Abraham Verghese Reads from New Novel, “Cutting for Stone”

On Tuesday the World Affairs Council and Young Professionals International Forum were joined by physician and award-winning author Abraham Verghese for the fourth installment of the International Forum’s Voices of the World Author Series. The author of the recently published novel Cutting for Stone, Verghese discussed how his childhood in Ethiopia [...]

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Rethinking US Foreign Policy

President Obama’s speech in Cairo today clearly outlines a shift in US foreign policy toward the Middle East – a shift about which many are hopeful, and others wary.  Last week, Stephen Stedman, Senior Fellow of the Center for International Security & Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University, joined us to discuss the opportunity that President [...]

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Jane Wales on Dead Aid in Stanford Social Innovation Review

The summer 2009 edition of the Stanford Social Innovation Review is up now online. This season’s publication includes a review by Jane Wales, our CEO & President, of the much publicized book by Dambisa Moyo, Dead Aid: Why Aid is not Working and How there is a Better Way for Africa. Read an excerpt from [...]

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International Womens Colloquium in Liberia

This weekend, in honor of International Women’s Day, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia hosted the International Colloquium for Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security in Monrovia.  The Colloquium, conceptualized in 2006 during Sirleaf’s inauguration (as the first female president in Africa), brought together more than 400 international participants and 400 Liberian national [...]

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International Criminal Court issues warrant for President Bashir

After seven months of deliberation, the ICC announced this morning that it has released an arrest warrant for President Bashir of Sudan.  A NY Times article today writes of the celebrations of Sudanese around the world at this news, but also of the fear held by many in the international community that this will only [...]

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Will the ICC indict Sudan’s President?

The world is holding its breath in anticipation of tomorrow’s announcement by the ICC – will the Court uphold Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s request to indict Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur?
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has an op-ed in today’s NY Times calling on [...]

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Uncertain Steps: Power-sharing deal signed today in Zimbabwe

Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe’s opposition party MDC, announced today that he will join President Mugabe in a power-sharing deal drafted in September. This comes after months of deadlock, and while there is much celebration, many are worried that the deal was signed too hastily without sufficient certainty in its terms. An AllAfrica article [...]

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Voices from Liberia

A beautiful recording of a Liberian a cappella group singing a song about the struggles of conflict, and its resolution. The song is called “Kuro” (The Devil is a Liar).  The group sings to raise the profile of the West African Children Support Network.

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Dr. Mukwege named “African of the Year”

Today the BBC news site highlighted the work of Dr. Denis Mukwege for his devotion to improving the situation of women in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.  He was named “African of the Year” today by a Nigerian newspaper, and awarded $20,000 which he will use to fund a center to help rape victims rejoin [...]

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Deadlock in Zimbabwe

Celia Dugger of the NY Times filed a story just moments ago reporting that one of Mugabe’s inner circle, Air Marshall Shiri, was shot in the hand on Saturday night during a night-time ambush.  Mugabe is calling it a failed assassination attempt, while the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) believes it is the result [...]

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Pam Omidyar: from Slavery to Surfing

The Chronicle of Philanthropy published a nice profile of Pam Omidyar yesterday. Pam, co-founder of the Omidyar Network, created Humanity United in 2005 as a foundation to end slavery and mass atrocities, based just down the road in Redwood City. Noticing the disconnect between activists, policy experts, and scholars on these issues, Pam chose to [...]

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Unrest in Zimbabwe: is the Tide Turning?

All health, sanitation and water supply services have collapsed in Zimbabwe. A nationwide cholera epidemic is spreading, almost half of the population is in need of food aid, water is in short supply, and the government remains deadlocked over a power sharing agreement. This morning, about 40 soldiers began looting shops in downtown Harare [...]

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