robinkhan – Page 2

February 6, 2024February 6, 2024

Elliott students travel to Senegal to explore culture, foreign influence

Authored by: Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor at The GW Hatchet

Elliott School of International Affairs students traveled to Senegal over winter break and met with foreign service officers, professors and locals in a short-term abroad course launched this year.

Sixteen undergraduate and graduate Elliott School students spent nine days of winter break attending conferences, focus groups and lectures on foreign influence in the country. Matthew Kirwin, a professorial lecturer who taught the course, said he wanted to give students a deep understanding of an African country because policymakers are interested in foreign influence on the continent and chose Senegal because it’s politically stable and easy to navigate.

“It was a dream come true for me to be able to do this, to see the students see Africa through my eyes because I was able to put together a program that I thought would be very insightful,” Kirwin said.

Kirwin, a division chief at the State Department, said he submitted the short-term abroad program proposal during the 2019-20 academic year. The three-credit course, Foreign Influence in Senegal: Exploring the Effects and Senegalese Perceptions, counted as credit for Special Topics in African Studies, a course offered to Elliott School undergraduate and graduate students.

He said about 37 undergraduate and graduate students applied in October 2023 for 16 spots.

Kirwin created the trip itinerary with the help of the West African Research Center, a group that connects American researchers with West African countries. He said the center connected him to Senegalese professors and helped him plan trips to significant cultural and political locations like Gorée Island, a former outpost for the slave trade located off the coast of Dakar, and Touba, a town with the biggest mosque in West Africa.

“We went back and forth on what things made most sense to do, keeping in mind trying to make it affordable for students,” Kirwin said.

He said through connections from his job at the State Department, he also coordinated a meeting with several foreign service officers to explain the U.S. relationship with Senegal. The U.S. trades with Senegal and views the country as a stable democracy in Africa and a “model” for religious and ethnic tolerance, according to the Bureau of African Affairs’ bilateral relations fact sheet.

Kirwin said the class met on campus several times before the trip to learn about Senegal and hear student presentations on aspects of Senegalese culture like food, religion, politics and water sports like surfing. He said during the first pre-departure meeting, he brought in the principal deputy assistant secretary for global public affairs Kristin Kane, who previously served as a foreign service officer in Senegal, to provide insight into U.S. foreign influence in Senegal.

Before the start of the trip, Kirwin said he created an Instagram page for students to document the trip. He said he required students to upload pictures with captions that summarized what they learned on a given day at least three times during the trip.

Kirwin said students talked with local Senegalese people in focus groups to learn about the culture and how foreign influence is viewed by locals. He said students also attended lectures on relations between the United States, Russia and China to learn about how different countries approach foreign affairs.

“There’s this foreign power competition that’s going on where every country is trying to promote their values and promote their interests,” Kirwin said.

Kirwin said foreign influence in Africa often looks like “soft power,” meaning countries like the United States, Russia, China, France and Turkey attempt to form relationships with African countries through infrastructure projects and by asserting their culture, music and sports in cities. He said countries like the United States work to appear as partners with Senegal by bringing Senegalese basketball players to play in the NBA while other countries like China build roads and bridges.

“Turkey, for example, built the new soccer stadium in Dakar, and the Senegalese are very passionate about soccer,” Kirwin said.

He said the group will not meet in person again but students will work together on a 15 to 20-page policy paper due in February that incorporates information collected from panel discussions, academic lectures and daily interactions with Senegalese people. He said the final project is an opportunity for students to synthesize the cultural, historical and political information they learned on the trip and create a paper that American policymakers could use to better understand Senegalese culture.

“We talked about what are all the data points that we’ve collected and how can we refine our research question to write something that’s going to be of interest,” Kirwin said.

Christopher Zrazik, a junior studying international affairs and public policy, said he learned how countries like China, Turkey and the United States exert influence on Senegal through foreign investment in infrastructure projects.

“Through our lectures, through the focus groups that we engaged in and even observations as we drove through Dakar and in the surrounding areas, it really revealed the extent to which foreign powers are establishing themselves in the country,” Zrazik said.

Bryson Handy, a first-year studying international affairs and economics, said his favorite part of the trip was when the group saw a rally for Senegal’s upcoming presidential election in February while visiting the African Renaissance Monument in Dakar. He said the experience launched him into Senegalese politics and presents an example of the benefits of visiting an African country and learning through first-hand experience about the political system.

