The Young Initiative invites foreign policy experts and guest speakers to campus to engage in discussions on international relations and the global political economy with students and faculty.
Past Young Initiative Speaker Events
Young Initiative speakers give students and faculty an opportunity to expand their understanding of global issues. The Young Initiative sponsors several speakers each academic year highlighting particular aspects of global affairs and the global political economy. The Young Speakers program is devoted to highlighting the work and success of eminent international affairs experts and Oxy alumni in public service and academia.
On September 30, 2025, Occidental College hosted the City Hub and Network for Gender Equity (CHANGE) summit on “Gender Data & The Feminist City.” CHANGE is a network of cities globally dedicated to advancing the rights of women, girls, and people with non-binary gender identities, through testing and sharing innovative solutions.
On September 9th, 2025, the Young Initiative hosted author and journalist Robert Whiting for a lecture on sports diplomacy and the role of baseball in U.S.-Japan relations.
On April 12, the Young Initiative hosted Professor Lindsay Dolan and Professor Matthew Winters for a timely lecture and discussion on foreign aid and U.S. national interest. The discussion highlighted studies on public opinion in donor and recipient countries.
On March 6, 2025, the Young Initiative co-sponsored, Dr. Michael Méndez's lecture about Sonoma County wildfires and the effect on migrant workers.
On January 29th, 2025 the Young Initiative at Occidental College hosted a panel webinar titled, “How Cities Can Defend Human Rights in the Face of Mass Deportations.”
On February 4th, 2025, the Young Initiative hosted a talk by Dr. Camilo Umaña Hernández, Colombia's Former Deputy Minister of Justice.
On Thursday, November 21st, 2024, the Young Initiative proudly hosted the director of the documentary Powerlands, Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, and the producer, Jordan Flaherty, to discuss the filmmaking process and then screen the film itself.
On November 11th, the Young Initiative at Occidental College hosted a talk by Dr. Huss Banai, the Zahedi Fellow at Stanford University and Associate Professor at Indiana University.
On October 24, Professor Igor Logvinenko moderated a panel about the 2024 United States election that featured Oxy faculty and former California State Assemblymember Mary Chung Hayashi.
On Thursday October 17th, the Young Initiative at Occidental College hosted a talk by Dr. Jenny Guardado, an assistant professor at the Center for Latin American Studies / Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.