffert, Hoover Institution.
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Wednesday, August 20th
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM ET
In this event, Michael Poznansky, Author and Associate Professor of the Strategic and Operational Research Department at the U.S. Naval War College, will sit down with New America Planetary Politics Fellow Laura Kupe to unpack the central arguments of his new book, Great Power, Great Responsibility: How the Liberal International Order Shapes U.S. Foreign Policy, examining the paradoxes and persistent influence of the liberal international order in shaping America’s global role. Together, they will explore how the liberal order constrains and enables U.S. foreign policy, what that means for current global power dynamics, and how democratic resilience and transatlantic alliances are evolving under pressure. This conversation promises sharp insights at the intersection of theory and practice, especially as global governance faces mounting challenges from within and without.
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Thursday, August 21st
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM ET
Two years ago, the Department of Defense launched the first phase of the Replicator initiative, known as Replicator-1, with an ambitious goal: to rapidly field attritable, autonomous systems across multiple domains by August 2025. As the initiative evolves, new questions emerge: What has been fielded so far in terms of offensive and defensive drones across maritime, land, and air domains? How are lessons from Replicator-1 informing Replicator-2, which focuses on counter-drone capabilities? What battlefield insights from Ukraine apply to U.S. operational needs—and which do not? And more broadly, how will drone warfare shape the future of conflict? Join Brookings for a discussion on this initiative and the evolving role of robotics in modern warfare. Panelists for this discussion will include T.S. Allen, former Director of Replicator-1 of the Defense Innovation Unit at the U.S. Department of Defense, Gen. David H. Berger, former Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, and Aditi Kumar, former Principal Deputy Director of the Defense Innovation Unit at the U.S. Department of Defense.
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Thursday, August 21st
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM ET
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has challenged long-held assumptions about the post-Cold War international order. How have the United States’ and its allies' foreign policy approach to Ukraine and Russia evolved since the Soviet Union's collapse, and what are the consequences of these strategies today? What does this teach us about U.S. foreign policy more broadly, and how should these lessons inform America's response to the war in Ukraine? Join Alexander Vindman, author and former Director for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Russia at the National Security Council and John Gans, author and former US Defense Department Official, as they discuss America's shifting strategy in Eastern Europe, its implications for the ongoing conflict, and what this reveals about the future of U.S. foreign policy.
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Greenland and the Geopolitics of the Arctic
Sunday, August 24th
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
As climate change accelerates the melting of Arctic ice, the region is rapidly emerging as a new geopolitical frontier. The Arctic holds immense strategic value due to its untapped natural resources—estimated to include 13% of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30% of its natural gas—as well as critical rare earth minerals essential for modern technologies. Melting ice is also opening new maritime routes that could significantly shorten global shipping times, increasing the region’s economic and military importance. Major powers, including the United States, Russia, and China, are expanding their presence in the Arctic, viewing it as a key arena for influence, resource competition, and military positioning. The Arctic’s role in global security is further underscored by its proximity to the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom (GIUK) gap, a vital chokepoint for NATO defense strategy. In this event the World Affairs Council of Atlanta speaks with Mira Kleist Head of the Greenland Practice at Kaya Partners, Jens Heinrich, Head of Mission at the Greenland Representation in Denmark, and Bo Lidegaard, Co-founder of Kaya Partners, the authors of the book Greenland – A Journey from the Earliest Times to a Modern Society
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Named for the proverbial “green room” where people wait before going on stage, the new Green Room Scholars initiative is part of WorldBoston's growing NextGen programming, an essential element of our effort to fulfill and expand our mission of “fostering international engagement and global cooperation.”
For each regular WorldBoston event, the selected Green Room Scholar will help greet and orient the speaker, serving as part of the WorldBoston event team.
What benefits do Green Room Scholars receive?
- Networking
- Participation in a well-tuned, professional event team
- Blogging with byline
- Recognition in WorldBoston social media
- Connecting with one of WorldBoston's outstanding speakers, who are leading scholars and practitioners in global affairs
Who is eligible to be a Green Room Scholar?
Students at universities that are currently sponsoring WorldBoston!