Deseree Chacha, a senior studying international affairs, said she learned about cultural diplomacy and development from the group’s tour guides and driver. She said during the two focus groups with students and people in the workforce she learned about Senegalese lifestyles, perspectives on foreign influence and Senegal’s upcoming presidential election.

“The whole group took a step back, we were there mainly just to listen to observe, to kind of be one with the Senegalese people,” Chacha said.

January 5, 2024January 5, 2024

Student Voices: An Open Letter to the World Food Forum

Six GW graduate students share their thoughts after representing the Global Food Institute at the global forum in Rome, Italy.

Authored by: Sydney Pryor, Kailey McNeal, Nicholas Smaldone, Juan Archila Godinez, Lois Maison, Angela Tarana

While the draw of authentic cacio e pepe just might be strong enough to pull some of us from D.C. across the Atlantic, it was the 2023 World Food Forum (WFF) that brought us to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Our group of six graduate students from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., represented the GW Global Food Institute as a youth delegation to the WFF. The six of us also share the belief that the policies that currently govern agrifood systems uphold the interests of governments and powerful industry groups at the expense of human health, social justice and the future of the planet.

As collective first-timers to any United Nations convening, we want to provide you with our insights as six individuals with diverse, yet often overlapping, reflections on our time and the opportunities we see to make the WFF more inclusive and action-oriented. Although this year’s WFF did an amazing job of bringing together compelling voices and actors from across the globe for important discussions, there were also a few key areas of improvement that would have made the event that much more successful.

Here are our “sweet” (our favorite parts) and “sour” (our not-so-favorite parts) reflections and our suggestions to strengthen the WFF experience for future youth food systems advocates.

What is the World Food Forum?

The WFF is a global platform to transform agrifood systems with the 2023 theme of “Agrifood systems transformation accelerates climate action.” The forum was composed of three interconnected events—the WFF Global Youth Forum, the FAO Science and Innovation Forum and the FAO Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum.

These were intended to facilitate intergenerational and cross-sector conversations about the transformation of agrifood systems at the local, regional and global level. The WFF Global Youth Forum was specifically designed to change the conversation around food and agriculture by giving young people a seat at the table and fostering youth-to-youth connection through open dialogue and a series of cross-cutting events.

Opportunities to attend the Global Indigenous Youth Forum

At the same time as the World Food Forum event, the FAO also held the Global Indigenous Youth Forum. Although they were separate events, they both took place at the FAO headquarters allowing us to attend several sessions of the Indigenous Youth Forum.

Although we appreciated being able to attend the sessions within the Global Indigenous Youth Forum, we were disappointed that the Indigenous youth event was separate from the WFF because Indigenous youth are an integral part of any youth-focused agrifood system discussion. While recognizing the value of having a separate space for Indigenous youth, it was off-putting to have the event at the same time and place as the WFF, as if to silo the two groups and create a false dichotomy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth in agrifood systems.

Limited opportunity for open dialogue and minimal action items

The Sour: The sessions we attended were valuable for continuing to think about actions to implement for agrifood systems transformation and environmental protection. However, the panel sessions lacked the opportunity for meaningful insights from panelists. We appreciated the efforts of the panelists to convey their messages in a very short time, but the lack of time limited panelists’ contributions to their pre-prepared speeches, inhibiting any dialogue between speakers.

Room for improvement: We suggest the organizers:

Decrease the number of panelists
Ensure higher-level policy- and decision-makers are in attendance
Keep an open mind and a positive, solutions-oriented mindset
Increase the structured participation of decision-makers at roundtables
Open all WFF sessions to youth attendees

Misalignment of the 2023 WFF theme

Unfortunately, the forum theme this year of “agrifood system transformation to accelerate climate action” seemed like an afterthought during many of the forum’s central deliberations.

Our policy deliberation at the WFF was only centered around changing behavior at the individual level in schools through education. Despite the importance of childhood education around food and agriculture and the need to connect students with how their food is produced and prepared, we felt this hyperfocus on education significantly inhibited our ability to propose policies that could drive “agrifood system transformation” and led to a lack of disruptive change policies.

