CGS-Minnesota events video Archive
Did you miss the latest event or wish you could see it again? We've got you covered!
Below are recordings from all our recent forums and other CGS-MN sponsored events. Additional Further Reading and Web-Based Resources on each Forum topic will also be added to this page.
To view past Third Thursday Forum topics (2000 - 2018), click HERE.
CGS-MN PRESENTS: HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM: INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT SECTOR
When: Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Time: 7 - 8 pm Central time (GMT -5)
Where: Zoom Webinar
Speaker: DUAA SHAALAN is a Fulbright Humphrey Fellow scholar at the University of Minnesota. Originally from Jordan, Ms. Shaalan has a Bachelor degree in Computer engineering, a Masters degree in Enterprise System Engineering. She is experienced in international developmental and humanitarian organizations, adept at deciphering user behavior and optimizing digital platforms for user engagement.
Description: Join us at our upcoming event dedicated to exploring the intersection of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) in the humanitarian and development sector. Ms. Duaa Shalan delves into the transformative role ICT plays in implementing diverse programs aligned with the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and offers a unique opportunity to discuss and explore innovative ICT solutions, share best practices, and foster collaboration among stakeholders. Join us in shaping the future of humanitarian and development programs to achieve the SDGs through the strategic integration of Information Communication and Technology.
In an era where Information Communication and technology (ICT) is an emerging and indispensable field, its application is pivotal in achieving objectives related to education, health, equality, inclusivity, poverty reduction, affordable and clean energy, as well as establishing clean water and sanitation facilities. The event aims to unravel the multifaceted impact of ICT practices on the efficiency, scalability, and overall effectiveness of humanitarian and development programs. Discover the ways in which ICT can catalyze positive change across various sectors.
BODILY AUTONOMY – FROM REPRODUCTION TO END-OF-LIFE OPTIONS
Organizer: World Without Genocide
When: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Time: 7 - 9 pm CT (GMT -6)
Where: Zoom Webinar
SPEAKERS:
Betty Folliard, Founder, ERA Minnesota; former member of Minnesota House of Representatives
Thaddeus Pope, J.D. and Ph.D., national expert in medical law, Mitchell Hamline School of Law
CO-SPONSORS:
Children of Holocaust Survivors Association in Minnesota
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer
Mitchell Hamline School of Law
The United Nations Association of Minnesota
More information and registration can be found at the following link: www.worldwithoutgenocide.org/autonomy
CGS-MN PRESENTS: HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM: PALESTINE IN ISRAELI SCHOOL BOOKS
When: Monday, March 25, 2024
Time:12noon - 1:00pm (Central Time - GMT -5:00)
Where: Zoom - register below for the link
Guest Speaker: Nurit Peled-Elhanan is an Israeli philologist, professor of language and education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, translator, and activist. She is a 2001 co-laureate of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought awarded by the European Parliament. Her book, Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and Propaganda in Education, was released in the U.K. in April 2012. She states that the only representation of Arabs in Israeli books is as "refugees, primitive farmers and terrorists," claiming that in "hundreds and hundreds" of books, not one photograph depicted an Arab as a "normal person”.
Description: Professor Nurit Peled-Elhanan analyzes the presentation of images, maps, layouts and use of language in History, Geography and Civic Studies textbooks, and reveals how the Israeli books might be seen to marginalize Palestinians, legitimize Israeli military action and reinforce Jewish-Israeli territorial identity. Nurit Peled provides a fresh scholarly contribution to the Israeli-Palestinian debate, and will be relevant to the fields of Middle East Studies and Politics more widely.
UKRAINE, TWO YEARS OF WAR: FINDING JUSTICE
Organizer: World Without Genocide
Co-Sponsors:
Children of Holocaust Survivors Association in Minnesota
Federal Bar Association, Minnesota Chapter
Germanic-American Institute
Global Minnesota
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer
Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers
Mitchell Hamline School of Law
Minnesota Council of Churches
Minnesota Nurses Association
Mount Zion Temple
The Museum of Russian Art
Shir Tikvah Congregation
Ukrainian American Community Center
The United Nations Association of Minnesota
When: Thursday, February 22, 2024
Time: 7 - 9 pm Central time (GMT -6)
Where: Zoom Webinar
Speakers:
Heather Conley, President, German Marshall Fund
Paul Jablonsky, President, Ukrainian American Community Center
Dr. Ellen J. Kennedy, Executive Director, World Without Genocide
A MINNESOTA WRITER IN UKRAINE
Click in the image to watch the recording
Organizer: Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers
Co-Sponsor: Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota
When: Thursday, February 8, 2024
Time: 6:00 pm Central time (GMT -6)
Where: Zoom
Free and open to the public
Guest Speaker: Jared Goyette, digital and social producer, writer. He works for KMSP- TV, WCCO Radio, and Chytomo. While reporting the George Floyd protests he was hit in the eye by a police rubber bullet and successfully sued the Minneapolis Police Department.. After recovering, he spent last Fall in Kyiv as a volunteer editor. He contributed to The World, The Guardian and The Washington Post.
Description: MAP's speaker this Thursday, Jared Goyette, will give a wide ranging talk - beginning with his first involvement in Ukraine, setting up interviews in 2014 for Univision with Ukrainian activists during the Maidan Revolution. He will recount his more recent conversations with Ukrainian writers, activists, poets, and historians who have influenced him and helped him see this war as an anti-colonial struggle. He will also speak about the reality of living under air raids and how they impact people's lives, the importance of literature and music during the war, and his conversations with progressives in Ukraine.
The work to help people forcibly displaced worldwide
When: October 19, 2023
Time: 7 - 8 pm Central time
Where: Zoom
Guest Speaker: Angela Eifert from Alight (formerly American Refugee Committee) will speak about Alight’s work with those who have been forcibly displaced worldwide. Q&A session included.
After 10 years of working in the financial services industry, Angela reinvented herself and found her true north of mission-driven work serving international communities. At the start of her journey, it was Rotary International that opened her mind and heart to possibilities beyond her imagination. After finding her place at Alight (Formerly American Refugee Committee), Angela has been building relationships with Alight’s donor communities for over 10 years to raise critical funds for the organization’s short and long-term response efforts for the displaced across the globe. Her belief in people and the unique gifts of every person to change the life of one that ripples to the lives of many, keeps her motivated to connect more and more people across the globe. Similarly, her philosophy of human connection stems from the earth’s natural balance. In a world where more and more people are becoming displaced each year due to climate change, Angela speaks about the harsh realities of climate migration and how Alight is responding with goals of sustainable, resilient and restorative solutions for the people and the places where Alight works. Without a global response to the climate crisis, it is expected that 1.2 billion people could be displaced by year 2050. Angela Eifert will share Alight’s response efforts to the climate crisis in the Horn of Africa. Angela has been working with individual donors and partners for Alight since 2012. She has a deep connection to the journey of the displaced through the many connections she’s built with Alight’s customers and Diaspora communities over her 10 years at Alight. She has participated in the research/insights building efforts that led to the branding change from American Refugee Committee to Alight 5 years ago.
HUBERT H. HUMPHREY FELLOWS WELCOME RECEPTION
Organizer: Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Global Minnesota
You cordially invited to join us as we welcome the exceptional 2023-24 cohort of Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows.
DATE: Tuesday, September 19, 2023
TIME: 4:30PM - 6:30pm
The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program has been instrumental in fostering global leadership and promoting positive change in communities worldwide. We are proud to introduce you to this year’s Fellows, a group of outstanding professionals who have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to public service and are currently in prominent leadership positions in their respective countries.
The Fellows, through their dedication and expertise, have made substantial contributions to advancing the well-being of their communities, nations, and the world. Their diverse areas of expertise encompass public administration, governance, education, public health, environmental sustainability, and many others.
To gain insights into the impactful work of the incoming Fellows, we encourage you to explore their bios and learn more about their initiatives in their respective home countries. The Fellows home countries span the globe – Armenia, Honduras, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, the Philippines, the Slovak Republic, Togo, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Vietnam. You can find all the details on their backgrounds and bios here.
This event will provide an excellent opportunity for networking and fostering meaningful connections with this year’s cohort of Fellows, who will be working and studying in Minnesota for nine months. Join us and help to expand our collective commitment to creating a brighter future through public service and cross-cultural collaboration. Light appetizers and drinks will be served.
*This is an in-person event.
Presented in partnership with the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Thanks to promotional sponsors Books for Africa, Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota, and the United Nations Association of Minnesota.
MANDELA WASHINGTON FELLOWS MEET AND GREET
Organizer: Global MInnesota
Presented in partnership with the Mandela Washington Fellows Program. Thanks to promotional sponsors Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota and Give us Wings.
When: Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Time: 5:30 pm Central time
Where: University International Center
331 SE 17th Ave #100
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Price: $5 Member, $10 non-member - For tickets and more information CLICK HERE
Meet the University of Minnesota’s 2023 cohort of Mandela Washington Fellows! The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a nationwide program that brings young leaders from across Africa to the United States for academic and leadership training. The Fellows enrich their U.S. host communities through public service, cultural exchange, and the lasting personal ties they create during their program. They are working on projects related to aquaculture, disability rights, health and wellness programming, non-profit management, and teaching to name just a few.
Network with the next generation of leaders over light snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. We’ll also have fun Minnesota-themed trivia and hear from some of the Fellows regarding their experience in Minnesota and their professional trajectory. This year’s cohort is made up of 25 young leaders from 16 different countries, including Angola, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.
** This event is being held in-person and is open to everyone.
SUDAN: CLIMATE, CONFLICT, AND STATE COLLAPSE
When: Monday, July 17, 2023
Time: 7 - 8 pm Central time
Where: Zoom (video)
Registration required by Monday, July 17, 6pm at www.worldwithoutgenocide.org/sudan
Price: $10 general public, $5 students (over age 13, please) and seniors.
‘Clock hours’ for Minnesota teachers, nurses, and social workers.
