The World Leaders forum is held every year to coincide with the UN General Assembly. Bwog will hop in and out of the forum throughout the week. On Tuesday night, a former Bwogger and current Bwog Balkanization Fellow ventured to Low to hear Atifete Jahjaga, President of Kosovo.

Atifete Jahjaga does not have an easy job, to put it mildly. The country she leads has been to hell and back, and it controversially declared independence just over three years ago. Despite the challenges her country faces, President Jahjaga used her talk to voice optimism about the progress and future of her young democracy.

After an introduction from Dean/Interim Provost Coatsworth, Jahjaga spoke about her background as a leader in Kosovo’s police force, striving to create a “multiethnic and inclusive” organization that she called “the most respected institution in Kosovo.” The fight for fair and just law enforcement was a struggle with deep personal roots. Her father was born in jail because her family criticized the communist regime.

“I grew up at the height of police oppression,” she explained, “and I wanted a different police.” (more…)

The World Leaders forum is held every year to coincide with the UN General Assembly. Bwog will hop in and out of the forum throughout the week. On Monday night, Disease-free tag team Zach Kagan and Evelyn Warner hit up the Lance Armstrong opening event.

Lance Armstrong looked a little out of place among the doctors and global health experts that made up Monday’s World Leader’s Forum on preventing and Treating Noncomminicable Diseases in Developing Countries. In fact, throughout the event Armstrong had very little to say. CNN chief medical correspondent and moderator for this event, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, only asked one question of the cyclist, about his experience working with governments for his non-profit, Livestrong. In answering Armstrong said that the same year he took Livestrong global he also decided to bike again. “Only one was a good idea,” he quipped, and then after waiting a beat he added, “going global was the good idea.”

And that’s all Columbia really got out of Lance. The discussion itself was largely dominated by Harvard Medical School professors Paul Farmer and Lawrence Shulman. Sanjay Gupta started the discussion by going over some quite troubling statistics: 80% of all cancer deaths are in the developing world, killing more than AIDS, TB, and malaria combined. Gupta remarked that the assembled panel, “the A-Team of world health,” as he put it, would try to discuss how such problems could be addressed in the developing world.

Columbia professor Wafaa El-Sadr took on most of Gupta’s hard questions. She explained that the rise of NCDs (noncommunicable diseases) in the developing world is the result of increased fuel consumption, pollution, dietary changes, and a variety of other factors. El-Sadr advocated for a balance between treatment and prevention when developing strategies to combat NCDs.

More about the event and photos after the jump

He will not get to see Lance Armstrong. Bummer.

Registration for the World Leaders Forum opens tomorrow morning at 10 am! When it comes to anything involving Sundial, “you snooze, you lose.” Or rather, “by the time the page refreshes, it’s already full.” But if you don’t play you can’t win.

For the unknowing, the World Leaders Forum is a star-studded lecture series that features some of the most influential people in the world. We’re especially excited for legendary cyclist and cancer survivor, Lance Armstrong, and TV medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta.  Full list of speakers below—note registration for a few events are on a different schedule.

Update, 10:18am: Multiple tipsters tell us that Sundial is down!

Monday, September 19

Discussion with Lance Armstrong, Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, Dr. Paul Farmer, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Dr. Lawrence Shulman
Delivering Hope: Preventing and Treating Noncommunicable Diseases in Developing Countries
4:00 p.m., Low Memorial Library
Co-sponsored by the Mailman School of Public Health.

Tuesday, September 20

President of the Republic of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga
Kosovo’s Road Ahead
5:00 p.m., Low Memorial Library
Co-sponsored by The Harriman Institute.

Thursday, September 22

President of the Republic of Haiti, Michel Martelly
Moving Beyond Crisis Recovery towards Lasting Development
2:30 p.m., Miller Theatre
Co-sponsored by the Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity, The Center for International Earth Science Information Network, and The Earth Institute.

President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff
Low Memorial Library
Co-sponsored by the Institute of Latin American Studies and the School of International and Public Affairs.
Please note, the time of this event will be listed in the coming days. Please visit www.worldleaders.columbia.edu for updates. Registration for this event will open on Monday, September 19, at 10:00 a.m.

(Canceled)

Friday, September 23

King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Abdullah II bin al-Hussein
10:30 a.m., Low Memorial Library
Co-sponsored by the Columbia University Middle East Research Center.