Policy actions should not only facilitate the consumer’s ability to make healthy and sustainable food choices, but also incentivize the producer’s participation in an economically rewarding and just transition and empowering workers through stable livelihoods and protections.

Room for improvement: We suggest the organizers:

Provide more time for deliberation around larger systems-level challenges
Democratize the process of choosing data and policy priorities
Ensure transparency in the agenda setting process

Looking forward, we need the guidance and insight of those with experience in the critical topics being discussed at the WFF and more seats at the table for diverse agrifood system perspectives. We believe that together, across generations, we can do more “to move the needle.” We appreciated the opportunity to listen, engage, be inspired and critically reflect on the urgency of transforming our agrifood systems and moving from conversation to action.

(This letter was edited for space. Read the students’ full open letter on the Planet Forward website.)

Individual Reflections on the World Food Forum

Read the students’ full reflections by clicking on the links below.

“As someone who is passionate about transforming food systems for the benefit of racial justice and animal protection, I was eager to connect with other young advocates globally on these issues. While the forum provided opportunities to share ideas with other young people engaged in bettering food systems, I was disappointed by the lack of acknowledgement of the role that systemic factors play in the transformation of food systems.”
Assessing the youth role in food systems transformation
Kailey McNeal
GW Law ’24

“People from all over are thinking about the impact of our food production and consumption on the environment, on livelihoods, on our future—and advocating for an agrifood system transformation that is healthy, sustainable, and socially just.
“Thinking about how best to communicate this urgency, how to hold governments and corporations accountable, how to empower communities. People are calling for innovation, and not just the start-up kind, but innovative pathways for preserving, scaling and repurposing traditional knowledge and practices to our urgent crises. But how do we better address this question?”
The dichotomy of plant-based diets vs livestock
Sydney Pryor
Milken Institute SPH Ph.D. candidate in Health Policy

“We youth, as a group, are more than just a category defined by age. We are intersectional and multi-faceted in our identities. Our struggle overlaps with other marginalized and undervalued groups in society, such as Indigenous peoples, women, gender and sexual minorities, people with disabilities, poor people and more.”
An open letter to my fellow youth and our future leaders
Nick Smaldone ’23
CCAS M.S. candidate in Geography

“Each session I attended, and every interaction I had, was a vivid tapestry of insights. Voices ranged from smallholder farmers to academics, from private sector mavens to policymakers, each contributing to a rich mosaic of perspectives. The diversity underscored the multifaceted nature of our quest for food security—a challenge demanding nothing less than collaborative ingenuity.”
Passionate young voices come together
Angela Tarana
Elliott School M.A. candidate in International Development

January 5, 2024January 5, 2024

The Role of Unity in Advancing Democracy in Iran and the World

Nazanin Boniadi visited GW to talk about about the status of women in Iran. (Photos by William Atkins/GW Today)

Iranian born actor and activist Nazanin Boniadi provided an Elliott School audience an update on the progress and status of Iran’s freedom movement.

Authored by: B.L. Wilson

It’s been more than a year since Mahsa Jina Amini died after being detained by Iran’s morality police for not properly wearing a veil, the hijab that is mandatory under the Islamic Republic’s laws.

The Elliott School of International Affairs invited Iranian born actor and activist Nazanin Boniadi for a conversation not only about the status of women in Iran since Amini’s death, but also on the “The Role of Unity in Advancing Democracy for Iran.” The conversation was led by Alyssa Ayres, dean of the Elliott School, and was held at the Jack Morton Auditorium Tuesday.

In opening remarks before the start of the discussion, Mary Ellsberg, executive director and founding director of the George Washington University’s Global Women’s Institute, said the 22 year old’s death sparked protests that gave rise to the Women’s Life Freedom Movement in Iran and across the diaspora. It prompted thousands of Iranian women to flood the streets, remove their veils and cut their hair, and inspired women across the globe to raise their voices against the repressive and dangerous regime, said Ellsberg, who also is a professor of international studies at the Elliott School.

Boniadi, who has been featured in television shows and movies from “How I Met Your Mother” to “Lord of the Rings,” said her “first protest” was in the womb of her 19-year-old mother who was heavily pregnant but had “the foresight to see what was happening to Iran during the Iranian Revolution in 1979.” Her parents joined a minority of Iranians protesting the newly formed government and were forced to flee or risk execution.