Free to Mitchell Hamline students (diversity credits available).
$25 for 1 Elimination of Bias CLE credit for Minnesota lawyers (pending).
Description: Mass atrocities have occurred in Sudan for decades, including a twenty-year civil war beginning in the 1980s, genocide in the Darfur region beginning in 2003, and the current crisis which began in April 2023 and has devolved into massive destruction of lives and infrastructure.
Dr. Ellen Kennedy, Executive Director, World Without Genocide, will discuss the crisis in Sudan, including the struggle over gold, oil, land, and water, and the role of Russia and China in this geopolitical conflict.
Co-Sponsors: Children of Holocaust Survivors Association in Minnesota; Citizens for Global Solutions – MN; Federal Bar Association, Minnesota Chapter; Germanic-American Institute; Global Minnesota; Lutheran Church of the Redeemer; Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers; Minnesota Council of Churches; Minnesota Justice Foundation; Minnesota Nurses Association;Mitchell Hamline School of Law; Mount Zion Temple; Shir Tikvah Congregation; The Museum of Russian Art; and the United Nations Association of Minnesota.
This is a live webinar program, and a recording will not be available.
More information – www.worldwithoutgenocide.org or 952-693-5206.
ITHAKA MOVIE
WAMM Movie Committee presents the screening of the documentary Ithaka (an event co-sponsored by CITIZENS FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONS MINNESOTA)
A discussion led by Coleen Rowley and Mike Madden of Twin Cities Assange Defense (TCAD) will follow the film.
When: Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Time: 6:00 pm Central time
Where: St. Joan of Arc Church, Hospitality Room
4537 3rd Ave So in Minneapolis 55419
Weaving historic archive and intimate behind-the- scenes footage, this story tracks John Shipton, Julian Assange’s father, alongside Stella Morris, Assange’s wife, as they join forces to advocate for Julian. We witness John embark on a European odyssey to rally a global network of supporters, advocate to politicians and cautiously step into the media’s glare.
Cosponsors: Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota, Twin Cities Assange Defense (TCAD), (WAMM) Tackling Torture at the Top Committee, Veterans for Peace Chapter 27, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, , Anti-War Committee, AssangeDefense.org
This event is in person only, and will not be recorded.
The event is for free and open to the public.
Citizens For Global Solutions – MN Is Co-Sponsorship Of The Upcoming Event: Political Cartoons From The Holocaust To Ukraine: Resistance To Tyranny
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Time and Date: Thursday, April 20, 2023, 7:00-9:00 pm CT
Where: Zoom
Political cartoons give biting, relevant, and hard-hitting social commentary on critical events to influence discourse and action. Dr. Rafael Medoff, Dr. Masha Zavialova, and Andrey Feldshteyn will look at images and cartoons during the Holocaust and cartoons today about the war in Ukraine.
Speakers: Dr. Rafael Medoff will speak about cartoonists who documented the atrocities of the Holocaust to urge Americans to save Jewish and other innocent lives. Political cartoonist Andrey Feldshteyn and exhibit curator Dr. Masha Zavialova will speak about the current exhibit at The Museum of Russian Art titled “Say No to War: Political Cartoons by Ukrainian and Russian Artists.” The two speakers will share images of the cartoons and will discuss cartooning in today’s context.
CGS-MN PRESENTS: HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM: LEONARD PELTIER
When: April 20, 2023
Time: 7pm - 8:15pm (Central Time - GMT -6:00)
Where: Zoom - register below for the link
Guest Speaker: Coleen Rowley is a retired FBI agent and former Minneapolis Division Legal Counsel who became a whistleblower, testifying to the Joint Intelligence Committee Inquiry, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Inspector General of the Department of Justice about the FBI's pre 9-11 mistakes which allowed these official investigations to determine that the terrorist attacks might have been prevented (or greatly reduced) if intelligence had been shared within agencies, between agencies and with the public. Rowley taught constitutional law and law enforcement ethics to FBI agents and police officers and still occasional speaks on related topics.
Description: On April 18, 1976, Leonard Peltier, after a controversial trial, was convicted of two consecutive terms of life imprisonment for aiding and abetting the murder of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Peltier became eligible for parole in 1993, and a parole officer who recommended his release after acknowledging that there was not enough evidence to sustain the conviction, was demoted. In his 1999 memoir Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance, Peltier admitted to participating in the shootout but said he did not kill the FBI agents. Human rights watchdogs, such as Amnesty International, and political figures including Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, and the 14th Dalai Lama, have campaigned for clemency for Peltier. Numerous doubts have been raised over Peltier's guilt and the fairness of his trial, based on allegations and inconsistencies in the FBI and prosecution's handling of the case. Several key witnesses in the initial trial have recanted their statements and stated they were made under duress at the hands of the FBI. At least one witness was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony against Peltier.
On June 26, 1975, Special Agents Ronald Arthur Williams and Jack Ross Coler of the FBI were on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation searching for a young man named Jimmy Eagle, who was wanted for questioning in connection with the recent assault and robbery of two local ranch hands. Evidence was given that Peltier was driving a Chevrolet Suburban. At Peltier's trial, the FBI changed their previous statements that they had been in search of a red pickup truck and instead said that they were looking for an orange and white van, similar to the one Peltier drove. An impartial expert evaluated the firing pin linked to the gun that shot Williams and Coler and concluded that the cartridge case from the scene of the crime did not come from the rifle tied to Peltier.
Learn more about the case: https://www.freeleonardpeltier.com/about and https://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/
Citizens For Global Solutions – MN Is Co-Sponsorship The Upcoming Event: Ithaka - Documentary Screening And Panel With Gabriel Shipton & John Shipton
Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2023
Time: 6:15PM
Where: Alamo Drafthouse Twin Cities Woodbury (in person)
Tickets: https://drafthouse.com/twin-cities/event/live-q-a-ithaka
CO-SPONSORS:
· ACLU
· Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota
· Twin Cities Assange Defense
· Veterans For Peace Chapter 27
· Minnesota Peace Action Coalition
· Midwest Movement for People's Democracy
· Tackling Torture at the Top (a committee of Women Against Military Madness)
· Minneapolis Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL)
Citizens for Global Solutions – MN is Co-sponsorship of upcoming event: Russia and Ukraine - A Year of War Crimes and Genocide
Time and date: Thursday, February 23, 2023, 7:00-9:00 pm CT
Speakers examine the atrocities perpetrated in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022, and efforts nationally and internationally to prosecute these crimes
Nina Thueson will share her family’s remarkable story. Her grandmother survived the Holodomor, Stalin’s genocide of Ukrainians in 1932-1933, and a decade later she was persecuted under the Nazi regime. Nina uncovered records of her grandmother’s Holocaust deportation and incarceration and is searching for more information about her ‘baba’s’ journey through Ukraine, Poland, and Germany to the US, through sponsorship by an American family. Today, Nina brings the story full circle, using her legal training to assist Ukrainian mothers and children to escape Ukraine through American sponsorship.
The talk includes information from Prof. Michael Bazyler about his program that brings Ukrainians safely to the US through a modern version of Holocaust-era ‘kindertransports.’
Third Thursday Movie Discussion: Eswatini: The Killing Of The Human Rights Lawyer And The Regime Of Oppression - February 2023
DOCUMENTARY: “The Unthinkable”
Where to watch: The Unthinkable is available on YouTube.
Date: Thursday, February 16, 2023
Time: 7 pm - 8:15 pm Central Time | GMT -6:00
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Guest Speaker: Hadar Harris
Hadar Harris, a human rights attorney and non-profit leader with a passion for working with and on behalf of students, is executive director of the Student Press Law Center. Prior to joining SPLC, she served as the executive director of the Northern California Innocence Project. For 13 years, Harris was executive director of the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law where she worked on projects in more than 25 countries, focused on domestic implementation of international norms, gender equity, the human rights of persons with disability and implementation of UN human rights treaty law. Earlier in her career, Harris served as executive director of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, a bipartisan legislative service organization of the US House of Representatives, under the leadership of the late Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA). Harris holds a BA in Political Science from Brown University and a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles..
Description: On January 21, 2023 the Human Rights Lawyer (and Fulbright Humphrey Fellow Scholar 2010-11), Thulani Maseko was murdered, inside of his home in Eswatini (former Swaziland). Although the motive behind his killing remains unclear the human rights organizations believe that he was killed because of his work as a human rights defender. In 2014 he was sentenced to two years in prison for criticizing the judiciary for its lack of independence. At the time, several campaigns around the globe were launched to ask King Mswati III to release Thulani, and Amnesty International declared him as a prisoner of conscience.
At this event we will discuss the current political situation in the kingdom of Eswatini. We recommend you to watch “The Unthinkable” (optional). The documentary provides a view of the civil strive in The Kingdom of Eswatini through a blend of in-person interviews with victims and survivors of the state crack-down on pro-democracy 2021 Eswatini protests and footage.
RESOURCES:
Here is the link of the video produced by the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law at the Washington College of Law in 2014 when Thulani Maseko and his colleague Behki Makhubu were inprisoned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuBuBwB0KvI
Learn more about the Humphrey Fellowship Program of which Thulani was part in 2010-11: https://www.humphreyfellowship.org/
See the United Nations note condemning the killing of Thulani Maseko: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/01/eswatini-experts-condemn-killing-human-rights-defender-thulani-maseko-demand
Human Rights Forum: Climate Loss And Damage At COP27
Date: Thursday, January 19, 2023
Time: 7 pm - 8:15 pm Central Time | GMT -5:00
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Guest Speaker: J. Drake Hamilton
J. Drake Hamilton is Fresh Energy’s senior director of science policy. An expert in climate and energy policy at the state and national levels, her responsibilities include policy development of renewable energy solutions to global warming that will maximize economic opportunities. J. represents Fresh Energy at the UNFCCC climate summits. In November 2022 she showcased Minnesota’s nation-leading deep carbon reductions on the global stage at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Formerly she taught geography undergraduate and graduate courses at The George Washington University. J. earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of Minnesota in physical geography with emphases on climatology, energy and water resources. Hamilton serves of the Advisory Board of the Irving Institute for Energy and Society at Dartmouth College. She was named by Minneapolis-Saint Paul Magazine as one of 100 Minnesotans “who make things happen.”
