Dear Friends,
Welcome to this week's WorldBoston Recommends email, highlighting high-quality programming over the next week, 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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Wednesday, September 22nd
6:00 – 7:00 PM ET
WorldBoston's Chat & Chowder features key authors on international affairs in an engaging setting. We invite you to join us for a discussion with award-winning journalist Nicole Perlroth about her book This Is How They Tell Me The World Ends: The Cyber Weapons Arms Race, and to stay for the informal post-Chat Chat led by WorldBoston friend Mark Schreiber, Senior Counsel, Global Privacy and Cybersecurity at McDermott Will & Emery. This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends is the untold history of the cyber arms trade, an invisible market, spawned by the United States, that has altered the balance of global politics and rendered Americans vulnerable. Starting in the 1990s, American defense contractors and intelligence agencies paid hackers six figure sums to turn over holes in software and hardware that could be used for espionage or cyberwar. This government-sponsored market ensured that gaping holes were left open— leaving the U.S. vastly more vulnerable than other nations.
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Monday, September 20
12:00 – 1:15 PM ET
COVID-19 has brought to light the vulnerability of supply chains around the world, including issues around the sourcing and manufacturing of APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients). In global crises, how do we mitigate vulnerabilities in the supply chain? How can the public and private sectors work together to ensure that products can still be brought to market and demand is met? Join the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia with speakers Matthew L. Fedowitz, Jennifer Spalding, and Allan Coukell for a robust discussion about the challenges companies are facing and the ways that companies can map out different supply chain strategies to mitigate risk and bring products to market around the world.
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Tuesday, September 21
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET
Due to insufficient supplies, lack of infrastructure, or water-intensive practices in agriculture and other industries, many parts of the world already suffer from water stress. Climate change and population growth are exacerbating water scarcity in those regions, particularly in drought-prone areas across the Middle East and North Africa. The number of water-stressed areas worldwide is projected to increase, heightening the risk of famine, economic shock, and water-related conflict. Join Foreign Policy, in partnership with the UAE Embassy in Washington, for a discussion with the policymakers, experts, and innovators who are at the leading edge of securing the future of water.
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Tuesday, September 21
1:00 – 2:00 PM ET
President Joe Biden’s declaration that the withdrawal from Afghanistan puts an end to “an era of major military operations to remake other countries” adds further urgency to the question of what America’s military footprint in the Middle East should be. But does the United States need permanent military bases in the Middle East at all? Join us for a debate between Eugene Gholz, author of Nothing Much to Do: Why America Can Bring All Troops Home From the Middle East and Kirsten Fontenrose, former Senior Director for the Persian Gulf at the National Security Council, on the future of the U.S. military footprint in the Middle East. Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute, will moderate.
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Thursday, September 23
2:00 PM ET
Cryptocurrency is a hot topic, as Security Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler wants to further regulate it, especially Bitcoin, which is about half of this $2 trillion asset class. Join the Los Angeles World Affairs Council and Town Hall as they host economist and author Eswar Prasad, Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy at Cornell University, in conversation with moderator, Frank Mottek, KABC Radio Host. During this event, they will discuss if the world of finance is on the brink of major disruption, who will be affected, and how.
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Thursday, September 23
6:00 – 7:00 PM ET
Please join the Foreign Policy Association for a discussion between FPA Chairman, Henry Fernandez, and Group of 30 Executive Director, Dr. Stuart P.M. Mackintosh, about Dr. Mackintosh's new publication Climate Crisis Economics. The book draws on economics, political economy, scientific literature, and data to gauge the extent to which our various communities – political, economic, and business – are making the essential leap to a new narrative and policy approach that will accelerate us towards the necessary transition to a decarbonized economy and sustainable future.
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Friday, September 24
2:00 – 3:00 PM ET
Join the Atlantic Council for a virtual roundtable on the future of sanctions in the United Nations (UN) toolkit. Over the last decades, UN sanctions have become an indispensable policy tool to address a range of international issues including human rights violations, illegal smuggling, and demobilization of armed groups. However, their instrumentality has come under scrutiny as conflicts become more entrenched and with increasing roadblocks on the United Nations Security Council. This panel discussion will feature Sue Eckert (Center for Strategic and International Studies), George A. Lopez (Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies), Kimberly Prost (ICC), and Jacqueline Shire (UN).
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Have you taken our What in the World? quiz yet this week?
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