CUSA hosted British polar explorer and environmental leader Robert Swan for a single presentation during his Voyage for Cleaner Energy. The Voyage for Cleaner Energy is a 5-year, worldwide lecture series and sailing expedition that includes stops in the U.S., Russia, Europe, China and India. This event was held Tuesday, May 13, 2008 from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm in the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) Building on the campus of the University of California, Irvine. Learn more about this event.

Dr. Vandana Shiva presented the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies' 17th Annual Margolis Lecture on "The New Food Wars: Globalization, GMOs, and Biofuels." This speech on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 was supported by CUSA as part of our program of activities on food security.

CUSA presented a course on "Unconventional Security Issues" to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC, Irvine. The course, on April 17 and 24 2008 included presentations by CUSA's Richard Matthew, Heather Goldsworthy, Bryan McDonald and Crystal Murphy Morgan about the changing landscape of security threats facing the United States including: terrorism, climate change, food security and infectious disease. The presentations also discussed efforts in humanitarian, conservation and development sectors, including micro-lending programs, to address these challenges.

CUSA co-sponsored a talk by Bipasha Baruah on "Public-Private-NGO Partnerships in Water and Sanitation Service Delivery in India" on February 14 at 12:30 pm in Social Ecology I room 112. This talk was presented by the the Department of Planning, Policy and Design, the Center for Unconventional Security Affairs and the Urban Water Research Center.

CUSA took part in Focus the Nation: Sustainability and Climate Change Solutions at UCI on January 31, 2008. Part of a nationwide series of events, the Focus the Nation event at UC Irvine lays the foundation for a serious discussion about global warming solutions. CUSA related presentations included:

• Richard Matthew, "Climate Change, Peace and Conflict."
• Bryan McDonald, "Climate Change, Sustainability and the Global Food System."

Richard Matthew presented the results of CUSA's research on the security implications of global climate change at "Worldlink: Connecting Youth to Global Affairs," the 11th Annual Youth Town Meeting in San Diego, California on January 24, 2008. Meeting’s theme was "Untying Global Knots: Corruption, Global Warming, Media Bias and Poverty/Health," and the topic were chosen by the youth who attended the 2007 meeting.

Bryan McDonald presented “Navigating the Changing Security Landscape” to the UC, Irvine Chancellor's Club on Tuesday, January 22, 2008. McDonald, who was a 2006-2007 Chancellor's Club Fellowship recipient, provided an overview of unconventional security issues and the changing security landscape in the context of two cases: (1) food safety and security, and (2) the growth of virtual worlds and cyber security challenges.

CUSA co-sponsored a talk on "Beyond Panaceas in Water Institutions," by Dr. Ruth Meinzen-Dick on Thursday, January 17, 2008, from 12:30PM- 1:45PM in Social Ecology I, Room 112. Dr. Ruth Meinzen-Dick is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Richard Matthew participated in the UC I Vote: Election 2008 Town Hall being held on Monday, January 14 at 6:00 p.m. at Crystal Cove Auditorium in the Student Center. Also at this event, laptops were available for students to access www.MyElectionDecision.org, an interactive election information website co-developed by CUSA, the Irvine division of Calit2 and Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.

 On Thursday November 29th CUSA presented a lunch on "Science and Security" with Dr. Donald Kennedy, the former Provost and President of Stanford University and current editor-in-chief of Science magazine. Dr. Kennedy was at UC, Irvine to present "Science and the University: An Evolutionary Tale Part III: Science, Security and Control" the 2007 Clark Kerr Lecture on the Role of Higher Education in Society.

CUSA cosponsored "Building the Green Economy," an event presented by UCI's Students for Sustainability on Wednesday November 14th at 7:00pm in Humanities Hall 262. Nina Rizzo and Jason Mark spoke about their experiences with campus environmental organizing and building the green economy. Their stop at UC Irvine was part of a Young Leaders Addressing Climate Change & the Green Economy west coast tour by train and bicycle organized by Global Exchange.

CUSA Director Richard Matthew presented a lecture on "Climate Change, World Peace, And the Earth Charter" to the 2007 San Gabriel Valley Earth Charter Community Summit on October 27, 2007. At the event, Richard Matthew was recognized with a Certificate of Appreciation from the California State Assembly, and a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from the U.S. House of Representatives from his work in promoting environmental awareness.

David Bornstein was presented with our 2007 Human Security Award for his work to raise awareness about social entrepreneurs who are solving many of the world's most intractable problems. The 2007 Human Security Award Ceremony, which featured a keynote address on "How to Change the World," by David Bornstein, was held on Thursday, October 25, 2007.

