2008
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November 12, 2008
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THE EVOLUTION OF OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNIVERSE
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Guest lecture by Pierre Dubath
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This lecture took in the old Greek observations of the solar system to the great discoveries of the 20th century, enlightening the major steps along the way. A journey through history and space!
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October 22, 2008
WHICH U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IS BETTER FOR EUROPE?
Our experts discussed the potential economic and foreign policy implications for Europe of an Obama and McCain administration with a no-holds barred debate!
with
Professor Milos Calda, Chairman, Department of American Studies, Charles University
Erik Best, Publisher, Fleet Sheet, an English language daily digest of Czech news
Lukas Sedlacek, policy analyst for the Czech Ministry of Defense and former Project Manager for the non-profit group Yes to Europe
Jaroslav Plesl, Deputy Editor, Lidove Noviny, a leading Czech daily newspaper
The panel was moderated by:
Dinah Spritzer, international reporting professor at NYU in Prague
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October 8, 2008
Is Russia justified in its efforts to prevent Georgia from joining NATO? Should the U.S. be showing such clear support for Georgia in the conflict over South Ossetia? Is Europe doing enough to prevent the conflict from spreading? What does the future hold for the breakaway regions of Georgia? Our experienced diplomats squared off on these issues and more.
with
Denis Grishenko, political counsellor, Russian Embassy in Prague
Petr Chalupecky, deputy director, security policy department, Czech Foreign Ministry
Giorgi Archemashvilli, political counsellor, Georgian Embassy in Prague
John Law, public affairs officer, U.S. Embassy in Prague
Jan Prokes, advisor to Lubomir Zaoralek, vice chairman of the Chamber of Deputies
The panel was moderated by:
Dinah Spritzer, international reporting professor at NYU in Prague
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March 20-21, 2008
CITIES AND GLOBALIZATIONS
PIDEC Annual Conference
Cities and Globalizations brought to Prague, and more broadly to Central Europe, an intellectual platform for discussing contemporary cities of the world. We looked not just at New York City, Tokyo or London, but extended the focus of the discourse by also bringing to attention other aspects of globalization and their impact on cities around the globe. Realizing the ultimate interdisciplinary character of the debate on global and globalizing cities, Cities and Globalizations welcomed expertise from a variety of academic and professional fields. Urban sociologists, anthropologists, architects, city planners, and even a playwright, were among the invited speakers to the conference.
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Thursday, March 20:
6:00 pm: KABUL TRANSIT (2006) - Documentary film screening
Friday, March 21:
9:00-9:30 am Registration
9:30 am Conference opening
Jiří Pehe (Director, NYU in Prague)
10:00-12:00 am PANEL 1 -Cities of the world: global, globalizing, and globally impacted Download MP3
Jiří Musil (Charles University) - Revival of Cities in Post-Industrial Era
Judit Bodnar (Central European University) – Dual Cities: Globalization, Uneven Development, and the Splitting of Unitary Frames
Sumila Gulyani (World Bank) – Understanding Slums: A New Theoretical Framework and Its Implications for the Slums
David Edwards (Williams College) – Kabul in Transition: The Meaning of Security in a
Post- Conflict City
Moderator: Markéta Rulíková ( NYU in Prague)
12:00-1:00 pm Lunch
1:00-3:00 PANEL 2 - Globalizing cities in Central Europe Download MP3
Grzegorz Weclawowicz (Polish Academy of Sciences) – Globalization and European Integration Challenges for the Large Polish Cities
Milan Turba (City Development Authority Prague) – Strategic Plan for Prague: New Challenges
Oleg Haman (CASUA) – River Tales
Moderator: Michal Illner (Czech Academy of Sciences)
3:00-3:30 pm Coffee break
3:30-5:30 pm PANEL 3 - Political, social, and cultural features of global cities Download MP3
Guido Martinotti (University of Milan, Florence University) – Changing Social Morphology and Ecological Patterns in Globalized Cities
Harvey Molotch (NYU) – Indigenous Cosmopolitans: How Local Energies Make the World
David Peimer (NYU in Prague) – Johannesburg: Beyond Gold and Garbage?
Moderator: Dušan Drbohlav (Charles University)
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5 February, 2008
A distinguished group of Russian experts debated a confident Kremlin's geopolitical policies. Panelists discussed pressing security questions such as: Is Russia too soft on Iran's nuclear ambitions? How does the Kremlin's attitude towards democracy, freedom of speech and human rights affect its role on the world stage? Has Europe become too dependent on Russian gas? Will the Kremlin punish the West for backing Kosovo's independence from Russian ally Serbia? Just how much colder will the recent frosty war of words get between Russia and the U.S.?
Speakers:
Victor J. Yasmann, a senior regional analyst with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's research and analysis department, office of the president. A former senior associate for the the Washington, D.C.-based American Foreign Council, Yasman is editor of "Russian Foreign Policy and Security Watch."
Jan Hamáček, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Czech Chamber of Deputies and Social Democratic member of Parliament
Daniel Koštoval, director, north and east European department, Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former deputy secretary of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Moscow
Denis Grishchenko, Counsellor, foreign policy, Russian Embassy in Prague
The discussion moderated by: Dinah A. Spritzer, international reporting professor at NYU in Prague and senior Europe correspondent for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a New York-based newswire.