Description: J. Drake Hamilton will describe the unexpected United Nations' move forward in November 2022 on Climate Loss and Damage funding. She will describe the details that need to be set, and the next steps to further increase funding for mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, emphasizing the scale and pace of action needed.
Resources mentioned at the event:
Alliance of Small Islands States - https://www.aosis.org/
Fresh Energy: https://fresh-energy.org/
Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial system: https://www.ngfs.net/en
United Nations COP27: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/cop27
Citizens For Global Solutions – MN Co-Sponsored A List Of Webinars From August 2022 Through December 2022, Covering Global And Local Crises Of Great Urgency, Sponsored By Thee World Without Genocide. To Learn About the Events, Click Here
Human Rights Forum: The War In Ukraine - NOVEMBER 2022
Date: Thursday, November 17, 2022
Time: 7 pm - 8:15 pm Central Time | GMT -5:00
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Guest Speaker: Natalia Etten
Natalia Etten is an associate director at a DC-based international affairs think tank. Throughout her career, and prior to her new role, Natalia has supported hundreds of emerging leaders from Eastern Europe, Central and Southeast Asia, and the Caucasus via various flagship U.S. government-funded programs.
Through her pro bono work, Natalia serves on the board of a grassroots civic leadership exchange non-profit in Minnesota, Global Synergy Group. As co-director, she creates youth civic leadership engagement and development exchange programs for young leaders in Ukraine and Minnesota and leads humanitarian aid efforts in hard-to-reach communities affected by the war in Ukraine.
Natalia holds two master’s degrees from two different parts of the world and is trilingual in Ukrainian, Russian, and English. She is committed to connecting people, ideas, and cultures and providing civic leadership development opportunities for the brightest minds of the world.
Description: The guest speaker will take a closer look at the war, its causes, the results so far, and share an update of current human rights violations taking place and will respond to questions from the attendees. The conversation will take the audience beyond the headlines of popular media outlets and provide stories of regular Ukrainian civilians fighting the fight of their lives. We will also talk about hope and youth, and the promise of tomorrow.
third Thursday Movie Discussion: The Golden Rule - OCTOBER 2022
In this program, CGS-MN will share the name of a film or documentary with a global perspective, chosen to expand our horizons and educate us about the world.
Date: Thursday, October 20, 2022
Time: 7 pm - 8:15 pm Central Time | GMT -5:00
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Guest Speaker: Helen Jaccard
Golden Rule Director, Helen Jaccard is an activist, journalist, and photographer. A member of the Disarm/End Wars Committee of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Helen writes about the environmental costs of war and militarism.
Description: VFP GOLDEN RULE PROJECT - The Golden Rule is a project of Veterans For Peace. We aim to advance Veterans For Peace opposition to nuclear weapons and war, and to do so in a dramatic fashion.
We have recovered and restored the original peace ship, the Golden Rule, that set sail in 1958 to stop nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands, and which inspired the many peacemakers and peace ships that followed.
The reborn Golden Rule is sailing once more, to show that nuclear abolition is possible, and that bravery and tenacity can overcome militarism.
To learn more about the Golden Rule Project, visit the website: www.vfpgoldenruleproject.org
Making Waves: The Rebirth of the Golden Rule A 25-minute documentary about the Golden Rule’s history and current mission.
A documentary about the historic peace sailboat the Golden Rule, originally launched in 1958 to sail into the nuclear test zone of the Marshall Islands to protest nuclear weapons. Veterans for Peace has restored the boat and is preparing for another exciting journey for peace and disarmament in the world. The film chronicles this history and documents the boat's protest of the US Navy's air and sea show in San Diego in 2017.
To Watch the documentary CLICK HERE
Human Rights Forum: Gender-Based Violence in Zambia and Globally
Date: Thursday, May 19, 2022
Time: 7-8:15 PM CST| GMT -5:00
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
DESCRIPTION: Ms. Kalimamukwento will speak about gender-based violence during AIDS crisis in 1990 in Zambia and globally during the time of COVID.
ABOUT THE GUEST SPEAKER:
Mubanga is a Zambian storyteller and a lawyer by training. Mubanga graduated from Cavendish University Zambia, and the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She practiced law in Zambia until 2019. Her first novel, The Mourning Bird (Jacana Media), won the Dinaane Debut Fiction Award. The Mourning Bird was also listed among the fifteen most notable books of 2019 by Brittle Paper. Later that year, she won the Kalemba Short Story Prize.
Her short stories and poetry have appeared in Doek!, Overland, The Red Rock Review, Aster(ix), The Killens Review of Arts and Letters and elsewhere. She’s been translated into Italian by Menelique and co-wrote Couple Splits Up While In Lockdown LOL, a short film that was anthologized on Netflix in 2020.
When she’s not writing, Mubanga serves as a fiction editor for Doek!, Associate Fiction Editor for the Water-Stone Review and Mentor at the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop.
Mubanga uses her stories to illuminate the experiences of Zambian women where culture, class, politics, and access to justice intersect. This work earned her fellowships with the Young African Leadership Initiative Fellowship in 2017, the Hubert H. Humphrey (Fulbright) Fellowship in 2018, the Voodoonauts Summer Workshop 2020, the Hawkinson Scholarship for Peace and Justice in 2021 and the 1000 Voices Program (Every Woman Treaty) 2022.
She’s now an MFA candidate at Hamline University, where she receives the Writer of Color Merit Scholarship Award and the Deborah Keenan Poetry Scholarship.
Human Rights Forum: The Philippines
Date: Thursday, April 21, 2022
Time: 7 pm - 8:15 pm Central Time | GMT -5:00
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Guest Speaker: GARY KING, PhD
Gary King received a B.S. degree in physics, a M.S. degree in nuclear physics and a PhD degree in neurophysiology from the University of Minnesota. After post-doc research in autonomic and pain neural systems, he worked on urology prostheses for 9 years with a Twin Cities company, AMS. Joining Medtronic Neuromodulation in 1989, he is rose to be a Sr. Principal Scientist, designing and managing applied clinical studies of spinal cord stimulation and peripheral stimulation for chronic back and limb pain, chronic daily headaches, angina and peripheral vascular disease. In the past he has also worked on deep brain stimulation for pain and tremor. He has 77 patents and a dozen medical research articles. He retired in 4/2008.
He became interested in human rights at first through the Vietnam War: between campus protests and confronting the draft, he became a conscientious objector, and performed two years of alternate service. Due to marriage, he visited the Philippine Islands over 30 times since 1975. He met 12 human rights leaders who were later murdered by government agents. He worked with a group, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, sponsored by the Catholic church, which visits and helps political detainees, and also a successor group, Karapatan. Over the years, Amnesty International Group 37 has worked on behalf of more than 40 Prisoners of Conscience in the Philippines, and has seen all of them released. HeI visits political prisoners in jail each time he goes. He also has a program that helps their children stay in school, called Philippine Scholars
Out of work with Filipino prisoners, he started efforts to keep the children of disappeared and political prisoners in schools in 1994. It grew so large, that in 2001 it became incorporated as a 501c(3) tax-deductible charity, Philippine Scholars, that today helps 150 needy students stay in accredited schools in 10 sites. About 14 per year are graduating from college, and I am still the president of that organization, which delivers over $95,000 per year (www.philippinescholars.org).
Human Rights forum: The War in Ukraine - March 2022
Date: Thursday, March 17, 2022
Time: 7 pm - 8:15 pm Central Time | GMT -5:00
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Guest Speaker: THOMAS HANSON
THOMAS HANSON is a retired US foreign service officer and currently is Diplomat in Residence at the Alworth Institute for International Affairs at the University of Minnesota – Duluth and has taught diplomacy at Carleton College. He also serves as Chair of the Minnesota Committee on Foreign Relations and as Co-Chair of the Minnesota China Business Council. He is a past board member of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights and Director at the Institute for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (IEECA).
In his career with the State Department, Hanson’s foreign postings included East Germany, France, Norway, the Soviet Union, Sweden, and Georgia. He also assisted in opening new embassies in Mongolia and Estonia. Hanson has also worked on the Foreign Relations Committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was Director for NATO and European Affairs at the Atlantic Council of the United States in Washington, D.C. He serves on the St. Paul-Minneapolis Committee on Foreign Relations and as a lecturer/consultant for the Minnesota International Center. He is an occasional foreign affairs commentator on Minnesota Public Radio and instructor at many area colleges. Hanson graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in International Relations. He holds graduate degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University; the Geneva Institute of Advanced International Studies in Switzerland; and the National School of Administration (ENA) in Paris, France.
Citizens for Global Solutions – MN is Co-sponsoring Ukraine: Genocide, Repression, and War webinar
Date: Thursday, March 10, 7:00-8:00 pm CT
Time: 7:00-8:00 pm Central Time | GMT -6:00
Where: Zoom
We are all deeply worried about the shocking events in Ukraine. World Without Genocide is holding a webinar, “Ukraine: Genocide, Repression, and War”
It is open to the public- $10 general admission, $5 students and seniors, free to Mitchell Hamline students, $25 for Minnesota lawyers for 1 CLE ‘elimination of bias’ credit (pending).
Register at http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/programs/upcoming-events/ukraine
Co-sponsors: CHAIM: Children of Holocaust Survivors in Minnesota; Citizens for Global Solutions – MN; Congregation Shir Tikvah; Global Minnesota; Minnesota Chapter, Federal Bar Association; Minnesota Nurses Association; Mitchell Hamline School of Law; Mt. Zion Temple; TMORA – The Museum of Russian Art; and the United Nations Association of Minnesota.
