4.15
Ron Ozio
Director, Media Relations
ozio@upenn.edu
International Relations
Understanding the imperialism of today
Understanding the imperialism of today
In the latest episode of the “Understand This ...” series, a Penn Today podcast, Penn experts discuss the meaning of imperialism and the “informal empires” of today.
Locked down: Global mobility and COVID-19
Locked down: Global mobility and COVID-19
At Perry World House’s 2021 Global Shifts Colloquium, Filippo Grandi, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, addressed how limits on human movement during the pandemic have affected refugees and asylum seekers.
Increasing access to life-saving, unused medicines in India
Increasing access to life-saving, unused medicines in India
Aarogya, a social-enterprise organization, is led by three President’s Engagement Prize winners. Since receiving the award, they’ve started delivering otherwise-unused medicines that save lives and money.
Global women’s rights
Global women’s rights
Rangita de Silva de Alwis makes the case for ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by the United States.
Myanmar coup, explained
Myanmar coup, explained
Laura Edwards, an LL.M. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law and Myanmar expert, shares her take on the crisis.
Looking ahead to the election’s impact on U.S. foreign policy
Looking ahead to the election’s impact on U.S. foreign policy
President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. will make important choices about America’s relationships with allies and partners. A Perry World House roundtable looked at key topics for the new administration.
Coding for a cause
Coding for a cause
As the viral pandemic shuttered campus and disrupted routines, The Borders and Boundaries Project turned the challenging situation into a chance to give back and get work done.
Building capacity to combat COVID-19 in Africa
Building capacity to combat COVID-19 in Africa
Wharton School students, along with the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research, are issuing a call for proposals for a new initiative designed to aid in the fight against the coronavirus.
Penn Law’s Beth Simmons on improving the UN Human Rights Treaty
Penn Law’s Beth Simmons on improving the UN Human Rights Treaty
Self-reporting contributes to human rights improvements, says Simmons in a paper she co-authored on recommendations to inform the review of the UN Human Rights Treaty.
Nuclear weapons in an age of emerging technologies
Nuclear weapons in an age of emerging technologies
As part of a weeklong residency at Perry World House, Nobel Peace Prize winner Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, spoke on the impact artificial intelligence and other technologies have on nuclear risk.
Media Contact
In the News
The Washington Post
Moldova wants to be more European and less corrupt. Parliament isn’t helping
Ecaterina Locoman of the School of Arts & Sciences and Wharton School wrote about corruption in Moldova. “It remains unclear,” she said, if support from the U.S. and E.U. will be enough to help the new Moldovan president “democratize state institutions, reform Moldova’s justice system, and cement the country’s pro-E.U. orientation.”
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The Hill
Afghanistan 20 years on
Albert Hunt of the Annenberg School for Communication wrote an op-ed about the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, which has persisted since 2001. “On May 1, 2022, we’ll hear the same arguments: just a little more time,” he wrote. “Shades of Vietnam.”
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The Washington Post
Now 60 years old, the Peace Corps can be more than a Cold War artifact
Lacy Feigh, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Arts & Sciences, wrote an op-ed calling for a renewed commitment to the Peace Corps as the pandemic comes to a close. “It is the unbridled idealism and hope embedded in the goals of the Peace Corps—to promote better understanding on the part of Americans and people across the world—that are urgently needed today,” she wrote.
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Vox.com
Joe Biden is already facing an ally problem
Dorothy Kronick of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about a recent statement from the EU that the bloc no longer views opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s rightful president, which Kronick believes will give the Biden administration more space to support other democratic groups working to depose Nicolás Maduro. “This statement from the EU is in no way backtracking from the commitment to restore democracy to Venezuela,” she said. “This is about looking for the most successful and effective strategy.”
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Voice of America
Iranian show irks Iraqi Kurds, portraying them as weak against IS terror
Mohammed A. Salih, a doctoral candidate in the Annenberg School for Communication, spoke about an Iranian propaganda film that aims to portray Kurdish leadership as weak and to commemorate Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike a year ago. The film “promotes the Islamic Republic of Iran as the savior of the entire region, through Soleimani’s superhero-like character, from the Islamic State and Sunni jihadi takfiris in general,” said Salih.
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Bloomberg
China diplomat’s ‘red line’ warning points to U.S. tensions
Avery Goldstein of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about relations between the U.S. and China. “So far, all signs on both sides are that neither wants to appear too eager to make the first move in moderating the bilateral tensions,” he said. “Despite the transition to a new administration in the U.S., continuity rather than change in this troubled relationship prevails.”
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