The Women, Life, Freedom Movement, said Boniadi, transcends women’s rights though women were the spark and engine. “It is a declaration of opposition to a regime that is not only misogynistic, but murderous and repressive, a perfect rallying cry for democracy, for representative and accountable government that includes women,” she said.

Elliott School Dean Alyssa Ayres (l) led the conversation with actor and activist Nazanin Boniadi.

When Ayres asked what toll activism has taken on her, Boniadi mentioned the death threats she has received and the time it has taken away from her career but added that that “pales in comparison to what the Iranian people are going through.”

“The artists and activists, my counterparts in Iran saying these same words lose their careers, they get sent to prison, they get lashed, they get killed, blinded, raped, tortured, forcibly disappeared,” Boniadi said. “The list goes on and on. That puts it in perspective for me.”

Organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch report that more than 500 Iranians have been killed (the vast majority of whom were men) and thousands more arrested since the protests began. Boniadi said she is invited to speak, write articles and receives accolades including membership in the Council on Foreign Relations, the leading think tank on U.S. Foreign Policy and national security. She has been awarded the Sydney Peace Prize, Australia’s international prize that recognizes leading global voices that promote peace, justice and nonviolence.

“Though victories are few and far between,” she said, “every time a family is reunited after a hostage has been taken or someone is freed after being wrongfully imprisoned or an execution is stayed or an unjust law is overturned, it provides fuel to keep going.”

Setbacks have come on the heels of victory. Members of what Boniadi calls the community of democracy took the unprecedented step of getting the Islamic Republic of Iran ousted from the UN Commission on the Status of Women, something they were told could not be done. They fought for it, she said, to prevent the regime from using the UN system to legitimize themselves on the global stage and to give hope to people in countries like Afghanistan. The democracy community won only to face two major setbacks months later. Iran’s envoy to the United Nations was elected Vice President of the UN General Assembly and chair of the UN Human Rights Council.

She said the member states had been working in concert with the Islamic state while dissidents from Russia, Venezuela and Iran were fractured and fighting each other. Autocrats and oppressive governments united in their objective to stay in power and found influential voices among the opposition to divide and rule. “Democracies failed to be as united,” she said.

“Until we understand that we are inextricably bound, all democratic people, democratic loving people, inherently tied to each other, and we have to work on common objectives and safeguard democracy not only in our countries but also ensure that democracy prevails worldwide, we will fail,” she said.

The event was co-sponsored by the Elliot School for International Studies, the Global Women’s Institute, the Institute for Middle East Studies, the Elliott School’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative and the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences Gender, Sexuality, and Studies program.

January 5, 2024January 5, 2024

Wolcott Foundation Expands Legacy of Supporting Students in Public Service with $4 Million Gift

Provost Christopher Bracey (l), President Ellen M. Granberg and Wolcott Foundation Chair Michael Clark. (William Atkins/GW Today)

Endowment continues a 70-year tradition that has opened doors for more than 500 GW students.

Authored by: Rahim Jessani

To realize her dream of working in international trade policy, Tiffany Smith, M.A. ‘91, knew she needed a graduate degree. But attending GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs in the nation’s capital seemed out of reach for the Texan.

Smith’s career path opened up when she received the Wolcott Foundation Fellowship, which helped with her tuition and gave her the financial stability to pursue unpaid internships during her studies.

“I never would have made it to D.C. for graduate school without the Wolcott Foundation Fellowship,” said Smith, now the National Foreign Trade Council’s vice president of global trade policy. “Everything that I have achieved in my career in trade policy is directly a result of being selected as a Wolcott Fellow and attending GW.”

Since 1953, more than 500 GW students like Smith have benefited directly from the foundation’s annual funding of the Wolcott Foundation Fellowship program. Now, thanks to a $4 million gift to GW’s endowment from the Wolcott Foundation, more students like Smith can pursue careers in public service for generations to come. This gift also transitions the fellowship’s administration to GW—a meaningful tribute to the enduring seven-decade relationship between the Wolcott Foundation and GW.

