A Conversation with President Irfaan Ali of Guyana

Tuesday, July 26 // 1–2:00 p.m. (ET)

Guyana, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, has an abundance of energy resources that could help address severe global shortages. In 2015, it discovered off-shore oil reserves that have produced unprecedented tax and royalty revenue and powered double-digit GDP growth. In Guyana, that windfall promises dramatic improvements to infrastructure and the health and education systems in a country with fewer than 1 million inhabitants. Outside Guyana, the oil could help bring down energy prices that have fueled inflation and worsened poverty worldwide, and reduce dependence on Russia’s energy exports.

How can Guyana best take advantage of its energy resources? What role should the U.S. government play in supporting Guyana’s broad economic development priorities and strengthening its democratic institutions? How can Guyana help address the global energy crisis? Please join the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (ET), to hear President Ali’s vision for Guyana’s future and global role.

How Sustainability and Technology are Reshaping China and the World’s Future—A Green Tea Chat with UPenn’s Scott Moore

Tuesday, July 26 // 9–9:30 a.m. (ET)

If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us anything, it is that the world is bound together by shared challenges—and at the center of those challenges often stands China. After decades of breakneck growth and development, Chinese officials, businesses, and institutions now play a critical role in every major global issue, from climate change to biotechnology.

We invite you to join in a virtual chat (over tea!) with Dr. Scott Moore, Director of China Programs and Strategic Initiatives at University of Pennsylvania, about his soon-to-be released book China’s Next Act that re-envisions China’s role in the world in terms of sustainability and technology. Together with CEF director Jennifer Turner, he will discuss how these issues are reshaping China’s economy and its foreign policy with major implications for the world.

The Sources of Soviet Knowledge: A Look at the History of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Tuesday, July 26 // 1–2:00 p.m. (ET)

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia was the Soviet Union’s primary universal encyclopedia. Published in three editions from 1926 to 1978, the Encyclopedia aimed to remake all of human knowledge in accordance with the principles of the Marxist philosophies of dialectical and historical materialism, creating a new, philosophically unified system of knowledge that could constitute the Soviet worldview. The Encyclopedia was the largest and most important work of knowledge and ideology produced by the Soviet state, with tens of thousands of authors contributing to its three editions and an audience of millions of readers. It continues to be read and cited today, and its publisher (which is now a state-supported nonprofit called Great Russian Encyclopedia) has continued to produce new print and digital encyclopedias.

In his talk, Title VIII Research Scholar Michael Coates will examine the history of The Great Soviet Encyclopedia's creation and circulation, drawing on a variety of sources, including extensive archival research into the publisher’s records and the text of the Encyclopedia itself.

Guests must register via Zoom in order to receive the webinar info.

Open Data: What’s Next in Policy and Practice?

Tuesday, July 26 // 2–3:30 p.m. (ET)

Open data promises to combat inequity and democratize science. Open data─as a movement and a practice─makes data available for public use and re-use, towards more inclusive, reproducible, and actionable science. In light of the tremendous potential of open data, recent years have seen great progress; a huge amount of rich data is now publicly available, there is a strong foundation of government support at the highest levels, and open data is the default for many research programs, including strong support of the FAIR Principles among the scientific community.

Alongside the success of open data initiatives, it has also become clear that truly accessible and equitable open data requires much more; simply making data open does not make it usable by all. Limits on computing power, navigating discipline-specific databases, licensing issues, and lack of standards all limit its impact as a public good, and open data is just one part of a transformative open science agenda. What is next for open data, as a movement and a practice? What collaborations, infrastructure, and policies are needed to facilitate adoption and mitigate current barriers? What actions would make open data more accessible, equitable and usable?