On October 25, 2007 we convened a workshop on "Social Entrepreneurship, Sustainability and Security: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change." This workshop examined the potential of social entrepreneurship to serve as a vehicle for helping vulnerable communities--that is communities already compromised by resource scarcity, failing governments, widespread and chronic poverty, and various health and education challenges-- mitigate and adapt to climate change. This workshop was made possibel through generous support of CUSA’s Coalition Advocating Human Security (CAHS) program, the Canadian Consulate General of Los Angeles and the Government of Canada, the UCI School of Social Ecology, and the UCI Center for Citizen Peacebuilding.

Scott Edward Anderson, one of the participants in CUSA's workshop on "Social Entrepreneurship, Sustainability and Security: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change," has posted an entry about the workshop on his blog The Green Skeptic.  

CUSA co-sponsored a talk by Professor Scott Bollens on "Cities, Nationalism and Democratization" on Thursday, October 4, 2007 from 12:30PM- 1:30PM in Social Ecology I, Room 112. This talk is being presented by the Department of Planning, Policy and Design at the University of California at Irvine.

CAHS presented, "The Role of the Military in Disaster Preparedness," a luncheon with Professor Bert B. Tussing, Director, Homeland Defense and Security Issues, United States Army War College Center for Strategic Leadership, Thursday, September 20, 2007, 11:30 a.m. at The Center Club in Costa Mesa.

CUSA presented a course on "Unconventional Security Issues" to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC, Irvine. The course, on September 18 and 25, 2007 included lessons on a range of security issues including climate change, food security, terrorism, and infectious disease.

CAHS presented Demosthenes James Peterson, Director, Corporate Advisory Services at the Eurasia Group, speaking on "Six Global Trends to Watch." This presentation on June 7, 2007, reviewed six global trends that are reshaping world affairs and may have a dramatic impact on the role of the United States in the next five years. It explored potential upside and downside implications for businesses, especially those with interests in emerging markets. Fore more information, click here.

Richard Matthew spoke about CUSA's project on "Microfinance, Human Security and Sustainable Development" at a conference on "Challenges to the Welfare State" held at the University of San Diego on May 18, 2007.

Implications of Climate Change

Richard Matthew gave talks at three major conferences focused on the social implications of climate change:

• Climate Change: Challenges and Strategies for Sustainable Cities, April 4-6, 2007, Scripps Institute, UC San Diego. Link to more information.
• National Implications of Global Climate Change, March 30-31, 2007, Triangle Institute for Security Studies, Duke University. Link to more information.
• Nepal Water Security Forum, March 27, 2007, Central Asia/Caucasus Institute/Silk Road Studies Program, Uppsala, Sweden. Link to more information.

CUSA presented a conference on “Transforming War Torn Societies and Failing States: Opportunities for Integrating Microfinance Services, Sustainable Development and Security,” on Thursday, April 19, 2007 at Georgetown University’s Mortara Center for International Studies in Washington, D.C. This conference considered how members of the microfinance, environment, and security communities can interact to best promote sustainable success of their objectives in war torn societies and failing states. The conference was  co-sponsored by CUSA' Coalition Advocating Human Security program and the Georgetown University Department of Government and included participants from Georgetown University, Opportunity International, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the United States Institute of Peace, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, CHF International, World Wildlife Fund, Women in International Security, and Duke University.

Bryan McDonald gave two presentations on “Rethinking Security in a Changing World” as part of the John’s Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth’s 2007 Odyssey Series. The series was held at the Tiger Woods Learning Center on April 15, 2007.

CUSA co-sponsored a conference on "Peace with a Human Face: Combining Human Rights and Human Security Approaches." The conference took place on February 2-3, 2007 and combined conceptual analysis with policy-oriented case studies tracking almost a decade of co-existing efforts in areas such as conflict resolution, the human impact of environmental destruction, and public health. This conference brought together a group on international and multidisciplinary participants to address the question of how, when, and where are human rights or human security approaches more effective in building peace--and how can they be made to complement each other?  The conference was co-sponsored by CUSA; UCSD’s program in International, Comparative, and Area Studies; and the UC system-wide Institute on Global Cooperation and Conflict.

