News Release

The Johns Hopkins University's 2005 Foreign Affairs Symposium kicks off on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. on the Homewood campus in Baltimore with a panel discussion, "U.S.-Cuban Relations: What to Expect," featuring three experts on Cuba. The event is free and open to the public.

The Cuba panel discussion, which will take place in Mudd Hall Auditorium, will feature Adolfo A. Franco, assistant administrator for the Latin America Region at USAID; John S. Kavulich II, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council; and Wayne Smith, senior fellow at the Center for International Relations in Washington.

The theme of this year's student-run symposium is "Enduring Responsibility: America and the Politics of Conflict Resolution," with events ranging from "Defining Genocide in Africa" to "The Third Revolution: Reforming China after Tiananmen."

The co-chairs — seniors Yonina Alexander and Neil Shah and juniors Preeti Balakrishnan and Gabriel Hopkins — said they wanted to develop a theme that would encourage dialogue among students, community members and guest speakers.

"The students that go here are born leaders," Alexander said. "It's really important that they have an understanding of what's going on in world affairs and have a real exchange."

The first event will showcase the symposium's new format with panel discussions and shorter speeches designed to encourage the audience to engage panelists with questions. The co-chairs said they learned perseverance and teamwork from organizing the symposium, often contacting as many as five people for every speaker they scheduled. For more information, see www.jhu.edu/~fas.

The other scheduled events are:

Tuesday, March 8
"Defining Genocide in Africa."
8 p.m. in Levering Hall's Great Hall
Peter Takirambudde, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Africa Division

Wednesday, March 23
"Bridging the Atlantic Divide."
8 p.m. in Shriver Auditorium
Jean-David Levitte, French ambassador to the United States
Sir David Manning, British ambassador to the United States

Wednesday, March 30
"Kashmir: Paradise Lost?"
8 p.m. in the Glass Pavilion
Bob Giuda, chairman of Americans for Resolution of Kashmir
Ghulam Nabi Fai, executive director of the Kashmiri American Council
Mohammad Sadiq, deputy chief of mission at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Wednesday, April 6
"The Third Revolution: Reforming China After Tiananmen."
8 p.m. in the Glass Pavilion
Dan Wang, student leader during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest.
Gregory Chow, former chairman of the American Economic Association's Committee on Exchanges in Economics with the People's Republic of China.
Merle Goldman, former member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights council on Foreign Relations.

Tuesday, April 12
"The Balkans: Keeping the Peace."
8 p.m. in Mudd Hall Auditorium
Gen. William Nash, the Council on Foreign Relations
Ivan Vujacic, Serbian ambassador to the United States

Tuesday, April 19
"Mexico: Forgotten Neighbor, Forgotten Democracy."
8 p.m. in the Glass Pavilion
Julia Preston, deputy editor of the New York Times