Events at USIP U.S. Institute of Peace

On June 25, USIP held a conversation that explored alternative pathways for facilitating reconciliation between Washington and Pyongyang at a time of deadlocked U.S.-North Korea relations. This event highlighted current initiatives that aim to support Korean American divided families, including the proposed Divided Families National Registry Act, which would establish a U.S. government registry for divided families, and Letters to My Hometown, a storytelling project to archive video messages from elderly Korean Americans to their relatives in North Korea. 


Speakers
Frank Aum, welcoming remarksSenior Expert, Northeast Asia, U.S. Institute of Peace
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), introductory remarksU.S. Representative from California 
Former Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL), recorded video message Former U.S. Senator 
Ambassador Julie TurnerU.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, Department of State
Paul Kyumin LeePresident, Divided Families USAHJ LeeCo-Founder and Executive Director, KoreanAmericanStory.org
Chahee Lee StanfieldKorean-American Divided Family Member; Executive Director, National Coalition for the Divided Families
 
For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/korean-war-legacies-healing-trauma-korean-american-family-separation
 

The John Lewis Peace Fellowship, named in honor of the late congressman from Georgia, is a two-month residential fellowship at USIP for active peacebuilders in conflict zones across the globe. Recently, the inaugural class of fellows went on a week-long trip to Alabama and Georgia to learn about Congressman Lewis’s roots as a peacebuilder and how his experience is relevant to today’s violent conflicts overseas. On June 24, USIP and the John and Lilian Miles Lewis Foundation hosted a “Good Trouble” talk with USIP’s fellows.
Speakers
Ambassador George Moose, welcoming remarksActing President and CEO, U.S. Institute of Peace 
Michael Collins, opening remarksBoard Chair, John and Lillian Miles Lewis FoundationDetria Austin Everson, opening remarksChief Executive Officer, John and Lillian Miles Lewis FoundationAliah AdamFounder, Singanen o Mindanao and the Bangsamoro Women's Peacebuilders Network, PhilippinesMadeleine Maceno AvignonCountry Director, Communities Organizing for Haitian Engagement and Development, (COFED), Haiti
Farah BdourCountry Director, Seeds of Peace, Jordan
James Kinu KomengiIndependent Consultant, Tari, Papua New Guinea
Aloys MahwaCountry Director, Living Peace Institute, Democratic Republic of Congo
Alba PurroyDirector, Redialogo, Venezuela
Dr. Imani Cheers, moderatorThe George Washington University
 
To learn more about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/good-trouble-conversation-usips-inaugural-john-lewis-peace-fellows
 

On June 18, USIP hosted a conversation with John Lewis Peace Fellow James Komengi from Papua New Guinea on grassroots peacebuilding in his home province of Hela and its lessons for U.S. engagement with Papua New Guinea under the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability. The event also featured a screening of a short USIP-commissioned documentary on the topic. 


Speakers 
Gordon Peake, moderatorSenior Advisor, Pacific Islands, U.S. Institute of Peace
James KomengiJohn Lewis Peace Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace
 
For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/grassroots-movement-peace-papua-new-guinea
 

On June 14, USIP marked the publication of "Diplomatic Tradecraft," the first practical diplomacy textbook, by Nicholas Kralev and colleagues at the Washington International Diplomatic Academy, and hosted a conversation on the current state of U.S. and global diplomacy, its impact on real people's lives, and the urgent need for governments to rethink their approaches to recruiting and training diplomats.


Speakers
Ambassador William Taylor, opening remarksVice President, Russia and Europe Center, U.S. Institute of Peace
Nicholas KralevExecutive Director, Washington International Diplomatic Academy; Editor and Co-author of "Diplomatic Tradecraft"
Ambassador Thomas PickeringFormer Under Secretary for Political Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Contributor of “Diplomatic Tradecraft”
Indira Lakshmanan, moderatorIdeas and Opinions Editor, U.S. News & World Report
 
For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/preparing-next-generation-diplomats
 

Since Russia’s large-scale invasion in 2022, Ukrainian women have worked relentlessly to build on their already considerable contributions to civil society. On June 6, USIP hosted a discussion with various experts on the role of women’s civil society organizations and how women can meaningfully participate in planning for sustainable peace and furthering the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
Speakers
Ambassador William B. Taylor, welcoming remarks Vice President, Russia and Europe Center, U.S. Institute of Peace
Oleksandra Matviichuk, pre-recorded remarks2022 Nobel Peace Prize Winner; President, Center for Civil Liberties 
Fionnuala Ni Aolain Professor and Robina Chair in Law, Public Policy and Society; Faculty Director, Human Rights Center, University of Minnesota Law School Anzhelika BielovaPresident of Association of Roma Women, Voice of RomniIryna Drobovych Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow, University of Minnesota; Visiting Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace
Anna NikolaenkoAdvisor, Women’s Political Participation and Advocacy, Ukrainian Women’s Congress
Mary GlantzActing Director, Russia and Europe Center, U.S. Institute of Peace
Kathleen Kuehnast, moderatorDirector, Women, Peace and Security, U.S. Institute of Peace
 
For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/day-after-conflict-womens-meaningful-participation-post-war-ukraine
 

USIP’s new report “Huawei’s Expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean: Views from the Region” explores some of the key reasons behind Huawei’s success in Latin America using original interviews with Huawei staff and industry specialists in the region. On May 31, USIP held a discussion with the report’s author and other experts that looked at the report’s findings and examined the stark contrast between Huawei’s standing in the United States and its neighbors to the south.


Speakers
Lyndi Tsering, introductionProgram Specialist, U.S. Institute of Peace
Parsifal D’Sola Alvarado, presenterFounder and Executive Director, Fundación Andrés Bello
Shazeda AhmedPostdoctoral Researcher, UCLA
Margaret MyersSenior Advisor, Latin America, U.S. Institute of Peace
Henry Tugendhat, moderatorEconomist, China, U.S. Institute of Peace
 
For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/huaweis-expansion-latin-america-and-caribbean