President of the Republic of Ecuador, Rafael Correa
2:00 p.m., Miller Theatre
Co-sponsored by the Institute of Latin American Studies and the School of International and Public Affairs.
Please note, registration for this event is currently open.

Monday, September 26

President of the Islamic Development Bank Group, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali
The Looming International Financial Crisis and the Excessive Reliance on Debt
12:00 noon, Low Memorial Library
Co-sponsored by The Earth Institute.
Please note, registration for this event is currently open.

Sleepyhead from Wikimedia Commons

Registration for Columbia’s annual World Leaders Forum opened this morning at 9. Attending this year are Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, and President of the Islamic Development Bank Group, Doctor Ahmed Mohamed Ali. Spots are limited, register here.

Mr. Soros

George Soros is currently the chairman of the hedge fund group Soros Fund Management, and is well known for his philanthropic support of liberal causes. Soros spoke at length about financial recovery, about what governments did right–and what they did wrong. He was introduced by Professor Joseph Stiglitz, who also quietly interpreted each question asked of him.

This Tuesday shortly before noon, a line stretched from the front door of Low Library nearly to the doors of Dodge Hall as those students lucky enough to be selected waited to see billionaire investor George Soros speak. The two-day conference the speech was a part of was called “Sovereign Wealth Funds and Other Long-Term Investors: A New Form of Capitalism” and brought former Vice President Al Gore to speak earlier in the day. Instead of a speech full of platitudes, Soros’ delivery was more like a lecture about his personal, well-considered views on the current outlook for the global economy.

In taking steps to alleviate the length and severity of the recession brought on by the financial crisis, Soros said, states generally made the correct move in the short run and were largely successful in mitigating the economic effects. In the long run, however, Soros argued that governments should take steps in the opposite direction: to decrease, rather than increase, the level of borrowing in the market, as the initial actions to prop up the financial system had only put global markets on “artificial life support.” However, they must be careful not to choke off economic recovery in doing so.

Soros highlighted the debt burden of nations as a metric for gauging both the involvement of the government in the economy and the risk of a nation defaulting on its financial obligations. The interest carried by national debt, U.S. Treasury Bills for example, shows the “risk premium” given by the market. That is, the higher the rate of interest on a government’s debt, the more likely the market thinks the government will not be able to pay back what it has borrowed. Governments, in turn, can use this interest rate to determine whether or not they have borrowed too much.

Overall, then, Soros said he believes that interest rates are too low: governments should do more to stimulate the economy in terms of fiscal policy, preferably in the form of investments instead of immediate spending. The greatest risk Soros identified to stop this is rising political pressure to lower deficits in both the United States and the European Union. “Budget deficits have been exploited for political and partisan purposes,” he said in his careful, almost aristocratic tone.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo by DH

The Committee on Global Thought, a Columbia organization, hosted a conference called “Sovereign Wealth Funds and Other Long-Term Investors: A New Form of Capitalism?” yesterday and today. If you didn’t hear about it, you just must not be cool or something. Today the University hosted talks from former Vice President Al Gore and billionaire George Soros which were both oddly double-billed as being part of both the conference and the World Leaders Forum. Both stayed fairly close to the somewhat esoteric topic of SWFs, which made for some interesting, technical lectures. Bwog Lock Box Expert David Hu reports from the Inconvenient Man’s talk. Stay tuned for Soros coverage tomorrow.

At 8 this morning, a line of undergraduates snaked around Low, each one of them eager to catch a first-hand glimpse of the man that was going to be our next president. Even so, there were many people dressed up in suits, and before the talk started, Bwog noticed a man who even brought his own crumpets and tea platter to the event.

However, soon after 9, PrezBo and Al Gore walked out together, a hush fell over the crowd, and Mr. Bo took to the podium to introduce the speaker. He talked about the context of the address and personally thanked Joseph Stiglitz as well as other sponsors of the event. He wasn’t short on his lauds for the former Vice President either, mentioning his Nobel Prize and previous stints lecturing at Columbia. However, Bollinger’s introduction was brief compared to others he’s given at World Leaders Forum events, and he quickly bolted off stage after handing over the podium to Gore, leaving behind the iconic blue chair and a sad, lonely pitcher of water all by themselves for most of the lecture. Perhaps something else needed his attention.

