Connecting the Dots Report Launch: Priority Gender Goals and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Wednesday, Nov. 1 // 9:30–11:00 am (ET)

In a new report from the Population Institute, Connecting the Dots: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights as Prerequisites for Global Gender Equality and Empowerment, authors demonstrate how gender equality and empowerment are directly impacted by the availability and accessibility of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services. Connecting the Dots emphasizes the need for the United States to increase its support for sexual and reproductive health and rights—both financially and politically—to make meaningful progress on advancing its global policy and programming priorities of achieving gender equality and empowerment worldwide.

Please join the Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Initiative, in collaboration with the Population Institute, for the official launch of the report’s findings and recommendations, followed by a panel discussion on the importance of increased financial and political support for sexual and reproductive health and rights to improve the health, wellbeing, education, political and community engagement, and safety and security of the world’s women and girls.

Still to Come This Week

Argentina Elige: A Conversation with Diana Mondino, Senior Adviser to Presidential Candidate Javier Milei

Monday, Oct. 30 // 12:30–1:30 pm (ET)

To learn more about Javier Milei’s foreign policy priorities, join the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program and McLarty Associates for a virtual dialogue with Diana Mondino, whom Milei has named as his choice for foreign minister. Mondino is a congresswoman-elect and the director of institutional relations at the Universidad del CEMA in Buenos Aires.

An Army Afire: How the US Army Confronted Its Racial Crisis in the Vietnam Era

Monday, Oct. 30 // 4–5:30 pm (ET)

In the early 1970s, US Army leaders worried that racial conflict within the ranks would undermine the army’s ability to defend the nation. Historian Beth Bailey analyzes Army attempts to solve that racial crisis (in army terms, “the problem of race”), arguing that Army leaders were surprisingly creative in confronting demands for racial justice, even willing to challenge fundamental army principles of discipline, order, hierarchy, and authority. They acted in the interest of the army, but their actions fostered racial justice and equality.

China’s Critical Mineral Investments in Africa

Tuesday, Oct. 31 // 9:30–11:00 am (ET)

This Wilson Center panel will feature Jingjing Zhang (Center for Transnational Environmental Accountability); Claude Kabemba(Southern Africa Resource Watch); Emmanuel Umpula Nkumba (African Resources Watch); and Mutuso Dhliwayo, (Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association). Panelists will highlight stories on the impacts of Chinese overseas investment in the critical minerals sector in Africa. They also will discuss potential strategies to ensure the protection of the affected communities and ecosystems.

A Look at the UN Climate Summit's New Focus on Relief, Recovery, and Peace

Thursday, Nov. 2 // 10–11:30 am (ET)

Over the past two decades, policymakers and practitioners have increasingly recognized climate-conflict links. Less recognized, however, is how climate change responses can contribute to peace. Join us in the lead-up to COP28 for a panel discussion on the significance of integrating a peace and security lens at COP—and what kinds of concrete opportunities COP offers to move the needle on climate, conflict, and peace in tandem.

Israel-Hamas War: Senior Diplomats Assess the Next Phase and Regional Impacts

Friday, Nov. 3 // 11:00 am–12:00 pm (ET)

In this discussion, distinguished senior diplomats provide valuable insights into the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The situation is dire, with a significant increase in airstrikes and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Simultaneously, the Israeli military is signaling preparations for a full-scale invasion. Against this backdrop, the US military has initiated airstrikes on locations in eastern Syria associated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. This discussion will also address the growing involvement of external actors, such as Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.