Events

The Young Initiative invites foreign policy experts and guest speakers to campus to engage in discussions on international relations and the global political economy with students and faculty.

Upcoming Events

United Nations Week

With the William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program, the Young Initiative supports the annual United Nations Week at Occidental College. We are passionate in maintaining students involvement and engagement in sustainable development. Our students choose topics that link Global Political Economy, Social Justice, and Sustainable Development.

UN Week 2020: Climate Change & Economic/Environmental Justice

Keynote speaker, Dr. Steven Were Omamo, Representative and Country Director for the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Ethiopia, provided perspective and insights about the UN's work on Climate Change and Environmental Justice.

UN Week 2019: Gender, Sexuality and Collective Action

The keynote speaker, Ambassador Melanne Verveer spoke to students about gender in the Sustainable Development Goals.

UN Week 2018: The Power of Place

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a new partnership with Oxy to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

UN Week 2017: Through Refugees Eyes

Michel Gabaudan, President, Refugees International gave a talk on “The Global Refugee and Migration Crisis Under Trump: Where is the US? Where is Europe? What Can We Do About It?”

UN Week 2016: The UN and the US after Obama

Historian and foreign policy expert, Stephen Schlesinger reflected back on the history of the UN and predicted its future trajectory. Honorary Lloyd Axworthy, former Foreign Minister of Canada gave a talk titled: "Resetting the Narrative: Peace, Security, and the UN's Responsibility to Protect."

Young Events

Young speakers give students and faculty an opportunity to expand their understanding of global issues. The Young Initiative sponsors several speakers each academic year highlighting particular aspects of global affairs and the global political economy. The Young Speakers program is devoted to highlighting the work and success of eminent international affairs experts and Oxy alumni in public service and academia.

Understanding the World Cup

October 25, 2022

Join us for a conversation with David Goldblatt!

Russia's War in Ukraine and the Global Liberal Order

October 12, 2022

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Hilary Appel on Thursday, October 20th!

Image of Professor Juan Pablo Pardo-Guerra

Making Global Markets - Technology, Ethics, and Finance in the 21st Century with Professor Juan Pablo Pardo-Guerra

March 17, 2022

Professor Igor Logvinenko of Occidental College’s Diplomacy & World Affairs Department moderated this fascinating talk by Professor Juan Pablo Pardo-Guerra, an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of California at San Diego.

Global Resistances to SOGI Rights: Actors, Claims, Venues with Professor Ayoub & Professor Kristina Stöckl

February 26, 2022

Blacklists, Bankers, and Bad Money: International Cooperation to Combat Illicit Financing with Professor Julia Morse

February 17, 2022

Professor Igor Logvinenko of Occidental College’s Diplomacy & World Affairs Department moderated this engaging talk by Professor Julia Morse, based on her book The Bankers’ Blacklist: Unofficial Market Enforcement and the Global Fight Against Illicit Financing.

Poster for Panel on Uyghur Muslim Persecution

Uyghur Muslim Persecution in Xinjiang, China

April 1, 2021

A panel discussion on Uyghur Muslim persecution featuring Critical Theory and Social Justice, the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, Diplomacy and World Affairs, and the Young Initiative

Racial Justice and Restorative Justice: From Truth Telling to Reparations

November 5, 2020

Fania Davis is a leading national voice on restorative justice. She is a civil rights lawyer, social justice advocate, restorative justice practitioner, writer and scholar with a PhD in Indigenous Knowledge. The Los Angeles Times named her a New Civil Rights Leader of the 21st Century.

Jennifer Llewellyn is a Professor of Law for the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University and the Director...

Feeding the Hungry

November 4, 2020

Michelle Jurkovich is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston and a Visiting Fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. Her research interests include international food security, ethics, economic and social rights, and human security.

Poverty and Inclusion in the Los Angeles SDGs

October 30, 2020

For nearly three years the Young Initiative has partnered with the City of Los Angeles to adopt the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals on a local level. Multiple cohorts of Oxy students have participitated in SDG task forces, and this past summer was no different. 17 Oxy students were split up across 6 different city projects to advance the SDGs.

Truth Commissions and Transitional Justice

October 7, 2020

Kelebogile Zvobgo is incoming Assistant Professor of Government at William & Mary and Founder and Director of its International Justice Lab. Zvobgo’s research focuses on quasi-judicial bodies that have proliferated across the globe to fill the gaps left by domestic and international law and courts. Her work on such accountability mechanisms has extended to truth commissions and international...