(more…)

Al Gore lookin' good

Holy smokes! Barnard students just received an email from Dean Denburg, saying that the World Leaders Forum will host an event with Al Gore this Tuesday.

The full email is below. Columbia students still haven’t gotten the email, but this email says registration is open to Columbia, Barnard and Teacher’s College. Register tomorrow at 9 AM, we suppose!

Dear Barnard students,

Please see the following announcement regarding the upcoming World Leaders Forum. Note that registration
opens tomorrow, Thursday, September 30th, at 9:00 AM. Seating is limited.

Dorothy Denburg
Dean of the College
************************************************************************

World Leaders Forum is pleased to announce the following events taking
place on Tuesday, October 5, 2010:

9:00 a.m.
Enacting Sustainable Capitalism
Rotunda, Low Memorial Library

Al Gore, chairman of Generation Investment Management, will deliver an
address to be followed by a question and answer session with the
audience.

11:45 a.m.
The Sovereign Debt Problem
Rotunda, Low Memorial Library

George Soros, chair of Soros Fund Management LLC and founder of the Open
Society Institute, will deliver an address to be followed by a question
and answer session with the audience.

Both events are co-sponsored by Committee on Global Thought and
Sovereign Wealth Fund Research Initiative

Registration
Online registration is required and seating is limited. Registration is
open to students from Columbia University, Barnard College, and Teachers
College.

Registration for both events will open on Thursday, September 30, at
9:00 a.m.

To register, please visit www.worldleaders.columbia.edu
<http://www.worldleaders.columbia.edu/>

Gül in 2007

Dane Cook was on hand to hear Abdullah Gül, the President of the Republic of Turkey, address the World Leaders Forum as the last speaker in the week-long series. Though Gül expressed sentiments of optimism and cooperation for the future, students pressed him on steps Turkey has recently made in the international scene.

While introducing President Gül, University President Bollinger expressed what he believes to be the American perception—or misperception—of Turkey as a “metaphorical bridge, linking the West and the Muslim world.” He pointed out, however, that Turkish citizens do not consider their nation to be a link, but rather a center in and of itself.

Bollinger also stressed the need for an open dialogue on the sensitive issues that the world currently faces, proposing the University as a fitting place for such a dialogue to develop. In his opening remarks, Gül praised University President Bollinger’s new book, Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open, which he claimed he saw in a NYC bookshop, and he assented to Bollinger’s emphasis on free press and free discussion.

The first half of his address focused on Turkey’s accomplishments over the past decade. Gül emphasized the liberalization of the media, cultural advances, dedication to human rights, and further democratization, as well as listed significant economic figures that suggest Turkey is stepping into an increasingly important role in the international community. He highlighted the fact that Turkey has the 16th-largest economy in the world, recently passed a liberalizing constitutional referendum that garnered majority support of 58%, and has the most Facebook users of any country in the world behind English-speaking nations. He openly acknowledged that Turkey has many issues yet to be resolved, but expressed his resolute optimism that Turkey is moving forward: “Today the Turkish influence is being felt in the most positive manner.”

(more…)

Pensive and photoshopped.

Thursday, at the Rotunda in the Low Memorial Library, Prime Minister of Portugal José Sócrates spoke on “Energy Policy and the Portuguese New Growth Agenda.” Born in 1957,  Sócrates joined the Portuguese Socialist Party in 1981. He worked his way up governmental posts, and has been a civil engineer, a member of parliament, and a spokesman on environmental affairs for the Socialist Party. He helped organize the EURO 2004 cup in Portugal and that same year was asked to form a new government, after leading the opposition. In 2009, he was reelected. Bwog’s Conor Skelding reports.

Throughout his address, Sócrates displayed ample charisma and humor with quips like, “My friend advised me  not to speak in English, but in the international language. Bad English. So watch out, I will be speaking English.” This was all punctuated by heavy gesticulations and by the continuous click and flash of high-speed shutter cameras.

Sócrates began by describing Portugal’s economic landscape six years ago. In 2004, Portugal was suffering high unemployment, high debt, and a devastatingly large trade deficit (accounting for fifty percent of said debt). Portugal, having no oil of its own, was extremely dependent on foreign petroleum.

