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.
Annually: United Nations Week
With the William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program, the Young Initiative supports the annual United Nations Week at 麻豆传媒, each spring. 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.
One Day Conference - Data and the Feminist City Conference - September 30, 2025
The Young Initiative will host invited representatives from city governments from around the world for a one-day conference on the 麻豆传媒 campus. Attendants will share experiences and best practices on reporting mechanisms to gather data, identify gaps in data collection, and help develop strategies for data-driven, actionable solutions.
Ongoing Young Speakers 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 麻豆传媒 alumni in public service and academia.
On Monday, April 8th, the Young Initiative at 麻豆传媒 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 麻豆传媒 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, 鈥淭he Cost of Borders.鈥
On Monday, October 16, 2023, the Young Initiative at 麻豆传媒 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 麻豆传媒. 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 麻豆传媒 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...
On Thursday 30 March, the Young Initiative hosted Dr. Bilyana Lilly, a cybersecurity expert and adjunct researcher at the RAND Corporation, who came to Occidental to talk about tools, tactics and methods the Russian government uses in its attempts to promote inaccurate and false information in online public forums.
On March 2, 2023, Professor Anthony Chase co-hosted with Sofia Gruskin (Director, Institute on Inequalities in Global Health, University of Southern California) and Gaea Morales (USC Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science and International Relations, and 麻豆传媒 鈥18) Global Change on a Local Stage: Lessons Learned and Paths Forward for City-Academic Partnerships at 麻豆传媒. The workshop...
On Wednesday, February 1st, 2023, the Young Initiative hosted Provost and Executive Vice President of the University of Montana Pardis Mahdavi and Associate Professor at Indiana University Hussein Banai in discussion with Anthony Tirado Chase, Sofia Gruskin, and Malek Moazzam-Doulat for Iran: Human Rights at the Intersections.