Contact admin@worldwithoutgenocide.org or 952-693-5206 for additional information.
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion - February 2022
Each month, CGS-MN will share the name of a film or documentary with a global perspective, chosen to expand our horizons and educate us about the world.
DOCUMENTARY: “ALUNA, A JOURNEY TO SAVE THE WORLD”
Where to watch: YouTube
Date: Thursday, February 17, 2022
Time: 7 pm - 8:15 pm Central Time | GMT -6:00
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Guest Speaker: Diana Quintero is a Visiting Human Rights Engaged Scholar at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs. she has been teaching since 2008 a Human Rights Law Clinic focused on legal defense to vulnerable communities and groups such as armed conflict victims and people living under environmental risks. She participates in different professional nets working on sexual and productive rights of women and in women’s equality as well.
Description: Aluna is made by and with the Kogi people, a genuine lost civilization hidden on an isolated triangular pyramid mountain in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, nearly five miles high, on the Colombian-Caribbean coast. The Kogi have made this amazing documentary to help us understand how to avoid the destruction of the world that they are trying to protect, and of ourselves.
Learn more about the movie in its website: https://www.alunathemovie.com/
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion - January 2022
Each month, CGS-MN will share the name of a film or documentary with a global perspective, chosen to expand our horizons and educate us about the world.
Documentary: “UNTIL WE FIND THEM”
Where to watch: Vimeo - Password = darwin
Date: Thursday, January 20, 2022
Time: 7 pm - 8:15 pm Central Time | GMT -6:00
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Description: This documentary is a portrait of two journalists seeking truth and justice for the people who disappeared in Mexico.
Un retrato íntimo de dos periodistas que buscan la verdad y justicia para las personas desaparecidas en Mexico.
Guest Speaker: Hunter Johnson, the filmmaker of “Until We Find Them”. Hunter is a documentary filmmaker and photographer whose projects seek to advance human rights through visual storytelling. Working with The Perennial Plate, a two-time James Beard Award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary team, Hunter created dozens of human-focused short films that have garnered tens of millions of views. This work includes a show on PBS, a series of films on The Atlantic, and screenings at the United Nations Office in Geneva and the 2018 AFI DOCS Film Festival. Hunter has also produced videos for Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. “Until We Find Them” is currently screening in film festivals around the world. Hunter has a Masters of Human Rights from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, with a concentration in Arts Advocacy.
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion – December
Each month, CGS-MN will share the name of a film or documentary with a global perspective, chosen to expand our horizons and educate us about the world.
Documentary: Operation TOUSSAINT: Operation Underground Railroad & the Fight to End Modern Slavery
Date: Thursday, December 16, 2021
Time: 7 pm - 8:30 pm Central Time | GMT -6:00
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
** Watch the documentary beforehand, on your own. We will NOT show the documentary on the event.
Description: Tim Ballard left his post as a special agent for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to form Operation Underground Railroad and go undercover to rescue child sex trafficking victims that he couldn't save when bound by government restrictions. Join Tim and his special forces team as they go undercover in Haiti to bring a ring of sex traffickers who bribed their way out of jail, to justice.
Guest Speaker: Sherry Nipko, Development Manager at Operation Underground Railroad. “O.U.R.” is a nonprofit organization created by Tim Ballard, which works with law enforcement to free survivors from human trafficking. Operation Underground Railroad currently supports operation and aftercare efforts in 22 countries and 34 U.S. States.
Human Rights Forum: Yemen Is Facing War And Covid-19 Alone
Date: Thursday, December 9, 2021
Time: 6 pm - 7 pm Central Time | GMT -6:00
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Description: According to UNICEF Yemen is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, which was exacerbated by more than 6 years of war and Covid-19 pandemic. Join CGS-MN for an informative and honest discussion to learn more.
Guest Speaker: Fadia Thabet, International Women of Courage Awarded in 2017 for six years of work as a child protection officer in Yemen. She prevented children from being recruited and joining terrorist groups like the Houthis and Al-Qaeda, and its local branch Ansar al-Sharia, and prevented them from becoming child soldiers in the Yemeni civil war. Fadia provided evidence to the United Nations of cases of human rights violations committed by various groups.
Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) - Minneapolis Zoom Launch Event
Date: November 19, 2021
Time:10:00 AM in Central Time (US and Canada)
On November 19, 2021, we hosted an event with partners to celebrate the launch of Child Friendly Cities Initiative in Minneapolis. The United States is the only United Nations member nation that has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, but Minneapolis is on its way to becoming one of the first CFCI cities in the U.S.
This CFCI Launch Event was conducted on Zoom and we introduced what CFCI is, bring people together, and give us a chance to discuss what CFCI work might look like for you. We had speakers from UNICEF, The City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County Health, the business community, and more.
We will be uploading the zoom recording soon, stay tuned!
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion – NOVEMBER
Each month, CGS-MN will share the name of a film or documentary with a global perspective, chosen to expand our horizons and educate us about the world.
Film: HOTEL RWANDA
Date: Thursday, November 18, 2021
Time: 7 pm - 8:30 pm Central Time | GMT -6:00
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Where to watch: Amazon, Apple TV, Vudu. YouTube
Description: In 1994 a hotel manager in Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagina, saved the lives of his family and more than 1,200 Tutsi and Hutu refugees by providing them with shelter in the Hotel des Mille Collines, while the country experienced one of its darkest days with civil war erupting and more than one million people dying in the genocide.
Paul and his family moved to Belgium. In August 2020 Paul was lured and kidnapped from his home in San Antonio Texas, through Dubai and then on to Rwanda, where he was imprisoned, tortured, and held in solitary confinement for over 250 days, without access to his lawyers. He faced a trial, which according to Amnesty International “was marred by numerous violations of his fair trial”, and on September 20, 2021 was sentenced to 25 years on terrorist charges.
For more information and updates visit “Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation” website. Five ways you can take action here.
Our guest speaker, Ms. Carina Kanimba, Paul’s daughter, will share his story and speak about the international campaign to free Paul.
Guest Speakers: Carine Kanimba and Professor Brian Endless, PhD
When Carine Kanimba is not fighting for the freedom and justice of her father Paul Rusesabagina, she works in Finance to pursue knowledge and opportunity in the name of giving it back to the most vulnerable populations in the world in the sector of impact investing. Her dedication to international development is personal, having fled Rwanda as a child during the horrific genocide and multiple assassinations attempts on her family. Carine is a graduate of Northwestern University and went on to receive a Masters in Law and Economics from Aix-Marseille University, Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and the University of Bologna. Carine is fluent in English, French, Spanish, and Kinyarwanda, a demonstration of her appetite for connecting with people across the globe. You can watch her TED Talks, the power of forgiveness.
Professor Brian Endless, PhD is the Director of African Studies and the African Diaspora at Loyola University Chicago, where he also serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science. He is also President of the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF), working on post-conflict truth, reconciliation and peace issues in the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda and the Great Lakes region of Africa. He founded and serves as the President of the Board of American Model United Nations (AMUN) International in Chicago.
Human Rights Forum: Immigration
Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Time: 6 pm - 7:15 pm Central Time
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Guest Speaker: Michelle Rivero, Director of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA), in the City of Minneapolis
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion – October
Each month, CGS-MN will share the name of a film or documentary with a global perspective, chosen to expand our horizons and educate us about the world.
Film: WORTH
Date: Thursday, October 21, 2021
Time: 7 pm-8:30 pm Central Time
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Description: This biographical film tells the story of Kenneth Feinberg, an attorney in DC, who was appointed as the Special Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, and he is tasked with setting a dollar value on the lives lost at 9/11.
Where to watch: Netflix
Guest Speaker: Kenneth Feinberg, American attorney, specialized in mediation and alternative dispute resolution. Feinberg was appointed Special Master of the U.S. government’s September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. He is also a professor at the Columbia University School of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School. Georgetown University Law Center, New York University of Law, the University of Virginia School of Law, and at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM: BRAZIL
Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Time: 6 pm-7 pm (Central Time - USA | GMT -05:00)
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, in size and the fifth most populous country on Earth and accounts for one-third of Latin America’s population. Famous for its beautiful beaches, music, its fertile large farmlands, huge hydroelectric, industrial complexes and is the twelfth largest economy in the world. However, Brazil struggles with extreme social inequalities, environmental degradation, intermittent financial crises, racism, 563,000 deaths by Covid-19 and slow Covid vaccination pace, and with a far-right president facing his biggest political crisis since he took office in January of 2019.
Read: Human Rights Watch World Report 2021 about Brazil
Guest Speakers:
Paulo Vicente Cruz has worked for Amnesty International since 2016. Currently is Movement Building Advisor, which is the area in charge of the organization's activist community management and for the initiatives in human rights education. Graduated in Journalism by the Universidade Federal Fluminense, Paulo has previous experiences related to the intersection between education, communication and social responsibility in the Canal Futura, Rede Globo and Canal Saúde - FioCruz (TV channel linked to the Ministry of Health).
David Samuels, Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California at San Diego in 1998. His research and teaching interests include Brazilian and Latin American politics, US-Latin American relations, and democratization. Professor Samuels currently serves as co-editor of Comparative Political Studies. His most recent book is Partisans, Antipartisans and Non-Partisans: Voting Behavior in Brazil (with Cesar Zucco) (Cambridge University Press, 2018). He has received funding from the National Science Foundation (in 1996 and 1999) and the McKnight Foundation (in 2001), and was awarded Fulbright Fellowships in 2004 and 2013.
Thais Travassos, has a Masters in Comparative Literature from the program of Comparative Studies of Literatures in Portuguese by University of São Paulo (USP). Has Bachelor in Portuguese and English from University of Taubaté UNITAU. She is a professor of Brazilian Literature, Literary Theory and Comparative Literature at UNITAU. She also teaches Literature and Writing for High School.