CAHS presented "The Global Landmine Crisis," a luncheon with Dr. Kenneth R. Rutherford on Friday, February 2 at 11:30 a.m. At the age of 31, Dr. Kenneth R. Rutherford was conducting humanitarian relief work in Somalia to alleviate the suffering of thousands, when his vehicle ran over a landmine, which resulted in the loss of both his legs. Learn more about Ken and this event.

"Globalization and the Environment" was the subject of a lecture by Richard Matthew at San Diego State University as part of a semester-long series on “Understanding Globalization.” The Fred J. Hansen Distinguished Lecture Series is free and open to the public and is being organized by Dipak K. Gupta, SDSU political science professor and Fred J. Hansen Professor of Peace Studies and Rob Bee, director of the Charles Hostler Institute on World Affairs.  “Globalization is changing the world in a most profound way,” Gupta said. “These lectures will provide students with a glimpse of the topic’s many facets and explore its influence in their own lives, now and in the future.”

CUSA participated in “Environmental Challenges in War-Torn Societies: Sustainability and Human Security in Post-Conflict Reconstruction” a workshop on November 29-30 at Duke University. This event was co-sponsored by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences with support from Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda, University of Maryland; Environmental Change and Security Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; and the Center for Unconventional Security Affairs, University of California at Irvine.

Richard Matthew participated in a panel discussion on "From Noble Idea to Nobel Prize: The Microloan Industry in India and Bangladesh" on November 17, 2006. This event was sponsored by the Walter B. Gerken Chair in Enterprise and Society Event and The Paul Merage School of Business.

Richard Matthew presented "The Roots of Violence: Environmental Change, Poverty and Corruption in Northern Pakistan" to the Princeton Club of Orange County on November 15, 2006.

Bishnu Raj Upreti and Richard Matthew presented "Environmental Stress and Demographic Change: Underlying Conditions and Nepal's Instability" on November 1, 2006 at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Our 2006 Human Security Award was presented to Lieutenant-General the Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire, O.C., C.M.M., G.O.Q. M.S.C., C.D., (Retired). In 1994, while serving as commander of the U.N. Assistance Mission to Rwanda, General Dallaire saved thousands of Rwandans during one of the worst genocides of the twentieth century. On October 11, 2006 we recognized General Dallaire for his efforts to stop genocide by presenting him with the 2006 Human Security Award.

Spying on America

"Spying on America," a talk by Shane Kadidal, Staff Attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights on Wednesday, was presented on October 4 in SE I, Room 112. CUSA co-sponsored this talk is co-sponsored with the UCI Community Outreach Partnership Center and The Department of History at UCI.

CUSA's CAHS program sponsored a lunch with Dr. Wafa Sultan on Thursday, June 15th. In May of 2006, Dr. Sultan was named as one of Time Magazine’s “100 People Who Shape Our World.” Learn more about this event by visiting this page.

Briefing on Business Security and Preparedness

Richard Matthew briefed the Harvard Business School Association of Orange County on Wednesday, May 17, 2006. Dr. Matthew presented on what companies should be doing to protect themselves on the new global security landscape.

Dana Eyre, PhD, spoke on "Challenges for the Private Sector in Post-Conflict Situations: Lessons from Iraq and Kosovo," March 21, 2006. Dana Eyre is a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace and was a senior adviser for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-Iraq, serving in both Iraq and Washington. While in Iraq, he served as the USAID representative in the Coalition Provisional Authority's Office of Policy Planning and Analysis, and managed Iraq-wide civic education and civil society development efforts.

We presented a lunch with Judea and Ruth Pearl, Parents of Daniel Pearl and Founders of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, and Jackie Gelfand, Executive Director, Daniel Pearl Foundation, on Friday, March 10th at 11:00 am. To learn more about the event, please visit this webpage. You can read more about the event in this article from the Daily Pilot.

CAHS Human Security Speaker Series with Baroness Caroline Cox

On February 21, 2006 we hosted "A Light in the Heart of Darkness," with Baroness Caroline Cox the founder of Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART). HART seeks to aid those who are, or who have recently been, suffering oppression and persecution in various countries across the world. Baroness Cox was created a Life Peer in 1982 for her contributions to education and has served as a Deputy Speaker of the United Kingdom’s House of Lords since 1985.

CUSA cosponsored a workshop on "Counter-Terror and Human Rights: International Perspectives on National Insecurity" that was held at UC, San Diego and UC, Irvine on February 17-19, 2006.

CUSA hosted a workshop on "Women and Human Security," on November, 5th 2005. The workshop will address the unique vulnerabilities and threats to human security experienced by women across the globe, and will result in the publication of an edited volume on the topic.