For further information contact Manager of Global Engagement Programs and Operations Harrison Zeiberg at hzeiberg@worldboston.org
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The Marcellus Policy Fellowship helps fellows develop the ideas and skills necessary to guide American foreign policy in the twenty-first century. Over the course of several months, they will wrestle with ideas that can animate a prudent foreign policy and hone their writing skills under expert guidance, crafting a detailed policy paper and a related policy memorandum and op-ed. All this strengthens their candidacy for roles in an increasingly competitive foreign policy career space. The Fellowship is for those who are in, are pursuing, or intend to pursue in the near future a career shaping U.S. national security policy in fields like government service, the media, academia, think tanks, advocacy, and so forth. This fellowship is open to current students (graduate and undergraduate) as well as those with 0-2 years of employment in the foreign policy space. The Fall 2025 Fellowship application will close on August 21st.
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ENGLISH FOR HERITAGE LANGUAGE SPEAKERS
Native speakers of critical languages are in high demand in the U.S. government. EHLS trains advanced English speakers to be effective communicators and strong candidates for federal jobs. All EHLS participants receive a full scholarship from the Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO) that includes tuition and a living stipend. As part of the scholarship obligation, participants agree to fulfill the EHLS service requirement, which requires you to work for the federal government in a position with national security responsibilities for one year after you complete the program. The 2026 EHLS Program is open to native speakers of: Chinese Mandarin, Arabic, Russian, Persian Farsi, Korean, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Turkish, and Hausa.
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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL AID PLATFORM
The Boston Network for International Development created a Mutual Aid platform to support individuals in Greater Boston / New England who have been directly impacted by the foreign aid pause and USAID shutdown. This peer-to-peer resource connects community members who need assistance with those who can offer help in areas such as career mentorship, job search support, networking, housing, and more.
How It Works:
If you need assistance, submit a request and your request will be shared (without personal contact details) on a public listing (see list of requests).
If you can offer assistance, submit an offer and your information will be listed publicly for those seeking help (see list of offers).
If you see a specific request you can help with, submit a response and your offer will be forwarded to the requestor.
This platform is a community-driven mutual aid network. BNID does not verify, vet, or endorse any requests, offers, or responses. All interactions are voluntary and at participants’ own risk.
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The UNAGB Summer Institute in Global Leadership offers week-long leadership development programs for middle and high school students that are designed to cultivate global awareness and leadership skills among students through the core principles of Model UN. Throughout the week, participants engage in dynamic simulations of international diplomacy, participate in meaningful skill-building workshops, and explore complex global issues such as human rights, global health and climate change.
Led by experienced educators and industry professionals, UNAGB’s Summer Institute helps participants develop practical skills in public speaking, research, and consensus-building, preparing them to become effective global citizens and future leaders. By the end of the program, students emerge with a deeper understanding of global challenges and the confidence to contribute positively to their communities and the world at large.
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Join WorldBoston’s Dinner Diplomacy program! Engage with international professionals of visiting delegations for a meal at your home. We often have opportunities to get involved! Hosting in an informal setting allows you to meet distinguished visitors from all over the world and learn more about their country, culture, and professional expertise. Dinner Diplomacy can take various forms, from brunch to afternoon tea to a sit-down dinner with small groups. Reach out to Sarah Sibley, Vice President of Citizen Diplomacy (ssibley@worldboston.org) to learn more about upcoming opportunities!
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The Alumni Resource Center (ARC) is an online career development hub for U.S. citizen ExchangeAlumni. ARC provides ExchangeAlumni with courses, trainings, and other resources to develop professional skills and abilities, market themselves, and explore careers in and outside of public service. The Alumni Resource Center is offering a new online course, Seize the Advantage: Understanding Non-Competitive Eligibility. This course will explore non-competitive eligibility and how you can leverage this unique opportunity to apply for federal jobs. You must be a U.S. citizen ExchangeAlumni and a member of the Alumni Resource Center.
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Writing Opportunities
Are you interested in writing about international affairs? Below are opportunities for you to submit your pieces to publications nationwide!
- WorldBoston's #BostonPhotoFriday: We want to see your pictures of Boston! As part of our #BostonPhotoFriday series, we would like to feature our community's photos on our social media. For more information, please email Harrison Zeiberg, Manager of Global Engagement and Operations.
- The Journal of Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs: This quarterly journal is accepting submissions of features and essays, as well as online exclusive submissions to appear on their website on a rolling basis. Submit your piece here.
- Realist Review Article Submission: This policy publication is accepting submissions from anyone interested in writing a commentary or analysis piece that expresses a perspective on policies or developments in international affairs and diplomacy. Submit your work here.
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