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion – September
Film: "Hero or Villain: The Prosecution of Julian Assange"
Date: Thursday, September 16, 2021
Time: 7 pm-8:30 pm (Central Time - USA)
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Description: Julian Assange is one of the most influential figures to emerge this century. The Australian born founder of WikiLeaks has harnessed the technology of the digital age to unleash an information war against governments and corporations. WikiLeaks has collaborated with anonymous sources to release highly classified and often deeply embarrassing information to the world. The organization exploded onto the world stage in 2010 when it began publishing a series of spectacular leaks laying bare the conduct of the United States. At the center of it all was Julian Assange. The leaks sparked ferocious debate over the right to know and the right to keep secrets. Now Julian Assange is in the fight of his life. In April of 2019, he was dragged, protesting, from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, nearly seven years after seeking diplomatic protection. He is facing extradition to the United States on espionage charges stemming from the spectacular 2010 leaks by Private Chelsea Manning. Everyone has an opinion about Julian Assange, but now you will hear from those who have been on the inside. Four Corners investigates the prosecution of Julian Assange in key interviews with those at the heart of WikiLeaks and those who have sought to bring him to US justice. These insider accounts give powerful insights into how these momentous events have unfolded. If extradited to the U.S., he could face up to 175 years in prison under the Espionage Act related to publication of classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes. Assange remains in Belmarsh prison since 2019.
Where to watch:
Part I: Hero or Villain: The Prosecution of Julian Assange, here
Part II: The United States vs. Julian Assange, here
Guest Speaker: Stella Moris, human rights lawyer, member of Assange’s legal team, his fiancé and mother of his two children.
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion - July
FILM: THE WALL: RAW STORIES FROM 2018 MPLS HOMELESS CAMP
Date: Thursday, July 15, 2021
Time: 7pm (Central Time - USA)
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Description: Each month, CGS-MN will share the name of a film or documentary with a global perspective, chosen to expand our horizons and educate us about the world. This month’s film, "The Wall," provides a unique and raw look into the struggles of American poverty, addiction, and homelessness. As a result, viewers walk away with a better understanding of what might be done to address these issues.
Guest Speakers:
Brandon Ferdig, the filmmaker and producer of the documentary, founder and President of The Periphery Foundation, and Noya Woodrich, Deputy Commissioner of the Minneapolis Health Department.
Human Rights Forum: Racism in the USA
Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Time: 6 pm-7 pm (Central Time - USA)
Where: Zoom
Description: Join CGS-MN for this Human Rights Forum for an honest conversation about racism in the USA and why it is important to identify it and end it.
Guest Speaker: Latoya Burrell
LaToya Jones Burrell is the Executive Director of the Anderson Foundation. She leads and manages the activity of the Foundation, with continued involvement and support from the family. She is also Zinpro’s global diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) champion, working with the Leadership Team to help provide experiences and resources to advance Zinpro on its DEI journey. LaToya has extensive higher education and legal experience and was previously Dean of Graduate Education & Accreditation for North Central University in Minneapolis, MN where she was also an Associate Professor. LaToya has a Juris Doctor degree from Southern University Law Center and a Master of Business Administration from Metropolitan State University. She is a licensed attorney in the States of Minnesota and Louisiana and a published author, recently writing a book on harmonious racial reconciliation, entitled Be Bold: How to Prepare Your Heart and Mind for Racial Reconciliation. She is also on the Board of Directors for People Serving People, a Minnesota non-profit shelter for families experiencing homelessness, Bountifield International, and Mona Foundation.
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion - June
Film: The Oslo Diaries (2018)
Date: June 17, 2021
Time: 7pm (Central Time - USA)
Description: A group of Israelis and Palestinians come together in Oslo for unsanctioned peace talks during the 1990s in order to bring peace to the Middle East.
SPECIAL GUEST: David Schultz, Hamline University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and a University of Minnesota professor of Law. A three-time Fulbright scholar who has taught extensively in Europe, David is the author of more than 40 books and 200+ articles on various aspects of American and international politics and law.
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion - MAY
Film: Just Mercy (2019)
Date: Thursday, May 20, 2021
Time: 7pm (Central Time - USA)
Description: After graduating from Harvard, Bryan ( Michael B. Jordan) heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper representation, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Brie Larson). One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the main testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie.
Guest Speakers: Amy Bergquist, Advocates for Human Rights, and Stephen Rohde, ACLU of Southern California
Additional resources:
The Advocates Post: "Capital Punishment: Victims and their Families Deserve Better.”
The Advocates Post: ”Biennial Discussion on the Question of the Death Penalty: Research Discredits Claims That the Death Penalty Deters Crime”
Mark Petty: Witnessing at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva
Youtube Video: Access to Counsel in Death Penalty Cases
United States of America Stakeholder Report for the United Nations Universal Periodic Review Submitted by The Advocates for Human Rights, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status, and The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
18th World Day Against the Death Penalty: Access to Counsel – A Matter of Life or death
Democracy In Chains: What Is Happening To Our Democracy? What Can We Do?
Date: Wed., May 19, 2021
Time: 7pm - 8:30pm (Central)
Guest Speaker: Nancy McLean
Description:
Historian Nancy MacLean's book Democracy in Chains describes how the stealth campaign by the Koch network helped lay the groundwork for the election of Trump and the assault on the Capitol on January 6. She documents a decades-long plan by the Radical Right to end democracy and install an oligarchy of the 1%. To understand our current political situation, we need to be aware of the work of the vast Koch network. Their plan includes laws to undermine unions, suppress the vote, criminalize protest, undercut environmental regulations, and privatize everything from schools to Medicare and Social Security.
State Representative Rena Moran will introduce the program. Award-winning journalist Don Shelby, MN 350 Executive Director Sam Grant, and State Representative Emma Greenman will interview MacLean. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will brief us on his lawsuit against Koch Industries, Exxon Mobil and the American Petroleum Institute for a campaign of deception about climate change. This is the first lawsuit in the nation to target Koch Industries for misleading the public about climate change.
Sponsored by Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers with cosponsors: Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota, Clean Elections MN, Indivisible MN03, Plymouth Area Indivisible, Minnesota Peace Project, MN Move to Amend, Spotlight Team, and Women Against Military Madness.
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion Group - April
Film: THE MAURITANIAN (2021)
Date: Thursday, April 15, 2021
Time: 7pm (Central Time - USA)
Description: This is inspiring the true story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s fight for freedom after being detained and imprisoned without charge by the U.S. Government for years. Alone and afraid, Slahi (Tahar Rahim) finds allies in defense attorney Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) and her associate Teri Duncan (Shailene Woodley) who battle the U.S. government in a fight for justice that tests their commitment to the law and their client at every turn.
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Guest Speakers: Mohamedou Ould Slahi and Nancy Hollander, the lawyer who defended Mr. Slahi (From Freedman, Boyd, Hollander, Goldberg, Urias, and Ward)
Human Rights Forum: Female Voices, Justice, And Hope
Date: Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Time: 10 - 11 am (Central)
Guest speakers:
Javeria Tareen, Communications Specialist, Journalist, Legal Expert and Social Activist from Balochistan Pakistan.
Melissa Nambangi, renowned journalist/news anchor on Cameroonian television, from Cameroon
Description:
In celebration of Women's History month, CGS-Minnesota presents this uplifting program featuring women and girls dedicated to empowering women to achieve their full potential. Speakers include
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion Group - March 2021
Film: ON HER SHOULDERS (2018)
Date: Thursday, March 18, 2021
Time: 7pm (Central Time - USA)
Description: In the film “On Her Shoulders,” twenty-three-year-old Nadia Murad’s life is a dizzying array of exhausting undertakings—from giving testimony before the U.N. to visiting refugee camps to soul-bearing media interviews and one-on-one meetings with top government officials. With deep compassion and a formal precision and elegance that matches Nadia’s calm and steely demeanor, filmmaker Alexandria Bombach follows this strong-willed young woman, who survived the 2014 genocide of the Yazidis in Northern Iraq and escaped the hands of ISIS to become a relentless beacon of hope for her people, even when at times she longs to lay aside this monumental burden and simply have an ordinary life.
Director: Alexandria Bombach
Guest Speaker: Nadia's Initiative's Executive Director, Abid Shamdeen
Additional resources:
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion Group - February 2021
Film: LIVING UNDOCUMENTED (2019) | 6 Episodes
Date: Thursday, February 18, 2021
Time: 7pm (Central Time - USA)
Description: The fates of undocumented families are like a roller-coaster as the United States' immigration policies are transformed. Available on Netflix.
Director: Aaron Saidman, Anna Chai
Guest Speakers:
Piyumi Samaratunga, Immigration Attorney - from Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP Law firm.
Megan Galicia, Immigration Attorney - from Martinez Immigration Law LLC (who was in the documentary and was part of one of the most emotional parts of the story).
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion Group - January 2021
January Film: THE WAVE
Film (2011) | Running time: 1h 47 min
Date: Thursday, January 21, 2021
Time: 7pm (Central Time - USA)
Description: A high school teacher's experiment to demonstrate to his students what life is like under a dictatorship.
Guest speaker: Mark Hancock, international teacher and speaker. Mark Hancock knows the Wave story. He lived it as a student in the original 1967 classroom social experiment in fascism (“The Third Wave”), and now is the class historian, Associate Producer of two Wave documentary films (“Lesson Plan” and “Invisible Line“), and a speaker at schools, film festivals, theater productions, and organizations around the world; sparking discussions around leaders, followers and groups. He manages the primary Wave resource site www.thewavehome.com
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion Group - December 2020
Film: THE WORLD IS MY COUNTRY
Film (2017) | Running time: 58 min
Date: Thursday, December 17, 2020
Time: 7pm (Central Time - USA)
Description: Now you can see the inspiring story of World Citizen #1 Garry Davis -and his eye-opening key to prevent extinction even before it’s public TV broadcast!
