April 29 - May 5 Events

Continue reading for events occurring throughout Washington, D.C. next week.

MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013
Dissertation Proposal Presentation – Sandra Jones
Hosted by: George Mason University School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution
Location: George Mason University - Arlington Campus, Truland Building, Room 540
3351 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22201
Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm
Summary: This study seeks to uncover the relationship between trauma and conflictual attitudes among genocide survivors and subsequent violence between victims and perpetrators. Such attitudes and indirect violence further the hardening of identities frozen around the conflict, which re-traumatizes both groups. Paired with the dehumanization of the tormentor group by the victim group, this institutionalized trauma leads to a normalization of attitudes supporting renewed direct violence as a justifiable response to victimization from both sides resulting in a repetitive cycle of violence, and even future genocides. This work will be conducted in Burundi, a country understudied in a region poised on the verge of renewed violence. It will focus on the Tutsi identity group, which has played dual roles as both a victim and a perpetrator in conflicts in the Great Lakes Region.
For more information, please visit: http://scar.gmu.edu/event/dissertation-proposal-presentation

However Long the Night: Molly Melching's Journey to Help Millions of African Women and Girls Triumph
Hosted by: Women's Foreign Policy Group
Location: The Wilderness Society
1615 M Street, NW Washington, DC
Time: 12:00pm
Summary: In However Long the Night, Aimee Molloy tells the story of Molly Melching, an American whose experience as an exchange student in Senegal led her to become a social entrepreneur and dedicate her life to promoting the rights of girls and women of Africa. Through Tostan, an organization she founded in 1991, Melching has promoted community-led social strategies which have resulted in increased school and birth registration, the emergence of female leadership, and reductions in infant and maternal mortality. Following the organization's human-rights based programming; more than 4,500 communities in Senegal, Guinea, The Gambia, Somalia, and Burkina Faso have publicly denounced deeply entrenched traditional practices like female genital cutting and child/forced marriage.

Molly Melching has lived and worked in Senegal since 1974. Throughout her career, she has focused on using oral traditions, to educate and spur discussions within communities on democracy, human rights, and health. Before founding Tostan, Melching founded a center for street children in Dakar as a Peace Corps volunteer, began a weekly radio program in Wolof, and worked on a USAID-funded rural education program, which was later expanded with the support of UNICEF. Named "one of the most powerful women in women's rights" by Forbes in 2011, Melching and Tostan have received numerous awards including the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize, and Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.
(Members - $20, Non-Members - $25)
For more information, please visit: http://wfpg.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mc&view=mc&mcid=72&eventId=384090

China's Development Finance to Africa: A Media-Based Approach to Data Collection
Hosted by: Center for Global Development
Location: Center for Global Development
1800 Massachusetts Avenue NW, First Floor Conference Center, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20036
Time: 4:00pm – 5:30pm
Summary: How big is China's aid to Africa? Does it complement or undermine the efforts of traditional donors? China releases little information and outside estimates of the size and nature of Chinese aid vary widely. In an effort to overcome this problem, AidData, based at William and Mary College in Virginia, has compiled a database of thousands of media reports on Chinese-backed projects in Africa from 2000-2011. The database includes information on 1,673 projects in 51 African countries, and $75 billion in commitments of official finance.

The CGD working paper released at this event describes the new database methodology, key findings, and possible applications and limitations of the data, which is being made publicly available for the first time. The paper and database offer a new toolset for researchers, policymakers, journalists, and civil society organizations working to understand China's growing role in Africa.
For more information, please visit: http://international.cgdev.org/event/china%E2%80%99s-development-finance-africa-media-based-approach-data-collection

Dambisa Moyo's Winner Take All: China's Race for Resources and What it Means for the World
Hosted by: Young Professionals in Foreign Policy
Location: Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, The Nitze Building, Kenney Herter Auditorium
1740 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036
Time: 6:30pm
Summary: Acclaimed international economist Dambisa Moyo argues in Winner Take All: China's Race for Resources and What It Means for the World that China is on an aggressive global "shopping spree," buying up more commodities than any other country. Commodities such as water, metals, miners, timber, and arable land, are essential and the lack of commodities have and will continue to spark conflicts around the world. By examining global commodity markets and China's lead, Dr. Moyo, demonstrates social and political implications for the United States and the rest of the world.
For more information, please visit: https://ypfp.org/event/ypfp-dc-dambisa-moyos-winner-take-all-chinas-race-resources-and-what-it-means-world

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013
African Women and Youth as Agents of Change through Technology and Innovation
Hosted by: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Location: Woodrow Wilson Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20004
Time: 10:15am – 2:30pm
Summary: As investments in science, technology and innovations are increasingly critical for sustainable development; new generations of women and youth leaders throughout Africa are emerging and developing innovative strategies and solutions using new technologies to overcome daily issues at both the local and national levels. African youths and women have tremendous innovation capacities yet to be fully harnessed for sustainable development of the continent and globally. According to Nitin Sawhney, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the New School for Public Engagement, 'Adolescents are the lead adopters of new technology, new patterns of use and new ways of thinking and it is therefore crucial to focus on that group.' Additionally, a recent report from the International Center for Research on Women titled, 'Bridging the Gender Divide: How Technology Can Advance Women Economically,' found that applying the technology enabled female users to increase productivity, pursue new entrepreneurial opportunities or skills, or otherwise improve their economic opportunities.

This conference will highlight technological innovations by women and youth leaders in Africa as a way of inspiring and mentoring a new generation of women and youth to be agents of change. It will also aim to assist in the development of a growing network between current and new generations of women and youth leaders in technology and innovation.
For more information, please visit: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/african-women-and-youth-agents-change-through-technology-and-innovation

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013
Africa and the Global Arms Trade Treaty
Hosted by: Institute for Policy Studies
Location: Institute for Policy Studies, Suite 600, Conference Room
1112 16th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
Time: 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Summary: Can an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) help? How can world leaders and national governments both within and without Africa best help leverage the ATT to help deal with existing small arms violence and prevent violence in the future?

Join IPS' Foreign Policy In Focus for a panel discussion examining the ATT and its implications for Africa with a specific focus on what the ATT is and what it is not, as well as what is next to help the treaty come in to force. Key areas of concern, such as conflict, commission of human rights abuses, the impact of the unauthorized/illicit arms sales on development and security in Africa will also be addressed.
For more information, please visit: http://www.ips-dc.org/events/africa_and_the_global_arms_trade_treaty