Worldview Institute | Spring 2019
The Worldview Institute | Spring 2019 Semester
SEMINAR 1 : February 13, 2019
The UN in the 21st Century
This seminar will examine the UN system, its structure, operation and history. It explains the historical roots of the UN system, its legal and organizational structures. Attention will be given to peace and security, human rights and economic and social development. Recommended reading: Linda Fasulo's The Insider’s Guide to the UN, and Brian Urquhart’s autobiography, A Life in Peace and War.
Guest lecturer: Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson, United Nations
SEMINAR 2 : February 20, 2019
Documenting War and Conflict in a Human Rights Lens: from Bosnia to Syria
A war reporter shares nearly three decades experience in the field, looking at conflicts from Bosnia to Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria through a human rights lens. Her most recent book, The Morning They Came For Us: Dispatches from Syria has been translated into 26 languages and called "searing and necessary" by the New York Times. Her recent article in Harpers magazine, The Vanishing, looks at the plight of Christians in an age of intolerance.
Guest lecturer: Janine di Giovanni, Senior Fellow, Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, Yale University
SEMINAR 3 : February 27, 2019
Climate Now: The Strategic Direction
UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently announced the appointment of Luis Alfonso de Alba of Mexico as his Special Envoy for the 2019 Climate Summit, to provide leadership, guidance and strategic direction. The Summit will be held with the objective of building momentum, and enhancing national ambition, as set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. In advance of the Summit, Mr. de Alba will engage key strategic climate change leaders, including governments, and coalitions, to galvanize climate action.
Guest lecturer: H.E. Luis Alfonso de Alba, UN Special Envoy, 2019 Climate Summit
SEMINAR 4 : March 6, 2019
The Future of Multilateralism: A British Perspective
What will the UK’s global role be after Brexit? How will the UK’s relationship with other countries and multilateral institutions change? Ambassador Karen Pierce, the UK’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, will discuss the answers to these questions with a particular focus on the UK’s role at the United Nations and the continued commitment to the rules based international system.
Guest lecturer: Ambassador Karen Pierce, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations
SEMINAR 5 : March 13, 2019
A Private Tour of the United Nations
A private tour of the United Nations with fellow Worldview participants, with the opportunity to discuss your impressions at dinner following the tour.
SEMINAR 6 : March 20, 2019
Perspectives on Immigration: Distinguishing Myth from Reality
Guest lecturer: Fay Parris, international law consultant and immigration law practitioner
SEMINAR 7 : March 27, 2019
The African Example of Peace Partnership in a Globalized World
Africa is on the move and on the rise. While parts of Africa offer examples for peacemaking prospects and economic prosperity, other areas of the continent face instability and violent conflict. In this increasingly interconnected and interdependent world, Africa’s opportunities and challenges go beyond national borders and regional boundaries. Partnerships are therefore essential for building bridges towards prevention and resolution of conflicts, and a sustainable peace. The UN plays a dual role in this regard — as a partner responding politically and operationally alongside others, as well as facilitating others to play their role. But it also demands participation from other sectors: international and regional organizations, private sector, civil society and academia.
Guest lecturer: Bintou Keita, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN
SEMINAR 8 : April 3, 2019
The EU's Populist Revolution
Guest lecturer: Jan-Werner Müller, Professor of Politics, Princeton University
SEMINAR 9 : April 10, 2019
Operation InfeKtion: Russian Disinformation from Cold War to Kanye
Russia’s meddling in the United States’ elections is not a hoax. It’s the culmination of Moscow’s decades-long campaign to tear the West apart. “Operation InfeKtion” reveals the ways in which one of the Soviets’ central tactics — the promulgation of lies about America — continues today, from Pizzagate to George Soros conspiracies. Meet the KGB spies who conceived this virus and the American truth squads who tried — and are still trying — to fight it. Countries from Pakistan to Brazil are now debating reality, and in Vladimir Putin’s greatest triumph, Americans are using Russia’s playbook against one another without the faintest clue. Operation InfeKtion is a NY Times Opinion film that blends animation, original reporting and interviews to tell a story that will make you a laugh, and leave you a bit terrified, too.
Guest lecturer: Adam B. Ellick, Director and Executive Producer, Opinion Video, The New York Times
SEMINAR 10 : April 17, 2019
A Comprehensive Solution for Migrants and Refugees
Last July, after more than a year of discussions, UN Member States have agreed, for the first time, on an all-encompassing Global Compact to better manage international migration, address its challenges, strengthen migrant rights and contribute to sustainable development.
Secretary-General Guterres called it a "significant achievement” and that it reflected a shared understanding by governments that cross-border migration, as an international phenomenon, requires effective management at a global level with full international cooperation to enhance its positive impact for all. The comprehensive framework comprises a range of objectives, actions and avenues for implementation, follow-up and review, all aimed at facilitating safe, orderly and regular migration, while reducing the incidence and impact of irregular migration. It fully respects the sovereignty of states.
Guest lecturer: Ambassador Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations
April 18, 2019
Worldview Spring 2019 Graduation Dinner
Keynote Speaker: Josiane Ambiehl, Chief, Decolonization Unit, Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, United Nations
Location: The National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, New York