**Watch the movie on your own and then join us to discuss the film, with special participation of the director and producer Arthur Kanegis.
December 10th Human Rights Day Celebration
Date: Thursday, December 10, 2020
Time: 2: 30 pm (Central Time - USA)
Description: Join Human Rights Educators USA (HRE USA), the nation’s network of human rights educators, as we celebrate Human Rights Day and commemorate the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations on Dec 10, 1948. The event will feature keynote speaker, Loretta Ross, a nationally-recognized women’s rights and human rights leader whose work emphasizes the intersectionality of social justice issues and how this transforms social change. HRE USA will also honor the 2020 Edward O’Brien Human Rights Education Award winners, Pam Bruns of Human Rights Watch Student Task Force and the ACT Center for Disability Leadership. We are also excited to include youth voices from around the world speaking on the significance of the UDHR through multimedia and poetry, introduce you to HRE USA’s 2020 Flowers Fund grantees, and announce the new Edmonds Summer Fellowship. We hope you’re able to join us! Register soon – space is limited.
If you were not able to join the virtual celebration or would like to re-visit the event, you can watch the recording here
Human Rights Day 2020: Virtual Panel Discussion On Local Human Rights Challenges, Co-Sponsored By The City Of Minneapolis, The City Of St. Paul, And The United Nations Association, Minnesota Chapter
Date: Thursday, December 10, 2020
Time: 11am – 12:30pm (Central Time - USA)
Location: Zoom Call
Description: Join us at 11am – 12:30pm CT on Thursday, December 10 for this important and informative discussion! December 10 is Human Rights Day. In recognition of the 72th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly, the City of Minneapolis, in conjunction with the United Nations Association Minnesota Chapter and the City of St. Paul are cosponsoring a virtual panel discussion focusing on human rights challenges faced here in our communities, from the killing of George Floyd to the disproportionate health, economic, and social impacts of COVID 19. How do we squarely face our own human rights record and commit to actionable steps as our communities’ process from the trauma of 2020? Panelists leading the conversation are: Valerie Jensen, Director of the Department of Human Rights and Economic Inclusion, City of St. Paul Amy Bergquist, Senior Staff Attorney, Advocates for Human Rights and member of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission Rachel Pittman, Executive Director, United Nations Association USA Moderator: Abdifatah Mohammed, City of Minneapolis Civil Rights Department.
If you were not able to join the virtual celebration or would like to re-visit the event, you can watch the recording on our youtube channel here
You can also view "Voices of Hope: a UDHR Celebration" with youth reciting the articles of the UDHR in different languages here
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion Group
NOVEMBER Film: MADE IN BANGLADESH
Film (2019) | Running time: 1h 35m | Available on Amazon
Date: Thursday, November 19
Time: 7pm (Central Time - USA)
Location: Zoom Call
Description: Shimu fled her village as a child when her stepmother threatened to marry her off to a middle-aged man. Now 23 and living in the capital, she works grueling hours for paltry sums at a textile factory while her husband searches for work.
**Watch the movie on your own and then join us to discuss the film on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 7 pm.
Third Thursday Global Films Discussion Group
October Film: Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz
Running time: 1h 23m | Available on Netflix, Amazon
Date: Thursday, October 15
Time: 7pm (Central Time - USA)
Location: Zoom Call
Description: A portrait of Ben Ferencz, the last surviving Nuremberg Trial prosecutor, who continues to wage his lifelong crusade in the fight for law and peace.
**Watch the movie on your own and then join us to discuss the film on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 7 pm.
The UN Celebrates 75: What Does The Future Hold?
HELD Wednesday, October 21,2020 3:00 - 4:15 pm
Speaker: Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres
Description: In celebration of UN Day 2020 and the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations, Stéphane Dujarric de la Rivière, spokesperson for the UN’s Secretary-General António Guterres, spoke to Minnesotans from his UN Headquarters office in New York City. Mr. Dujarric is in the middle of all things happening at the global level, and he’s a warm, witty, and wise commentator.
Sponsored by: Citizens for Global Solutions, Minnesota Chapter; Global Minnesota; and United Nations Association, Harold E. Stassen Minnesota Chapter.
UN75 Global Conversation, Hosted By CGS
HELD SAturday May 16, 2020, 12:00 - 1:30 pm
Citizens for Global Solutions held a UN75 Online Global Conversation on Saturday, May 16. Participants were given a chance to provide direct input to the UN on building a brighter future through the lens of their community! Participants responded to the following questions:
Will people in 2045 be better off than, worse than, or about the same as today? Why do you think that?
What 1-3 issues does your group most want to see in the year 2045 when the UN will turn 100?
What are the main 1-3 obstacles and challenges your group thinks will most affect this vision?
How can global cooperation -- and in particular the UN -- better help manage these challenges?
What 1-3 ideas actions does your group advise the UN Secretary General to take to address these challenges.
The results of the conversation have been shared with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as part of the UN75 project, the campaign he created to hear the voice of the people on the 75th anniversary of the UN.
The Future We Want, The UN We Need
Minnesota kick-off event toward the 75th anniversary of the UN
Wednesday October 23, 2019, 4:30 - 7:30 pm
Presenter: Stéphane Dujarric , Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General António Guterres
The seventeen interconnected Sustainable Development Goals provide the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. In order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030.
Reaching each of these goals on a global scale will require effective cooperation across borders, sectors and generations. Failure to do so will have far-reaching consequences for the welfare of our children and grandchildren -- and our planet itself.
To mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations in 2020, under the leadership of Secretary-General António Guterres, the UN plans to launch a series of dialogues involving people from all regions and walks of life to discuss how we can collectively navigate the gap between the world we want and where we are headed, if current negative trends continue.
This Minnesota event, held in honor of UN Day (Oct 24), kicked off a year of Minnesota-based activities, engaging "we the peoples" in creating "The future we want, the UN we need."
Sponsored by Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota, United Nations Association of Minnesota, and Global Minnesota
The Changing Challenges Of The Middle East In The Trump Era
Monday, May 20, 2019, 7:00 - 8:45 pm
Presenter: William O. Beeman
William O. Beeman is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota. He has conducted research in the Middle East for more than 40 years with special expertise in Iran and the Persian Gulf region. His expertise has been widely sought as advisor to the U.S. State Department, the Department of Defense, the United Nations, and the European Union. He is author or editor of more than 100 scholarly articles, 500 opinion pieces and 14 books, including Language, Status and Power in Iran, and The "Great Satan" vs. the "Mad Mullahs": How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other. In addition, he has written extensively on music and performance traditions both in Western and non-Western traditions. His latest book on this topic is Iranian Performance Traditions. He is currently Visiting Scholar at Stanford University where he is completing two books: Understanding Iran, and Music, Emotion and Evolution.
Sponsored by Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota, United Nations Association of Minnesota, and Middle East Peace Now
Q & A with Willam O. Beeman
World Law Day 2019 - The Future of the Past
Wednesday May 1, 2019, 5:30 pm
Presenter: Jim Nelson , Citizens for Global Solutions-MN Board Member
The presentations entitled, “The Future of the Past - A Look Back at the United Nations Movement in Minnesota” cut across several organizations, groups of organizations, and many committed people from 1947 to the present day. Jim joined the United Nations Association of Minnesota in 1966, and he has been on the UNA Board Advisory Council since 1970. Jim organized the first five meetings in 1991-92 on the UN Sustainability Goals in connection with the first Earth Summit (1992). (Agenda 21, UNCED, 1992) In 1993, Jim was elected President of Minnesota World Federalists, predecessor organization of Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota. Jim has been collecting and organizing over 400 documents and archival materials with a grant through Citizens for Global Solutions MN. The May Day program will highlight his collection work and reflections on the United Nations movement in Minnesota. The talk drew on both Jim’s current research as well as his personal expertise as a leader within the movement.
Hope For A Better Tomorrow: Forging The Path Towards Forgiveness
Tuesday, May 1, 2018, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Presenter: Louisa Hext
Louisa Hext is the North American coordinator for “The F Word | Stories of Forgiveness.” The exhibit curated in 2004 by The Forgiveness Project based in London, U.K uses story-telling to explore ideas around forgiveness, reconciliation and conflict resolution and how they can be used to impact positively on people’s lives. Louisa coordinates a speaker’s bureau and engages in the challenging debate around forgiveness, calling into question our often fixed beliefs about right and wrong, good and evil, justice and morality.
Louisa also has extensive experience working around human rights and has advocated for over twenty years. She is focused and passionate, always committed to ensuring equitable access of resources for the common good. She is a skilled and experienced mediator, consultant and coach. She serves as the Ambassador for The Charter for Compassion’s Peace and Restorative Justice sectors and has advanced degrees in Sociology. Louisa is a member of the Leadership Team of the Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers.
Sponsored by Citizens for Global Solutions, Minnesota and AMillionCopies.info
“I Am Somali”: Three Visual Artists from the Twin Cities
THURSDAY, April 19th, 2018, 7:00 PM - 8:45 PM
Presenters: Jan-Lodewijk Grootaers and Ifrah Mansour
In Somalia, poetry has long been the preferred medium for artistic expression—in fact, the country is sometimes called “the land of bards.” This is in part because of Somalia’s long Islamic tradition, which discourages the visual depiction of people while embracing the power of the spoken word. Yet Somali artists have also turned to other media, including drawing, painting, photography, and video.
This exhibition celebrates the work of three Somali visual artists from the Twin Cities: Hassan Nor (81), Aziz Osman (69), and Ifrah Mansour (30). Nor and Osman were born in Somalia and grew up there, migrating to the United States in the 1990s after the outbreak of civil war at home. Their drawings and paintings look to the past, depicting life in Somalia before the war and in transit, on the way to their new country. Mansour, on the other hand, was born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Minnesota. Her video addresses the cultural ignorance and stereotypes she encounters in her daily life. All three share stories of exile, memory, identity, pride, and resilience.
