We invite you to join us for a discussion with three University of Iowa Mandela Washington Fellow Graduates: Valeria Adzo Adzatia, Edgar Munatsi, and Sandra Ejang. This Iowa City Foreign Relations Council program will feature a panel discussion, moderated by Dimy Doresca, Director of the International Business Institute at the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business.
 
These three young entrepreneurs are eager to share with you how their ventures have progressed since they left Iowa City. In addition to discussing their successes, the discussion will include conversation around the current health, political, and economic contexts within their respective countries.  

The U.S. State Department's Mandela Washington Fellowship, started in 2014 as part of the Young African Leaders Initiative created by President Obama, empowers young people from Sub-Saharan Africa through academic coursework, leadership training, and networking. Each year the Fellowship provides 1,000 young ambassadors with the opportunity to hone their skills at U.S. higher education institutions. Over the years, the Iowa delegations of Fellows spend six weeks in Iowa taking entrepreneurial classes and touring the state.
 
Each year ICFRC hosts a program featuring the Mandela Washington Fellows visiting the University of Iowa. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are bringing you a virtual discussion from three former fellows. You won't want to miss this new twist on our annual Mandela Washington Fellowship spotlight!

This talk presents some of the key findings from Hirsch's current book project. It is based on long term fieldwork in the Peruvian Andes during the 2010s, an era when Peru's economy saw astronomical aggregate growth due to simultaneous booms in extractive industry, gastronomy, and tourism. Hirsch explores the question of growth: in rural villages at the Andean margins of Peru's economic boom, what does it mean to experience economic growth as a daily fact of life? What does it actually look like? How does it feel? How, in other words, are people supposed to know that their country is growing? Hirsch follows three distinct development projects that are invested in recruiting rural villagers to the collective enactment of Peruvian economic growth as its newest entrepreneurs: one from the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, one from a non-governmental organization, and one from a mining corporation. 

Eric Hirsch is an environmental and economic anthropologist whose research focuses on climate change, development, and how marginalized communities build their livelihoods. Most of his field research has taken place in Peru, particularly the southern Andean Colca Valley, and the cities of Arequipa and Lima. Hirsch has conducted additional research in the Maldives and the US. His current book project, Acts of Growth: Development and the Politics of Abundance in Peru (under contract with Stanford University Press) investigates economic growth as a shared understanding that comes alive through face-to-face interaction in rural Peru. 

Hirsch's second major project delves more directly into the issue of climate change as a fact of daily life. In collaboration with the Barcelona-based project "Local Indicators of Climate Change Impacts," the project works to center how non-Western scientific observations in rural communities contribute to those communities' responses to climate change. Hirsch has published his research in journals including Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, the Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, Geoforum, and Global Environmental Change. 

When: Tuesday, March 16th @ 12pm
Where: Online via Zoom
Please register to receive a link to join the online program live.

After withdrawing the United States from the Iran Nuclear Deal, former President Trump waged a failed and reckless "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran. This dangerous policy brought the two countries disturbingly close to the brink of war, shortened Iran's "breakout time" to build nuclear weapons, and caused Iranian civilians to suffer needlessly. It's time for a policy reset and a swift return to diplomacy. While there's much reason for optimism regarding the prospects for peace as the Biden administration, our European allies, and Iranian leaders all appear to be eager to turn the page and restore the JCPOA, saving the deal will not be without difficulties. 
 
The JCPOA was always meant to be a starting point. While there are a myriad of issues that should be resolved diplomatically between the United States, Iran, and other governments in the region, the nuclear issue is the most pressing. A full return to the nuclear deal should serve as a foundation for future talks to address these issues. In this discussion we will learn about the history that brought us to this moment, the political dynamics shaping this conversation around the JCPOA, and show ways for citizens to engage with their members of Congress to support diplomacy with Iran. 

Hassan El-Tayyab is FCNL's lead lobbyist on Middle East policy. He is also responsible for representing FCNL with the various coalitions that work on these issues. Prior to joining FCNL in August 2019, he was co-director of the national advocacy group Just Foreign Policy, where he led their lobbying work to advance a more progressive foreign policy in the Middle East and Latin America. He played a major role in the successful passage of the War Powers Resolution to end US military aid to the Saudi-UAE coalition's war in Yemen.
 
Hassan's passion for foreign affairs is rooted in his desire to make life better for people in the Middle East, including his extended family in Jordan. He is convinced that advancing a more peaceful and diplomacy-based foreign policy in the Middle East is critical, not only for the family he loves, but for peace and stability worldwide. His writings and commentaries have been featured in numerous news outlets, including BBC World News, The Hill, Al Jazeera, The Huffington Post, The Intercept, and more.

Blake Rupe is an adjunct global health instructor at the University of Iowa who is focused on changing the ways that communities engage with environmental issues. During her MA in International Studies at the University of Iowa, she launched Re-App Inc., a company that encourages people to live more sustainable lives. This start-up's mobile application, Re-App, gave people the power to measure and track their recycling efforts over time. Intrigued by the possibility of sustainability efforts through applications, Rupe created a new application, Sift, to provide a platform for community members to share tips on sustainable living. As a professor, Rupe conducts research on human drivers behind waste proliferation and marine debris presence, while also acting as the Sustainability Program Manager through the Office of Sustainability and the Environment.