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.

Upcoming Events

United Nations Week

With the William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program, the Young Initiative supports the annual United Nations Week at Occidental College. We are passionate in maintaining students involvement and engagement in sustainable development. Our students choose topics that link Global Political Economy, Social Justice, and Sustainable Development.

UN Week 2020: Climate Change & Economic/Environmental Justice

Keynote speaker, Dr. Steven Were Omamo, Representative and Country Director for the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Ethiopia, provided perspective and insights about the UN's work on Climate Change and Environmental Justice.

UN Week 2019: Gender, Sexuality and Collective Action

The keynote speaker, Ambassador Melanne Verveer spoke to students about gender in the Sustainable Development Goals.

UN Week 2018: The Power of Place

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a new partnership with Oxy to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

UN Week 2017: Through Refugees Eyes

Michel Gabaudan, President, Refugees International gave a talk on “The Global Refugee and Migration Crisis Under Trump: Where is the US? Where is Europe? What Can We Do About It?”

UN Week 2016: The UN and the US after Obama

Historian and foreign policy expert, Stephen Schlesinger reflected back on the history of the UN and predicted its future trajectory. Honorary Lloyd Axworthy, former Foreign Minister of Canada gave a talk titled: "Resetting the Narrative: Peace, Security, and the UN's Responsibility to Protect."

Young Events

Young 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.

 

The new Oxy Arts on York space
Climate Imaginaries: Built Environment, Art, & Climate Change

The built environment and climate change converge at Oxy Arts on York with Alison Hirsch and Aroussiak Gabrielian of USC Landscape Design as part of UN Week 2020.

More
LA climate activism is discussed at Choi Auditorium
Los Angeles Climate Activism | UN Week 2020

As part of UN Week 2020, Jasmin Vargas of Food and Water Watch discusses locally-based environmental climate activism and its intersections with politics professor Michael Sardo and Aerex Narvasa.

More
Oxy at the UN Returnees Share Experiences on Climate Change Task Force

Kahane U.N. Program students report back on their fall 2019 experiences at the U.N., including Task Forces regarding the Green Economy and Digital Jobs.

More
Schoenberg used his piano to show his creative process (Photo Kyler Parris)
Adam Schoenberg: The Creation of "Losing Earth," a Symphony of Climate Catastrophe

On February 10th, the first day of Oxy’s 2020 UN week, students studying everything from music to diplomacy to environmental policy gathered in Booth Hall to hear Professor Adam Schoenberg talk about his composition entitled Losing Earth.

More
Toby Dalton
Toby Dalton: Trump and Nukes

Toby Dalton '79 from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace engaged with Oxy students and faculty on modern nuclear proliferation. Dalton is an expert on non-proliferation and nuclear energy.

More
Prof. Andrew Zimbalist
Andrew Zimbalist, "Circus Maximus: The Political Economy of Global Sporting Events"

Andrew Zimbalist is a professor in the Economics Department at Smith College. He has acted as a consultant in Latin America for the United Nations Development Program and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

More
Alfred Madain
Alfred Madain: Music and Revolution in the Arab World

On October 21, 2019, Alfred Madain joined Occidental students and faculty in Choi Auditorium for a discussion of music and politics in the Arab world.

More
Yuriko Romer
Yuriko Romer, "Diamond Diplomacy: U.S. - Japan Relations Through Baseball"

Yuriko Gamo Romer is an award-winning director based in San Francisco. Her documentary DIAMOND DIPLOMACY, explores the relationship between the United States and Japan through a shared love of baseball.

More
Huss Banai
Huss Banai - Game of Rogues: Trump vs. Iran

Hussein Banai is a professor at Indiana University in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. His work is grounded in the oral history of Iranian and American scholars and journalists who are witnesses of complicated US-Iran diplomacy. Currently, Banai is working on a book about liberal political thought in modern Iran.

More
Robert Edelman
Robert Edelman: Sports and the Cold War

Robert Edelman is a Professor at University of California, San Diego, and has been since 1972 when he received his doctorate from Columbia University. As a former sports-writer and radio announcer, Edelman brings an interesting insider’s take to his specialty in Russia and Sports history. As such, he has consulted on documentaries for HBO, PBS, ESPN, and CBS at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games. 

More
Contact the John Parke Young Initiative on the Global Political Economy
Johnson Hall

The McKinnon Center for Global Affairs