Jan-Lodewijk Grootaers, Mia Curator of African Art, ‘Arts of Africa and the Americas’ Department Head, and organizer of the “I Am Somali” exhibit, will provide us with a private group tour of the “I Am Somali” exhibit, as well as other Somali and Islamic artwork from the permanent galleries.
Artist Ifrah Mansour will join us to talk about her work.
This program is sponsored by CGS-MN, and co-sponsored by Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, and United Nations Association, MN.
Global-Local Disability Rights Movement: Inclusive Education, Self-Advocacy And Non-Discrimination
THURSDAY, March 15TH, 2018, 7:00 PM - 8:45 PM
Presenters: Haley Kimmet, Roqayah Ajaj , Laurie Kincade, Rick Cardenas
Haley Kimmet: Raised orally deaf, Haley’s personal experiences have bolstered her professional endeavors, including traveling on the Americans with Disabilities Act tour bus to educate communities, supporting international exchange and development programs with Mobility International USA and the Mandela Washington Fellowship, and serving as a member of the Developmental Disabilities Council. She is pursuing her Master of Public Affairs degree at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Roqayah Ajaj is a graduate student completing her Master's degrees in Special Education and Comparative International Development Education at the University of Minnesota ('18). Roqayah is from Saudi Arabia, and she is legally blind. She has always been interested in raising awareness about people with disabilities and advocating for their rights
Laurie Kincade is a 3rd year School Psychology Ph.D. student at the U of MN. Her main research interests include issues of diversity and equity in schools and training programs, the student-teacher relationship, mental health and social-emotional learning programs in schools, inclusive education for students with disabilities, and self-determination of people with disabilities.
Rick Cardenas worked for Advocating Change Together (ACT), first as organizer for Remembering With Dignity (RWD) and then as co-director for 19 years. Prior to that Rick worked at the St Paul office of Senator Paul Wellstone and most recently is consulting on the Reconnect Rondo project. He continues consulting at Access Associates, doing physical and programmatic consulting on disabilities.
This program is sponsored by CGS-MN, and co-sponsored by Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, and United Nations Association, MN.
RESOURCES
TURNING POINTS IN TURBULENT TIMES: A PASSIONATE SEARCH FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15TH, 2018, 7:00 PM - 8:45 PM
Presenters: Loft Peace and Social Justice Writers Group
Members of the Loft Peace and Social Justice Writer's Group will read excerpts from their inspiring new book: Turning Points: Discovering Meaning and Passion in Turbulent Times. These are riveting accounts of how the turning points in the lives of our authors over the past half-century led them to find and implement creative solutions to global issues and how those lessons can be applied in today's turbulent times. Audience members will be encouraged to share their turning point stories. Featured presenters include Philip Lund, founder and facilitator of the writer’s group, Burt Berlowe, award-winning author of the compassionate rebel anthologies; India native Robbie Orr, who is currently writing a series of novels titled The Repentant Radical Trilogy, and Korean War veteran and peace educator Roy Wolff.
NEXT STEPS ON DEEP CLIMATE ACTION: HOW CAN MINNESOTA LEAD?
THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018, 7:00 – 8:45 PM
Presenter: J. Drake Hamilton, Science Policy Director, Fresh Energy
J. Drake Hamilton is the science policy director at Fresh Energy, Minnesota’s 25-year-old nonprofit focused on climate and energy policy. A geographer and climatologist by training, J. is an expert in climate policy, and will be participating in the November 2017 UN Conference of Parties meetings on climate action in Bonn. She’ll report back on what was achieved at COP23, next steps for nations and the world, and how you can act effectively. Minnesota has achieved high levels of carbon reduction at no additional cost, and--as a heartland state that is dependent on fossil fuels--has great potential to demonstrate effective climate policies at the scale of the climate problem. Fresh Energy’s work can be found online at fresh-energy.org.
This program was sponsored by CGS-MN, and co-sponsored by Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers and United Nations Association, MN.
RECOMMENDED READING: a great overview! Global Warming 101
THE NORTH KOREA CRISIS AND THE U.N. TREATY TO BAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS
THURSDAY, November 16, 2017, 7:00 – 8:45 PM
Presenter: Jay Kvale, Minnesota Peace Project
Bellicose threats by Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have generated massive anxiety about a potential war on the Korean peninsula. What are the roots of the current conflict? How did we get into such a dangerous situation? What are the military capabilities of each side? Could military action lead to the use of nuclear weapons? Can Congress block Trump's sole power to authorize a nuclear strike? Is there a diplomatic way forward without resorting to military action? What are the the roles of South Korea, China, Japan, and Russia? Our speaker will also present information on the new UN Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons, a potentially historic document adopted by 122 nations.
Jay Kvale is a former teacher and travel guide for the state of Minnesota who became a peace activist upon retirement 10 years ago. Jay is a member of the Minnesota Peace Project, Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Committee, and WAMM. He specializes in the history, deployment, and disarmament of nuclear weapons.
This program was sponsored by CGS-MN, and co-sponsored by Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, United Nations Association, MN, and the Minnesota Peace Project.
human rights advocacy at the united nations
Thursday, October 19, 2017, 6:45 – 8:45 pm
Presenters: Jennifer Prestholdt, Deputy Director, & Mark Petty, The Advocates for Human Rights
In March 2017, The Advocates for Human Rights led a delegation to conduct human rights advocacy before the United Nations. The speakers will discuss their experiences traveling to Geneva to advocate before the Human Rights Council, and will describe how they used UN human rights mechanisms to enforce international legal standards related to women’s rights, the death penalty, torture, racial discrimination, and the rights of persons with disabilities, as well as the impact of their work on domestic foreign laws and practices.
This program was sponsored by CGS-MN, and co-sponsored by Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, United Nations Association, MN, and The Advocates for Human Rights.
Additional reading:
Human Rights Tools for a Changing World, chapter 9: "Advocacy at the UN"
The International Criminal Court: Advancing the Global Rule of Law
Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017, 6:45 – 8:45 pm
Presenters: Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D., Executive Director & Sarah L.S. Erickson, J.D., Benjamin B. Ferencz Fellow in Human Rights & Law, World Without Genocide at Mitchell Hamline School of Law
In 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) began operating in The Hague, Netherlands, with the mandate to prosecute genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression perpetrated by individuals anywhere. This is the world’s first permanent court with this mandate. The US had a prominent role in the creation of the ICC, but has not signed the Rome Statute, the document that provides for the creation of the ICC.
This program was sponsored by CGS-MN, and co-sponsored by Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, United Nations Association, MN, and World Without Genocide at Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
Quotes by Benjamin B. Ferencz:
"There can be no peace without justice, no justice without law, and no meaningful law without a Court to decide what is just and lawful under any given circumstance."
Nuremberg taught me that ... if we do not devote ourselves to developing effective world law, the same cruel mentality that made the Holocaust possible might one day destroy the entire human race."
Resources provided by World Without Genocide:
American NGO Coalition for the ICC
International Criminal Court- Cour Penale Internationale
Ben Ferencz’s website
International NGO Coalition for the ICC
Print and electronic resources – University of Chicago
CGS-MN Annual Dinner - Russia: The New Cold War
THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2017, 6:00 PM
Presenter: Todd Lefko
Russia and the United States have entered a new form of the Cold War. Autocratic leadership by President Putin and increasingly by President Trump have produced new issues, many of which have existed from the past century. What are the implications of Russian actions in Ukraine, Crimea, Western elections and the Middle East? Is Russia capable of democratic governance? Are Russian and American interests diametrically opposed, producing another period of potential nuclear conflict? The choices of Putin raise questions on the world role of the United States, as well as the long-term potential of Russian influence with a damaged economy and governmental systems threatened by historical forces. How we approach and resolve these issues will impact the coming years and world events.
Todd Lefko is President of the International Business Development Council, an import-export firm, and writes for Rossiske Vesti, a Russian political newspaper and Rusya-Al Youm, the Russian Arabic Television channel for the Middle East. He has taught urban affairs, political science, international relations, political philosophy, political campaign management, leadership, organizational development and public administration and sociology at the university level, and has lectured at universities in Russia, China, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
PDF: "Russia: Questions for Discussion & Changes in US-Russia Relations Since the Cold War"
5th Annual World Law Day Symposium: Science, Law and the Quest for Freedom in the Age of Trump
Monday, May 1, 2017, 5:30 PM
Presenters: Shawn Otto, author of “The War on Science: Who’s Waging It, Why It Matters, What We Can Do About It”
Shawn Otto (www.shawnotto.com) is co-founder and producer of the US presidential science debates at ScienceDebate.org. He is the award-winning author of "The War on Science: Who’s Waging It, Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It," which has been called "a game changer, and probably the most important book you'll read this year." He is also an award-winning screenwriter and novelist, best known for writing and co-producing the Academy Award-nominated movie "House of Sand and Fog," and the LA Times Book Prize finalist literary crime novel, "Sins of our Fathers." He has advised science debate efforts in many countries and speaks worldwide on the critical role of science, evidence, and objectivity in free societies.
World Law Day was an innovation of the Minnesota World Federalists in 1963, and was an annual program for over 30 years; it was re-initiated as an annual program in 2013.
The World is My Country
Apr 23, 27 & 29, 2017
The World Is My Country film is about World Citizen #1: Garry Davis, who spent 65 years of his life as a citizen of no nation, only Earth. For years he traveled around the globe on his World Passport while engaging in adventures so unique that his life made a front-page headline story in The New York Times and inspired stories in The Washington Post, The LA Times and other worldwide media. Hailed by Albert Einstein for “the sacrifices he has made for the well-being of humanity,” extolled by Buckminster Fuller as the “New World Man,” and egged on by Eleanor Roosevelt to start “a worldwide international government,” Garry Davis was a pioneering thinker, an author of 10 books, and founder of the World Service Authority - an organization in Washington, D.C. that issues World Passports to stateless refugees and to people who think globally, and above the nation-states that carve up our one globe. To find out more go to www.theworldismycountry.com.