The Wolcott Foundation’s investment in these students stems from its mission of using education as the driving force to create a “moral compass in government,” an ode to its Masonic origins. According to Michael Clark, chair of the Wolcott Foundation, GW is the ideal university that unites education and public service because of its location in the nation’s capital and its revered founder, George Washington, who was a Mason.

“I believe in GW, and I am thrilled that the positive impact we have on students now will last forever because of the tremendous work of GW,” said Clark. The Wolcott Foundation is a non-profit supported by High Twelve International, an organization of Master Masons dedicated to the welfare of humankind and civic affairs.

The fellowships provide critical support for students seeking to learn from GW’s internationally recognized faculty, participate in impactful research and service, and take advantage of the mentoring and career development opportunities that prepare them to serve the public interest and influence public policy, GW President Ellen M. Granberg noted.

“Students seeking public service careers have a passion for changing the world, and GW is one of the best institutions in the world when it comes to cultivating the next generation of leaders in this sector,” Granberg said. “We are immensely grateful for the Wolcott Foundation’s longstanding support of talented students and value their trust in our ability to continue their legacy.”

Donna Arbide, GW’s vice president for development and alumni relations, explained that alumni from this cohort have gone on to serve in important capacities in the federal government, international business and represent the U.S. in foreign relations, such as former American ambassador to Honduras, Charles Ford, M.A. ‘75.

“It’s impossible to understate the positive impact of the Wolcott Fellows on individuals, society and frankly, on our democracy,” Arbide said. “At GW, we change the world one life at a time, and the Wolcott Foundation has helped hundreds of students go on to make a real difference. It’s an amazing illustration of the power of philanthropy in action.”

President Granberg (c) with current Wolcott Foundation fellows and trustees of the Wolcott Foundation. (William Atkins/GW Today)

The Wolcott Foundation funds fellowships of up to $30,000 for graduate students in GW’s School of Business (GWSB), the Elliott School of International Affairs (ESIA) or the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration (TSPPPA). Award criteria are outstanding academic, civic and social credentials and a commitment to civic service.

“Thanks to my Wolcott Fellowship, I achieved my aspirations to devote my life as a public servant and a catalyst for international goodwill,” said G. Lincoln McCurdy, M.A.‘75, who has received multiple international awards for his work in building U.S.-Turkey commercial relations and people-to-people diplomacy. “The Wolcott Foundation not only provided me with the financial means to study at GW, but members of the foundation took an interest in the fellows and provided a supportive social network.”

During their degree programs, Wolcott Fellows benefit from strong mentoring and networking opportunities provided by the foundation. After graduation, the foundation’s robust support of its award recipients helps Wolcott Fellows build community and achieve their career aspirations.

“Getting to know the other Wolcott Fellows and Wolcott alumni network—including leaders in government and those dedicated to public service—was a springboard for my own career,” said David Okun, M.A. ‘16, a State Department country officer working to deter and resolve international child abductions.

Former fellow Alivia P. Roberts, M.P.A. ‘20, believes the foundation’s holistic approach to the student experience transforms the pathway for public servants to succeed.

“The Wolcott Foundation should be proud of their work as it changes the trajectory of public servants,” said Roberts, director of federal government affairs at the Motion Picture Association. “Being a Wolcott Fellow gave me an advantage when entering the workforce and in my life. I am so grateful for the foundation’s commitment in helping students like me become better versions of themselves, build relationships with like-minded scholars, and serve their communities.”

Interested students can find more information, including the fellowship application, online. The deadline for applications is Jan. 15, 2024.

To open doors of opportunity for talented graduate students in business, international affairs and the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration committed to careers in public service, please consider a contribution to the Wolcott Foundation Fellowship Fund.

January 4, 2024January 4, 2024

In Memoriam: Susan K. Sell, Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs

Susan K. Sell, Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs

Emeriti passed away on December 24, 2023. Susan was a faculty member in the political science department from 1991 to 2016. She served as Director of the Institute for Global and International Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs from 2007-2012. Upon retiring from the department as an emerita professor, she took a position at the Australian National University.

During her time at GW, Susan was a vital figure in the department and the Elliott School. She was passionate about her research in international relations, which was innovative and influential, bolstering GW’s reputation in this field. She was also a devoted mentor to students and scholars. Her wit, which could be razor-sharp, was buffered by her deep humanity and care for others.

