Events

PLEASE NOTE: This event was originally scheduled for February 9th and was postponed due to snow.
Police and military forces are the first line of defense against corruption, but they can also engage in corrupt practices. What are the best practices for dealing with corruption, particularly in countries emerging from conflict?

Copper deposits worth over $50 billion in Afghanistan’s Aynak valley could either present an opportunity for economic sustainability and political stability or become the focus of violent competition and grand corruption. Panelists discussed the steps necessary to ensure that the copper industry benefits local communities and promotes peace in Afghanistan; how the Afghan business sector could prepare to be fully integrated in the copper value chain and the role for external parties, like the United States, to help the Afghan government and community-based organizations to build capacity that would improve coordination and effectiveness.

The Haitian government is leading efforts to address serious rule of law challenges brought about by the recent earthquake, including the destruction of key justice infrastructure and the loss of life within the justice system.  What can be done now to provide the Haitian people with rule of law?  How should the pre-existing rule of law strategy be altered to reflect the reality on the ground and to ensure long-term rule of law? 

Edi Rama, Mayor of Tirana and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania, will share his insights on the real challenges facing Albania’s quest for political, social and economic transformation, how successive governments have contributed to the current democratic deficit and his vision for the future.

On the one-year anniversary of President Obama's inauguration, USIP and POMED invited a public audience to assess the Obama administration's first year and to examine the administration's oppurtunities to implement its vision of a new beginning with the Arab and Muslim world.