February 20, 2013 Events

February 20-24, 2013

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

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2013
Kenya Decides: The 2013 Presidential Election
Hosted by: Brookings Institute
Location: 1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
Saul/Zilkha Rooms
Time: 1:00-2:30
Summary: Next month, Kenya will hold its first elections since 2007. While the country has made significant progress since this time, including approving a new constitution and achieving strong economic growth, two of the leading candidates for president and vice president Uhuru Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto are being indicted by the International Criminal Court for their alleged role in the violence that followed the 2007 elections. International pressure for free and fair elections in Kenya is high and holding peaceful elections in the country will have major implications for the region and relations with international partners, including the United States.

On February 20, theAfrica Growth Initiative at Brookings will host a discussion on Kenyas upcoming elections. Panelists will include: Jendayi Frazer, distinguished service professor at Carnegie Mellon University; Karuti Kanyinga, professor the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi; and Brookings Senior Fellow Mwangi Kimenyi, director of the Africa Growth Initiative. Vincent Makori, host of Voice of Americas Africa In Focus, will moderate the discussion.

After the program, the panelists will take audience questions. This event will be live webcast. Participants can follow the event on Twitter using hashtag #ForesightAfrica.

For more information, please visit: http://www.brookings.edu/events/2013/02/20-kenya-election?rssid=UpcomingEvents&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BrookingsRSS%2Ftopfeeds%2FUpcomingEvents+%28Brookings+Upcoming+Events%29

Human Rights 101
Hosted by: Brookings Institute
Location: 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20016
Ward 2
Time: 6:00-7:30
Summary: Human Rights 101 is a crash course in human rights that will provide participants with a basic understanding of human rights principles, international law, and the human rights regime.

For anyone who is interested in human rights but never really had the opportunity to learn the basics, this is the event for you. You will leave with the fundamentals to help you better understand human rights and assist you in your work as an advocate, activist, or organizer.
For more information, please visit: http://www.brookings.edu/events/2013/02/20-kenya-election?rssid=UpcomingEvents&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BrookingsRSS%2Ftopfeeds%2FUpcomingEvents+%28Brookings+Upcoming+Events%29

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2013
Young and Undocumented: The New American Story
Hosted by: The Wilson Center
Location: 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20004
Time: 4:00-5:30pm
Summary: The Woodrow Wilson Centers Latin American Program, Mexico Institute and Africa Program and Georgetown University are pleased to invite you to a panel discussion with four undocumented, undergraduate leaders of Hoyas for Immigrant Rights, a student advocacy organization at Georgetown University. Young and Undocumented: The New American Story centers on the challenges including limited access to education, healthcare, and financial opportunities that immigrant college students face. As the White House and Congress take up the debate over immigration reform with new vigor and urgency, the personal stories of these young people from Mexico and Kenya serve as an important reminder of what is at stake in this debate.
For more information, please visit: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/dreamers

'Tunisia: Are Economic Decline and Political Violence Prevailing?'
Hosted by: Johns Hopkins SAIS
Location: 1619 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.
812
Time: 5:30-7:30pm
Summary: Mustapha Kamel Nabli, governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia and senior adviser to the World Bank chief economist; Emanuele Santi, principal country economist at Tunisia African Development Bank; Stephen McInerney, executive director of the Project on Middle East Democracy; Alexis Arieff, an analyst in African Affairs at Congressional Research Services; and Daniele Moro (moderator), visiting scholar in the SAIS African Studies Program, will discuss this topic.

For more information or to RSVP, please visit:http://sais-jhu.edu/events/2013-02-21-173000-2013-02-21-193000/tunisia-are-economic-decline-and-political-violence

 
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013
Eastern Congo: Changing Dynamics and the Implications for Peace
Hosted by: US Institute of Peace
Location: 2301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
Time: 10:00-11:30am
Summary: Unrest in northeastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to claim lives, disproportionately target women, fuel the illicit economy, constrain development and undermine prospects for peace. Mediation efforts by the United Nations and the DRC's neighbors have yielded few tangible results and mistrust is rife. Major issues include the role of the M23 in the peace process, widespread gender-based violence and the resilient illicit economy (particularly in the mining sector). The M23 rebel group was formed on 4 April 2012 when some 300 soldiers mutinied, citing poor conditions in the army and the government's unwillingness to implement the 23 March 2009 peace deal. They seized control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in November 2012 and have been involved in regionally-brokered mediation efforts since being forced out in December.

On February 5, the South African government arrested a group of 19 Congolese belonging to a shadowy group called the Union of Nationalists for Renewal, who were allegedly plotting a violent coup in the DRC. This further complicates an already dire situation and injects an added sense of urgency. In light of these developments, peacebuilding in the DRC requires a nuanced assessment of conflict dynamics and creative strategies to leverage windows of opportunity.

On February 22, the U.S. Institute of Peace will convene an event on recent changes in the war in eastern Congo and their implications for peace. Panelists will share insights from recent trips to the region, examine opportunities and risks for advancing a meaningful peace process, and highlight lessons from other relevant peace processes potentially applicable to the Great Lakes.
For more information or to RSVP, please visit:http://www.usip.org/events/eastern-congo-changing-dynamics-and-the-implications-peace