Here’s a brief rundown of interesting policy events coming up this week (November 7 -November 11):
Approaching Regional Security in the Asia Pacific: Policies and Perspectives
Monday, November 7th
12-1:30pm, Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, 3rd Floor
In September 2011, the U.S. bilateral alliance system in the Asia-Pacific—the “San Francisco System” (SFS)—turned 60 years old. Although the identity and functions of the SFS have evolved, John Ravenhill (Professor of International Relations, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University), William T. Tow (Professor of International Relations, School of International, Political, and Strategic Studies, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific (ANU-CAP), Canberra), Brendan Taylor (Senior Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific (ANU-CAP), Canberra), and David Envall (Postdoctoral Fellow, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific (ANU-CAP), Canberra) will argue that it remains—and will remain—a critical security mechanism in the likely absence of a comprehensive and consensual regional security arrangement that could supersede it.
Nuclear Power Plant Exporters’ Principles of Conduct: Evolution, Status, and Prospects.****
Monday, November 7th****
12-1:30pm, Reuben W. Hills Conference Room, Encina Hall (2nd Floor)
Nuclear Power Plant Exporters’ Principles of Conduct are an industry code of conduct resulting from a three-year initiative to develop norms of corporate self-management in the exportation of nuclear power plants. In developing and adopting the Principles of Conduct, the world’s leading nuclear power plant vendors have articulated and consolidated a set of principles that reaffirm and enhance national and international governance and oversight, and incorporate recommended best practices in the areas of safety, security, environmental protection and spent fuel management, nonproliferation, business ethics and internationally recognized systems for compensation in the unlikely event of nuclear related damage. An event with Ariel Levite, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former CIASC Visiting Fellow.
Rediscovering the Power of Education and Collaboration: Brazil and the United States in an Era of Food and Energy Insecurity and the Imperative of Sustainability
Tuesday, November 8th
12:15-1:05pm, Bolivar House, 582 Alvarado Row
There is renewed interest in the United States (U.S.) and Brazil in forging research and policy partnerships in matters of food production, trade, bioenergy and education, which Adriela Fernandez, the Assistant Director at the International Programs in Agriculture at Purdue University, will discuss at this event. These two large, multiethnic democracies have a shared history, one that took its best form in the area of higher education, and it is this area in which the brightest hope for the new collaboration can be found.
A Jasmine Spring in Beijing? The Middle East and China
Tuesday, November 8th
4:15-5:30pm, Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, 3rd Floor
This talk examines the role of the internet in shaping and expanding the recent events in the Middle East and their relevance for China. Some have suggested that China has already experienced a “twitter revolution” in Xinjiang as early as 2009. The July 5, 2009 riots in Urumqi were attributed by the Chinese state to “outside forces,” yet very few of the issues raised by the protestors invoked demands extending beyond China’s borders.
RSVP to: hlee17@stanford.edu
Grazing in the Grass: Creating a Sustainable Food System****
Tuesday, November 8th
6-7:30pm, SLAC Cafeteria, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
An eaters’ event celebrating a better way: pastured livestock and poultry. Learn some simple actions you can take to create a healthy and sustainable food system. Guest speakers and host, Epicurean Group, a Bay Area sustainable food service company, will make the case for taste. You will enjoy tasty appetizers including: Braised Beef Tagine from Niman Ranch, Traditional Mexican Empanaditas Mole from Mary’s Free Range Chicken, Fall Celebration Organiz Vegetable Tartlettes from Happy Boy Farms,* *and Risotto Potato Leak Arancini with local Mozzarella Fresca from Paradise Valley Farms.
From Conditionality to Civil Protest: The Changing Political Dynamics in Africa**
**Wednesday, November 9th
12-1:30 pm, Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall
A talk with Andrew M. Mwenda, the founder and Strategy and Editorial Director (SED) of The Independent Publications Limited, publishers of The Independent, East Africa’s leading current affairs newsmagazine. An admirer of Socrates and Frederick Von Hayek, he is an activist, a journalist, a columnist, a presenter of a prime time daily radio talk-show, and a businessman.
More information
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Round Table on the Tunisian Elections**
****Wednesday, November 9th **
5-6:00pm
CISAC Conference Room, Encina Hall Central, 2nd floor
The Arab Studies Table at Stanford and ARD invite all Stanford scholars to a round table on the Tunisian elections with Katie Zoglin, lawyer and elections monitor with the Carter Center, who will be giving a first-hand account of the October 2011 elections in Tunisia.
More information****
Food Security: The Global Challenge, Featuring Kofi Annan
Thursday, November 10th
12-1:30pm, Memorial Auditorium
Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient, will be speaking to the Stanford community on the pressing issue of global food security. This Frank E. and Arthur W. Payne Distinguished Lecture is sponsored by Stanford in Government, the Freeman Spogli Institute, and the Stanford University Speakers Bureau.
More information** **
“To Catch A Dollar” – Documentary Screening**
**Thursday, November 10th
7:00pm, Venue TBD
SEAM presents “To Catch a Dollar,” an inspiring documentary by Gayle Ferraro. The film follows Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Yunus as he brings his unique and revolutionary microfinance program to the US, defying current banking policies and challenging existing ideas surrounding poverty.
More information
Policy Lunch with Matthew Platkin****
Friday,** November 11th**
12-1:00pm
Old Union Room 113
Matthew Platkin of Stanford Law School will be speaking on his civic engagement through serving as Campaign Manager for Ray Saldaña, a Stanford graduate who was elected to City Council in San Antonio, TX at the age of 24.
**RSVP at: **ashowen@stanford.edu
The American Role and Responsibility in East Asian Territorial Disputes
Friday, November 11th
12-1:15pm, Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, 3rd Floor
KSP’s 2011-2012 Koret Fellow, recently retired Korean senior career diplomat Ambassador Joon-woo Park, will discuss the U.S. role and responsibility in current territorial disputes in East Asia. Ambassador Park argues that the United States shares responsibility for the current situation. He will review the status of the major territorial disputes in East Asia and argue that the United States has a significant role to play in their peaceful resolution and in promoting cooperative and friendly relations among the countries of the region.