Recent Events
"Escaping Plato's Cave" book discussion with Mort Rosenblum
On October 18th, journalist Mort Rosenblum spoke at the Mortara Center about his new book, Escaping Plato's Cave: How America's Blindness to the Rest of the World Is Threatening Our Future. The book contends that credible news sources are more vital to American security than armed forces and as crucial to democracy as fair elections. However, Rosenblum argues, they are being brought up, dumbed down, and stripped of the ability to adequately cover news outside of America's borders. In his address to students and faculty, he spoke briefly about his own experiences in journalism, but focused primarily on the importance of journalism in accurately covering the combination of threats from global warming, the AIDS epidemic, the Iraq war, and other problems. Ultimately, he worried for the future of newspapers, and hoped that they would be replaced by something which Americans can trust.
"The Long March" Film and Slideshow presentation by Diane Zhang
On October 2nd, Dr. Diane Zhang, General Secretary at the Institute of Human Ecology in Beijing, Director of Poverty Lift Program in Rou'ergai County, Sichuan and a Visiting Mortara Associate, presented her National Geographic film, "The Long March". The film traces the massive military undertaking by the Red Armies of the Communist Party of China who in 1934 escaped through some of the most difficult terrain of western China by marching several thousand miles to the west then to the north. Only one-tenth of the force that left Jiangxi survived, including Zhang's own father, who later became the Minister of Defense in China. She spoke about her preparations for the film, including reading much of her father's correspondence during the Long March. She also spoke about her travels through the area and how they related to her students of ecology and ethnography.
The Threat of Terrorism and the Peace Process in Sri Lanka -discussion by Dr. Palitha Kohona
On October 2nd, Dr. Kohona spoke about the challenges to peace in Sri Lanka. Kohona is the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka and had served as Secretary-General of the Secretariat for Coordinating th Peace Process. His extensive involvement in peace negotiations as a Sri Lankan governmental delegate and as Chief of the U.N. Treaty Section in New York made him uniquely prepared to discuss the conflict. Kohona disputed the popular media characterization of the conflict, arguing that the conflict involved far more than ethnic rivalry or national self-determination. He expressed frustration with the peace process, telling Georgetown students that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had made ceasefires impossible by using the opportunity to rearm their forces and eliminate moderate Tamil leaders. Nevertheless, he carefully hoped that government security forces would be able to enforce peace in the region and allow for future democracy and political freedom.
Paul Collier talks about his new book The Bottom Billion
On September 26, Paul Collier, Professor of Economics at Oxford University, gave a lecture about his most recent book The Bottom Billion. Collier argued that the primary problem facing developing countries is not merely poverty reduction, but the economic disparity between the "bottom billion" and the rest of the world. He traced the disparity to four "traps", including corruption and inefficient governance, cycles of conflict, lack of natural resources, or, conversely, rich natural resources that encourage governmental corruption. Collier proposed that trade policy, legal reforms, and military solutions be added to the current foreign aid regime in order to close the gap. Collier's work is highly relevant to the recent Initiative on International Development program, which is sponsored by the Mortara Center. His lecture was followed by book signing.
"Can We Make Poverty History? The Role of Philanthropy"
On September 10, the Mortara Center co-hosted a lecture by Adele Simmons, President of Global Philanthropy Partnership.
Dr. Simmons talked about the importance of civil society and social entrepreneurs who are best suited to make a difference in this issue. "There is a need for innovative thinking and quick action."-said Dr. Simmons. As an example she mentioned the microfinance project that Muhammad Yunnus introduced with his Grameen Foundation, the community foundations in Mexico and the Gates Foundation, among many others. Dr. Simmons concluded that philanthropy can only help but it cannot get rid of poverty.
"Global Business, Ethics and Partnerships: Defining a New Bottom Line" Discussion with Rajan Kamalanathan, Vice President for Ethical Standards at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
On September 5, the Mortara Center co-sponsored a lecture by several Wal-Mart representatives, including Rajan Kamalanathan, the Vice President for Ethical Standards at Wal-Mart's Global Procurement Division.
Kamalanathan spoke about quality assurance, product development, and social compliance, and addressed Wal-Mart's challenges in sourcing goods from factories abroad that conform to its standards of social responsibility. Representatives from the Global Development Alliance, a part of USAID, from the Society for International Development and from Development Alternatives, Inc. emphasized the importance of working with Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, in any efforts to make economic development more just. The lecture prompted a number of interesting questions for all of the speakers. Students and faculty questioned Wal-Mart's successes in altering actual factory practices. Many also challenged Wal-Mart's labor practices in the United States, particularly the policy of disallowing unions.