Mike Brown, Dean of the Elliott School during part of Susan’s tenure, offered these reflections.

“Susan stood out as a great scholar, teacher, and institution-builder. At the Elliott School, she served for many years as Director of the Institute for Global and International Studies (IGIS), organizing programs and events that brought people together from across campus and around the world. Bringing people together was one of Susan’s hallmarks. She also taught the school’s core course for undergraduates, Introduction to International Affairs, for many years, launching 500 students per year into their academic and professional careers. Helping people was another of Susan’s hallmarks. Above all, Susan was a great colleague and a great person. Susan was exceptionally generous, supportive, cheerful, and kind in every interaction I had with her — How often does one get to say that? — and I’m sure that was the case with all of the countless people she touched in her life.

The Elliott School community sends its condolences to Susan’s family. She was a vibrant member of the faculty and will be missed by all who knew her.

December 6, 2023December 6, 2023

Athens Roundtable on AI and Rule of Law Spotlights Ethical, Legislative Issues

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hi.) discussed the importance of proactive legislation around AI. (William Atkins/GW Today)

Marking a year since the introduction of ChatGPT, the two-day summit featured five members of Congress and dozens of leaders in research, industry, policy and law.

Authored by: Ruth Steinhardt | Read the original GW Today article.

On Nov. 30, 2022, OpenAI introduced its game-changing large language model ChatGPT to the public. A year later, global leaders in research, industry, thought and policy including multiple members of Congress convened at the George Washington University for the fifth edition of the Athens Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence and the Rule of Law, a summit on ethical AI development and governance.

Co-founded and sponsored by the nonprofit The Future Society,this year’s edition of the roundtable featured more than a dozen co-sponsors, including GW’S Institute for International Science and Technology Policy; NIST-NSF Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law & Society; the Embassy of Greece in Washington, D.C.; OECD; World Bank; Center for AI and Digital Policy; UNESCO; Homo Digitalis; IEEE; Paul, Weiss LLP; Arnold & Porter; and the Patrick J .Mcgovern Foundation. The event is an opportunity to share knowledge across disciplines and, through that dialogue, develop future-proof policies with real-world impact in a rapidly evolving field.

That mission aligns precisely with GW’s strengths and its institutional tradition of evidence-based policy impact, President Ellen M. Granberg said in introductory remarks Thursday at the Jack Morton Auditorium.

“We’re not an institution that is content with just publishing scholarship and hoping someone else will decide what to do with it,” Granberg said. “What makes GW unique is the way in which we extend our scholarship to direct applications across education, policy, patient care and other areas. The university’s location in the nation’s capital, combined with its diverse and highly talented faculty, can connect science, technology and innovation with law, policy and ethics like very few other institutions can across the globe. Together our students and faculty are working to find real solutions to some of society’s most pressing challenges.”

Featured speakers at the two-day event included U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hi.) and U.S. Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) and Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.); representatives from the governments of Tanzania, the Czech Republic and others and from intergovernmental organizations including the European Union and the United Nations; industry leaders from Google and elsewhere; and researchers and academics from across the United States and the world.

U.S. lawmakers stressed the importance of bipartisan cooperation to create meaningful federal regulations for AI development and deployment, enabling innovation but preventing AI’s potentially catastrophic societal outcomes. That means such regulation needs to be nimble rather than purely reactive. Some areas of concern are already identifiable—data security, fraudulent AI-generated data, the electoral impact of “deepfakes”—while others will arise as these technologies develop.

“What we need are some basic, common sense, future-proof principles that set clear rules of the road to help developers and companies innovate responsibly while also protecting consumers from potential harms,” said Schatz, who has introduced legislation to label AI-generated content and to empower a federal commission to develop a regulatory structure for AI, much as the Communications Act did for radio and television in the 1930s and the Communications Decency Act did for the internet in the 1990s.

Klobuchar said the issue is of bipartisan concern, particularly when it comes to misinformation and fraud. She has partnered across the aisle with Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo) to ban the use of AI to generate deceptive content influencing federal elections.

“Leaders from both sides of the aisle agree: We can’t sit on the sidelines while AI continues to advance,” Klobuchar said. “I really believe this is our moment to ensure that future generations around the world can take advantage of the benefits of AI without sacrificing their personal security or endangering our democracy.”