Today, Portugal is a different place entirely. A staggering forty-five percent of its energy is either wind, solar, or wave based, and it is the fifth most renewable European country, exporting more electricity than it imports. Each year, 100 billion Euros are saved on fossil fuels. More than twenty thousand Portuguese are employed in the renewable energy sector, with corporations forming frequently. Sócrates’ goals for 2020 are no less impressive. He aims for sixty percent clean energy by 2020, with another 3.7 billion Euros to be invested in doubling the wind energy output.
(more…)

Bwog’s World Leaders Forum coverage continues with a lecture by the President of Timor-Leste, José Ramos-Horta. Kinno Norojono reports.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

“Imagine finding yourself being the leader of a country that had been destroyed by war…” Wearing a simple black suit, the President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta addressed the packed Kellogg Center at the top of IAB with his relaxed and impromptu style of speaking. Ramos-Horta shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with Bishop Ximenes Belo for his efforts to lead Timor-Leste towards freedom and returned to Columbia after over two decades to share his experiences trying to revive an emotionally distressed population and to find sustainable solutions to a budding nation’s growing economy.

The President, who lost four of his own siblings to the brutality of the Indonesian occupation from 1975-2002, began by describing the fall of the Suharto regime on May 21, 1998. That grim period in Timor-Leste’s history was a “humanitarian catastrophe” where “millions people had been displaced, 90% of schools were destroyed, and no health clinics were available.”

Another of the President’s goals is to try to lobby foreign powers to help him build a “completely democratic state.” The UN, he recounted, believed that it should take two years for this to occur. Stopping abruptly, he asked, “How long does it take to build a sustainable Chinese take-away business in New York?” Puzzled, the crowd laughed and offered him answers ranging from “twelve months” to “two years.” “Two years,” he said while surveying the room. “If it takes a business two years to run properly, how can a country turn into a completely democratic state in the same amount of time?”

This was a rhetorical question of course, as Timor-Leste has been independent since May 19, 2002, and the President is optimistic despite his doubts. With the country’s vast natural resources in oil and minerals, Ramos-Horta hopes to “fast-track achievements of the Millenium Development Goals” such as the considerably lower homicide rates of Timor-Leste to that of Washington D.C. and New York.

Ramos-Horta made it a point to end his address by believing that “everybody should feel included in this healing process,” and ensuring the audience that “we are making progress…but it would be unfair, ungrateful, to say the we did this alone.” One thing he asked from the audience was to “believe in East Timor, and the power of this small democratic state.”

While insults were hurled outside the gates, all was peaceful in Roone yesterday afternoon as Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi addressed the issue of “The Current Global Environment and its Impact in Africa” as part of Columbia University’s World Leaders Forum. Mark Hay reports on this smooth-talking politician’s calm yet controversial visit to Morningside.

Zenawi in 2008

From the protests outside, one might have expected more of a ruckus in Roone yesterday as two-decade Ethiopian leader (currently Prime Minister) Meles Zenawi prepared to take the stage. But it seems that Columbia has learned from Minutemen, head-kicking, and Ahmadinejad fever: no bags were allowed into the event, suited men ominously lined the south wall, keeping sentinel watch over the full crowd, and the question and answer segment was kept pegged to artificial pacifism.

Though docile, the crowd inside represented the staid counterpart of the protests outside—a slightly larger group who view Zenawi as the face of an independent and growing Africa, as a paragon of stability and savvy, cheering wildly at his every answer; a slightly smaller group who view the man as a dictator limiting free press, jailing and intimidating opposition parties and minorities, and manipulating his Western allies, cheering with equal vigor but less mass at every critique of the man and then grumbling to each other in Amharic. And clever man that he is (view him as the devil or, as he seemed to wish, the savior, he is a smooth operator), Zenawi did not want to stir the waters.

Zenawi’s address itself presented little of interest on the surface. He focused in on an element of Ethiopia lauded by Joseph Stiglitz in his introduction of Zenawi: economic progress via uniquely African methods. In a soft and drowsy, yet audible academic’s voice, Zenawi presented the audience with his summarization of neoliberalism’s flirtation and eventual abusive and destructive relationship with Africa. The reforms of neoliberal financial lenders “were sold as the ultimate salvation of [Africa’s] problems,” said Zenawi. “The reforms could not and did not lead to salvation,” but instead, he argued, created three consecutive lost decades for Africa.