Sponsored by CGS-MN
Brexit, the E.U., and the rise of European populism
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Presenter: Roger Prestwich
Roger Prestwich served as the international program director at Metropolitan State University’s College of Management for many years, and as the college’s interim dean in 2013-14. Before joining Metropolitan State, Prestwich served as director of the Minnesota Trade Office education program for 12 years and of the World Trade Conference Center for two years. Now retired, Roger continues consulting with organizations and businesses, and remains engaged internationally, serving on the Saint Paul-Minneapolis Committee on Foreign Relations, the Minnesota District Export Council, and the Midwest Global Trade Association.
Powerpoint Slides from Robert's talk are available here
Move Upstream: A Call to Solve Overpopulation
March 16, 2017
Presenter: Dr. Karen I. Shragg
Overpopulation needs to come back into our discourse, but in a new way. GONE must be any question about why we are going to wrestle with this issue again. We are going to do this because it is necessary. It is necessary but ONLY if we want to be successful in our progressive goals. If you want to address poverty, traffic, or water scarcity you must have the overpopulation discussion. It is humane, it is necessary and it is overdue.
Karen is a lifelong environmentalist, naturalist, educator, author and overpopulation activist. She began her career as a naturalist in 1983 and as the director of the City of Richfield’s Wood Lake Nature Center in 1991. She is passionate about the role nature centers can make in keeping communities thriving. Karen received her doctorate from the University of St. Thomas in 2002 where she studied critical pedagogy and its implications for the future of nature centers. She writes children’s books, the most well-known of which is the Nature’s Yucky series by Mountain Press. As a member of the advisory board of the non-profit “World Population Balance,” she has become deeply alarmed by the lack of discourse surrounding the overpopulation crisis. In 2015, her book Move Upstream, A Call to Solve Overpopulation. was published. She is currently working on a documentary short film called, “Move Upstream”
Further Reading:
World population projected to reach 98 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion in 2100
NAFTA, TPP and the uncertainty of US trade policy
February 16, 2017
Presenter: Kaela Berg, Director, MN Fair Trade Coalition
Ms. Berg will explain the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in terms of its history and what it is really about; how all trade agreements are connected; what is still out there being negotiated; and what "trade" could end up looking like with a Donald Trump presidency.
UN Human Rights Treaties: Why Isn’t the U.S. Leading?
January 19, 2017
Presenters: Kristi Rudelius-Palmer and Amanda Lyons
United Nations human rights treaties are important tools for building world-wide understanding and cooperation. They can be used to pressure governments to uphold the rights of all - including indigenous peoples, immigrants, women, children, the LGBT communities, individuals discriminated on the basis of their racial or religious identities, and persons with disabilities. In this interactive session, our guest experts will explore:
What is the history of human rights treaty ratification by the U.S.?
How has this changed over time, and why?
Which of the treaties deemed most important for world-wide cooperation have yet to be ratified by the Senate? Who is opposing their ratification, and who is working for ratification?
What actions can we take to advance human rights by advocating for ratification and implementation of these treaties?
Additional Materials: Powerpoint
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child https://www.unicef.org/crc/
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cedaw/pages/cedawindex.aspx
UN Convention on The Rights of Persons with Disabilities https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.html
Walid Issa: Freeing the Dove
November 17, 2016
Presenter: Walid Issa
In his presentation, 27-year-old Mr. Walid Issa shares his story and discuss the projects he has created to promote peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Raised in the Dehesha refugee camp in Bethlehem, Walid is the founder of the American Palestinian Hope Project and the co-founder of the Shades Program on Negotiation. He has received a Welter Global Citizen Award from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and a Student Leadership award from St. Cloud State University, where he received his degree in Economics. Don’t miss a chance to share ideas with this inspiring young peace entrepreneur!
Global Policy in an Election Year
October 29, 2016
Presenters: Tom Hanson
(Annual Meeting of United Nations Association-MN, in honor of United Nations Day. CGS-MN was a co-sponsor of this event.)
Tom Hanson’s U.S. Foreign Service postings included East Germany, France, Norway, the Soviet Union, Sweden, and the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. He also participated in the opening of new U.S. embassies in Mongolia and Estonia. Currently, Tom serves as Diplomat in Residence at the University of Minnesota – Duluth and is a member of MIC’s Great Decisions advisory committee and frequent Great Decisions speaker. He is also a board member of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights, U.S. Foundation.
Further Information: talk by Tom Hanson, January 2016, hosted by Minnesota International Center (in three parts)
Green Card Youth Voices
October 20, 2016
Presenters: Tea Rozman-Clark, Zaynab Abdi, Fosiya Hussien, Wendy St. Felix
Tea Rozman-Clark, a 2015 Archibald Bush Fellow and founder of Green Card Voices, brought three young immigrants who hold Green Cards: Zaynab Abdi from Yemen, Fosiya Hussien from Somalia and Wendy St. Felix from Haiti. The students are among those whose experiences are included in the recently published book, Green Card Youth Voices, all present or past students at Wellstone International High School in Minneapolis. Tea described the Green Card Voices program (both the general and youth programs), and each of the three youth gave a brief summary of their story.
For further information about Green Card Voices, click HERE.
To purchase the Green Card Voices book click here.
Authored by 30 students from Wellstone High School, edited by Tea Rozman-Clark and Rachel Mueller. In September of 2015, Green Card Voices recorded 30 stories of immigrants from Wellstone International High School. These courageous youth coming from 13 countries shared their powerful stories of family, school, change, and dreams.
War, Media, Propaganda: Muslims As The Other - A Personal Narrative
october 15, 2015
Presenter: Mnar Muhawesh
Mnar Muhawesh is founder, CEO and editor in chief of MintPress News, and is also a regular speaker on responsible journalism, sexism, neo-conservativism within the media, and journalism start-ups.
Mnar is a Palestinian American who lived in Palestine for three years when she was achild. Her experiences, which were in contradiction to what she read in the U.S. news, inspired her tobecome a journalist. She talks about her experiences and about MintPress News, “an independentwatchdog journalism organization that provides issue-based original reporting, in-depthinvestigations, and thoughtful analysis of the most pressing topics facing our nation. We focus ourcoverage on issues relating to the effects of special interest groups, big business and lobbying effortsand how they shape policies at home and abroad, including American foreign policy. Through thelens of social justice and human rights, we report on how these dynamics drive our foreign affairs andimpact the world, and examine the effects they have on our democracy and freedoms as defined bythe constitution.”
Further Information: http://www.mintpressnews.com/
The Iran Nuclear Deal: Pros and Cons, A Round Table Discussion
August, 2015
On Monday, 24 August 2015, the United Nations Association of Minnesota held a round table on the merits of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), sometimes referred to as the "Iran Nuclear Deal." Over 225 were in attendance, and this is the entire record of the discussion. CGS-MN was a co-sponsor of this event.)
Participants:
-Eric Schwartz, Dean, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
-Rep. Keith Ellison, U.S. Congress MN-DFL
Pro:
-William Beeman, Iran scholar, Chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota
-Tom Hanson, former foreign service officer, Diplomat in Residence, University of Minnesota, Duluth
Con:
-Oren Gross, the Irving Younger Professor of Law and the Director of the Institute for International Legal & Security Studies at the University of Minnesota Law School.
-Terrence Flower, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Physics, St. Catherine University, St. Paul, Minnesota.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Wikipedia article about the“Iran Nuclear Deal”
New York Times 8/25/15 article: “Weighing the Odds in Fight Over IranNuclear Deal” New York Times 7/14/15 “Deal Reached on Iran Nuclear Program: Limits onFuel Would Lessen With Time”
The International Problem of Domestic Violence: Monitoring and Promoting Improvement
June 2015
Presenter: Rosalyn Park, The Advocates for Human Rights
Prior to being appointed director of The Advocate's Women'sHuman Rights Program, Rosalyn Park worked as a staff attorney in theWomen’s Human Rights Program and on special projects. She hasassisted in conducting fact-finding missions in Bulgaria, Tajikistan, Croatia, Mongolia, Sierra Leone, and Serbia. She has co-authored severalpublications and is a frequent guest lecturer in the community. In addition, she teaches global gender violence at the University of Minnesota as anadjunct professor.
This is the Annual Dinner presentation for 2015 for the Citizens for Global Solutions-Minnesota. Rosalyn Park of the Advocates of Human Rights presents on the international problem of Domestic Violence and how her center addresses monitoring and promoting improvement.
(View accompanying Powerpoint presentation)
Further Information: http://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/
Ending Childhood Malnutrition
June 19, 2014
Presenter: Dr. Bharat Parekh
A native of India, Dr. Parekh earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Rochester. Hetaught for fifteen years at ND State University and was a research scientist at the ND WaterResources Research Institute in Fargo. He has live in the Twin Cities since 1987. As a consultant forUS and Indian companies and NGOs, his work involved technology transfer and trade in theenvironmental and rural development sectors. His current passion is to fight the scourge ofmalnutrition in Mumbai and other parts of India. He has long been active in Citizens for GlobalSolutions, Minnesota; the St. Paul/Minneapolis Committee on Foreign Relations; and the UnitedNations Association of Minnesota, where he set up the Minnesota Millennium Initiative to championthe Millennium Development Goals. He serves on the Board of Toddler Food Partners.
Three years ago, Toddler Food Partners, a Minnesota-based NGO, built a pilot projectfacility to make Ready-to- Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in a health center in Dharavi, Mumbai, arguably Asia’s largest slum. An adjacent hospital embarked on a controlled clinical trial to testRUTF’s efficacy in comparison with Standard Nutrition Therapy (SNT) with a sample of 200 children. The eight-week trial showed that RUTF substantially out-performed SNT. The implications are far reaching. Dr. Parekh explains the wider global context.
Further Information: http://toddlerfoodpartners.org/