Legislative approaches to AI should also be based on a thorough understanding of the regulatory failures in the 2010s that led to a few monolithic corporations’ domination of the current social media landscape, the lawmakers said.

“Congress had a choice: Should we protect consumer privacy? Should we stop companies from amassing power?” Blumenthal said. “We all know how that story ended. Congress failed. It failed to act and now gigantic monopolies have disproportionate and info-rich power over huge segments of our economy and our law.”

GW has established itself as a leader in the AI space, particularly on questions of policy and ethical governance. The university co-leads the NIST-NSF $20 million Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law & Society (TRAiLS), which works to develop new AI technologies that mitigate risk and promote trust by empowering and educating the public.

GW faculty experts, including TRAiLS principal investigators Susan Ariel Aaronson and David Broniatowski and Institute for Data, Democracy and Policy Director Rebekah Tromble, participated in panels and conversations throughout the summit, as did Elliott School of International Affairs Dean Alyssa Ayres. Vice Provost for Research Pamela M. Norris delivered welcoming remarks on the second day of the event.

“We all understand that AI systems have great potential to increase productivity and to spur innovation. AI will touch every aspect of our lives,” Norris said. “But in our haste to realize these gains, conversations like this are critical to consider the questions of governance and the guardrails that may be necessary. We owe this to the next generation. GW is not only convening these conversations but shaping them.”

December 6, 2023December 6, 2023

Elliott Faculty and Students Attend 28th Annual Climate Change Conference

Light green (left) and dark green (right) hand holding a globe. The water on the globe is light green and the continents are dark green.

Robert Orttung, research professor of international affairs and the director of research at Sustainability GW was there as some of the world’s biggest oil companies announced an unexpected pledge over the weekend that they would slash methane emissions from their wells and drilling by more than 80 percent by 2030 in an effort to curb methane gas emissions. The announcement came during the UN’s annual climate conference, COP28, happening in Dubai.

Orttung leads two National Science Foundation grants focused on promoting urban sustainability in the Arctic and is the editor of the forthcoming publication, Sustaining Russia’s Arctic Cities.

Orttung is attending COP28 this week as part of a GW delegation along with GW students, where they will present their research findings around climate change.

Orttung says there’s great opportunity to work with oil and gas companies in finding productive ways to combat the climate crisis.

“Obviously, it’s a little ironic to have a climate change conference in a Petro state, which depends heavily on selling oil and gas, but that might be the actual solution is trying to find a way to work with these companies that make their money now from selling fossil fuels. They might be the main people blocking progress, but it might also be a useful way to think about how they can use the enormous leverage and resources that they have, incredible financial gain from fossil fuels, and put that into renewable energy. That’s something we’re seeing in the Middle East starting to happen.

One strategy could be to constantly attack [these companies]. The other strategy would be to figure out ways to work together, and I’m hoping we can do something like that.”

WATCH: Hear more from Prof. Orttung about GW’s role at COP28 and the key themes he’ll be paying attention to at this year’s UN climate conference in this video here.

October 31, 2023October 31, 2023

Connecting cultures: A workshop on building cultural diplomacy programs

By Yvonne Oh and Alexis Posel

IPDGC kicked off its workshop on cultural diplomacy programming “Connecting Cultures: Cultural Diplomacy and Engagement Workshop”, collaborating with the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design. The workshop was conceived with the two-pronged purpose of broadening awareness about cultural diplomacy, and encouraging GW students to consider how their fields of study can be part of U.S. global engagement.

Highly experienced trainers with nonprofit, American Voices, John Ferguson and Amr Selim – both acclaimed musicians – will be conducting this free, hybrid workshop. American Voices is the implementing partner for the U.S. Department of State’s American Music Abroad Program and the Arts Envoy Program.

On Friday, September 29, the in-person session was held at a beautiful at the Flagg Building, home to the Corcoran School (originally the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1869). John and Amr led discussions with GW student participants about navigating foreign environments, the importance of sustainable programming, and exploring different avenues for funding.

In different sessions of the workshop, participants met with cultural specialists who Zoomed in to share their expertise in cultural programming – dancers, singers, filmmakers, and other creative talents from all over the globe. They also met with former U.S. diplomats who encouraged their efforts as part of U.S. engagement and shared tips on funding and building networks.