In the past this may have been a daring assertion, to march into the universe’s financial hub and speak ill of the reigning financial order, but Zenawi knows when to tap discontent with existing institutions, to mine the discontents of the world as he accuses the larger world of mining Africa. And he knows when to play the cards of hope, ideals, and faith. For, not to fear, said Zenawi, “there is a silver lining for Africa because of the global economic crisis.” There is a chance for Africans to determine their own future, to overcome the handicaps imposed by circumstance and foreign hands, and to find salvation, utilizing itself as a source of vital resources and the site of a future manufacturing hub. It’s a happy note that jabs at America and its old financial order, but does so in a way that feels inclusive to spurned Americans and calming to those jittery with apocalyptic visions. (more…)

Tuesday afternoon, a slew of Columbians filled Low Rotunda to learn a thing or two about the global economy from José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister. The flags of Spain, the U.S., and Columbia were arranged behind the podium to welcome the leader (who does kind of resemble Mr. Bean!) to speak on “The New Economic Order and the Millennium Development Goals.”

Zapatero. /wikimedia

Interpreting devices lined the chairs of the full auditorium, which led to several audible remarks along the lines of, “I wonder if he’s going to speak in Spanish!” If the technological clues were not enough, a woman announced shortly thereafter that Zapatero would, indeed, be giving the speech in his native tongue, then proceeded to connect the audience to an automated messaging system instructed us to dial “1” for English and “2” for Español.

Four speakers comprised the line-up of the longest and most built-up introduction of all time, all referencing the goals of the UN’s Millennium project:

First, provost Claude Steele spoke on how the “responsibility of a global center of learning” such as Columbia to provide a venue in which “difficult conversations are encouraged and respected” is crucial in today’s world, where we sometimes compromise the discussion of real issues for the sake of political correctness.

Next J-Sachs quipped, “I can’t tell you how much fun it is to have you in our home.” (more…)

Update, 6 PM: It’s over! Anti-Zenawi protestors are getting back on the buses. At around 5:30, the pro-Zenawi group was almost entirely gone, but the anti-Zenawi protestors filled all of 115th, blocking foot traffic, chanting, and singing. A few students, just inside the 115th gates, are holding anti-Zenawi signs. A full report from the shockingly calm lecture to follow, plus more news and analysis.

Update, 4:30 PM: Here are the handouts [PDF] being distributed by each side. More major news outlets have showed up and shouts of “Shame on Columbia” and “Shame on Zenawi” are loud and strong.

Update, 4:05 PM: Anti-Zenawi protestors chanting “Killer! Killer!” at pro-Zenawi group, who are shouting back, giving thumbs-down signals, and generally ignoring them. Din can be heard from top of low steps. More photos added below. We’ll have a full report from Zenawi’s lecture itself shortly.

Update, 3:15 PM: Undergrads, unaffiliated with any group, are handing out signs on east side of 115th and Broadway, across the street from the protests. One has a picture of Zenawi at the World Economic Forum that reads “World Leaders Forum OR War Criminals Forum?” Also handing out flyers on Zenawi’s alleged suppression of freedom in rural areas in Ethiopia, and his alleged election crimes, with quotes from Peter Takirambudde, the Africa director of Human Rights Watch.

(more…)

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is, you may have heard, speaking at 4 PM today in Roone. In preparation, the west side of 115th and Broadway is lined with police barricades. Get ready for Minutemen Part Deux!

Barnard Public Safety is concerned that the “peaceful counter demonstration” will hinder your foot traffic plans; read their full email after the jump.

(more…)

Bogaevsky, Morning (1910), via Wikimedia

The appearance of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at the WLF today has drawn some protest online. Will we see political activism on campus? (Various)

Why you skip class (kind of) and what to do about “anxiety-related school refusal”. (WSJ)

Not that this affects the vast majority of you campus-loving college students, but it looks like the unlimited MetroCard will stay unlimited, though it will jump to $104 from $89 per month. (NYT)

In slightly more exciting subway news, the MTA will add television screens to the shuttle train between Times Square and Grand Central. The screens will apparently exclusively show baseball highlights, so you’ll be able to pretend to watch Jeter & Co in the playoffs while trying to ignore homeless people. (WSJ)

Bloomberg is taking steps to attract and retain young artists in New York, the dirty art-grubbing plutocrat. (Capital NY)