Photo via AmericanRhetoric.com It’s that time again!  The seventh annual Columbia University World Leaders Forum, brainchild of our own Lee C., is right around the corner.  This year, PrezBo “invites you to join him in welcoming” exciting people such as Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the President (and former first lady) of Argentina, Martti Ahtisaari, […]

Bwog Guide to the Weekend Editor Sara Jane Panfil attended this afternoon’s installment of the World Leaders Forum, starring Bolivian President Evo Morales. Earlier today, President Evo Morales of Bolivia delivered a speech to a packed Low Memorial Library Rotunda as part of the World Leaders Forum.  President Bollinger briefly introduced Morales, who took the […]

This week’s to-dos are earlier than usual, but quite worthwhile. Monday Lecture with Shahid Naeem: On “Nature, Knowledge, and Our National Identity.”  Hosted by PrezBo and Brinkley.  6:15 PM @ Low Faculty Room. Tuesday President of Bolivia: Evo Morales Ayma is here to discuss democracy in the Americas.  10:00 AM @ Low Rotunda. Wednesday Politics […]

With no disrespect to Slovenia or Iceland, Bwog was a little worried that the World Leaders Forum had lost its panache after last year’s… excitement. But never fear! A handful of e-mails just informed us that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey, and Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, who spoke at the WLF in […]

Oh damn, this financial crisis is ruining just about everything, including your World Leaders Forum. Today’s issue of The Australian—Bwog’s preferred Australian daily—reveals that Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had originally planned to attend the WLF, “but instead [he] met privately with a selection of private financiers and the New York Federal Reserve.”

Bwog’s Latin American Bureau Chief David Berke continued his tour of the World Leaders Forum, now not starring Shakira! In World Leaders Forum event number two, Leonel Fernández, president of the Dominican Republic, and his first lady participated in a town hall-style colloquium this evening in Low. Fernández is currently serving his third term as […]

Iceland’s President keeps his politics cool, and then in a snowy flourish, he was gone. Radio Perfecto came and went… and now it’s time for something completely different. Columbia’s Capital Campaign gets a boost. Battle of the Editorials: It’s Kwame vs. Ariel! Battle of the Books: It’s Barnes & Noble vs. Book Culture!

Earlier today, as part of the World Leaders Forum, President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson of Iceland addressed students in an almost-full Low Rotunda. As was appropriate for the President of Iceland, he spoke enthusiastically about how small countries can battle worldwide problems. He stressed that even though much of the world is still locked in a […]

Bwog Culinary and Sciences Editor Jon Hill noticed that the following event was removed from the World Leaders Forum website: “Sixth Annual Heads of State Visits Date: September 22, 2008 to September 26, 2008 Location: Morningside Campus Description: Columbia University hosts heads of state in September during the opening session of the United Nations General […]

The denizens of Low Library have just released the calendar for Columbia’s 2008 edition of the World Leaders Forum, fresh with a snazzy new website chronicling the  Columbia tradition’s past, present and future.  Have a look at their new multimedia section, and you’ll see that this site is no laughing matter. But the speakers this […]