At the end of the workshop. participants will present their proposals for a cultural program using the ideas and guidance from the sessions.

Dean Alyssa Ayres, dean of the Elliott School, dropped in for a quick visit and expressed her enthusiasm for the workshop; sharing how cultural diplomacy programs dovetail well with international development work.

The Walter Roberts Endowment has provided support to the “Connecting Cultures: Cultural Diplomacy and Engagement Workshop”.

###

For more about cultural programming and American Voices, listen to John Ferguson on Public Diplomacy Examined (PDx). IPDGC summer intern Adeniyi Funsho interviewed John in 2021 – PDX podcast: Connecting Cultures through Performance

June 20, 2023June 21, 2023

Elliott Undergraduate Research Fellow Presents at Arctic Science Summit

Anissa Ozbek, a third-year student in the Elliott School of International Affairs and an undergraduate research fellow, traveled to Vienna, Austria, this February with the GW delegation to the 2023 Arctic Science Summit Week. There, joined by Professor Marya Rozanova-Smith she presented findings from the COVID-GEA Project, which seeks to understand the gendered impacts of COVID-19 in the Arctic.

“I have been a research assistant on the project since 2022, so I was very excited to share the COVID-GEA Project’s preliminary results alongside our Principal Investigator, Dr. Rozanova-Smith at the Arctic Science Summit Week(ASSW) before world-class scholars in the field of Arctic studies,” said Ozbek.

Ozbek’s topic, “Gender Equality for Sustainable Arctic Communities Amid and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic,” focused specifically on the case of Alaska, examining initiatives passed in Fairbanks, Anchorage, Nome, and Juneau, as well as by the Alaska state legislature.

At the conference week, Ozbek assisted Dr. Rozanova-Smith in presenting the COVID-GEA project’s audio-visual exhibit, titled “Arctic Women’s Voices:Standing Strong in the Face of COVID-19,” which gives Arctic women a platform to discuss how the pandemic affected them.

Conference attendees at the ASSW heard from experts across the natural and social sciences on a range of topics, from the effects of light pollution on Arctic ecosystems to Indigenous stewardship practices.

As Ozbek considers a career in research, attending the ASSW provided her with the invaluable opportunity to learn about key aspects of scholarship, including presentation skills and collaboration, firsthand.

April 5, 2023June 21, 2023

Elliott School Receives Endowment to Enhance African Studies

The Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University received an endowment gift from The Bridges Institute to support a new lecture series, as well as periodic meetings of Bridges’ Africa Policy Group.

The gift will support the newly named Bridges Institute Vivian Lowery Derryck Africa Lecture Series, an annual lecture series on U.S.-Africa engagement featuring a keynote address by a senior African leader.

The gift will also support the Elliott School’s convening of the Africa Policy Group (APG), a diverse group of influential voices from civil society, academia, and the U.S.-Africa policy community. The Bridges Institute’s Africa Policy Group meetings become part of the GW Elliott School’s Institute for African Studies portfolio of activities supported by the endowment.

The Africa Policy Group (APG), formed in 2011, is a non-partisan coalition of 30 senior Africa experts that shapes a more robust U.S. Africa policy by deepening knowledge and discussing new findings about Africa among group members, and then sharing informed APG perspectives with Members of Congress, senior Administration officials, and the private sector, as well as African colleagues.

“We are so grateful for this endowment, which will allow us to showcase Africa’s growing strategic importance to the United States and the global community and support a robust dialogue among civil society leaders, academics, and policymakers from both the U.S. and Africa on how best to advance our partnerships and common interests,” said Jennifer Cooke, director of the GW Institute for African Studies, headquartered at the Elliott School of International Affairs.

The donation was spearheaded by Vivian Lowery Derryck, founder and president emerita of The Bridges Institute, and an incoming member of the Elliott School Board of Advisors.

“It is my hope that this gift will provide inspiration for future generations of students, faculty, and policymakers focused on forging strong connections with African nations and working to strengthen African democracies,” Derryck said. “I am thrilled to partner with GW’s Elliott School to continue the important work of The Bridges Institute and delighted to join the school’s leadership board.”