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.
Professor Igor Logvinenko visited New York City on Friday, September 13, 2024, to meet with some in this year’s cohort of the esteemed Kahane Oxy-at-the-U.N. Program.
Photo from left to right: Peter Vartanian (DWA’25, Costa Rican Mission), Nathaniel Lundstrom (DWA’25, Costa Rican Mission), Professor Igor Logvinenko (DWA), Matthew Vickers (DWA’25, UN Secretariat Anti-Racism Office), Jacob Whitney...
“Incredible suffering has been enabled by our money. At the end of the day there are human beings who are suffering, and that is where our focus should be.”
On Thursday, April 13th, 2024, the Young Initiative at Occidental College hosted a talk by Dr. Benjamin Brake, the Director of the Office of Cyber Affairs and Emerging Technology at the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
On Monday, April 8th, the Young Initiative at Occidental College hosted a talk by Dr. Hesham Sallam from the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University.
On Wednesday, March 6th, the Young Initiative at Occidental College hosted a talk by Director Omar Shakir from the Human Rights Watch. His talk focused on reporting human rights violations in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, students gathered in the Global Forum to engage with Associate Professor Heba Gowayed from CUNY Hunter College as she discussed the pecuniary and human costs of borders. Her talk echoed the content of her forthcoming book, “The Cost of Borders.”
On Monday, October 16, 2023, the Young Initiative at Occidental College hosted a thought-provoking talk by Professor Jaimie Bleck from the University of Notre Dame, centering on Mali's current crossroads.
On October 5th, 2023, the director of the human rights organization "Tutela Legal Dra. Maria Julia Hernandez", Ovidio Mauricio, addressed students at Occidental College. He shed light on the dire state of human-rights abuses and political repression in El Salvador. Founded in 1982, Tutela Legal became an advocate for victims of human rights atrocities, amassing over 72,000 testimonies about the...
On Friday, April 12, Dr. Kal Raustiala visited Occidental College for a conversation about the Rise of UN Peacekeeping, with special focus on the American political scientist and diplomat: Ralph Bunche.
On Wednesday, April 5th, the Young Initiative piloted its first independently organized event, "From Like to Votes: How Social Media is Changing Democracy," welcoming Dr. Stuart Soroka for a student-led Q&A. Dr. Soroka earned his doctorate in Philosophy and Political Science at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and is a professor in the Department of Communication and Political Science at...