Iowa City Foreign Relations Council

Vlora Konushevci is a poet, translator, and essayist from Kosovo whose work spans the literary, cultural, and linguistic bridges of the Balkan region. She is the author of the acclaimed poetry collection Lavdi Vetes, a bold exploration of selfhood and identity. As editor and translator, she has curated two notable bilingual anthologies Poetry Without Borders (Albanian-Serbian), which fosters dialo...

The United States is a nation of immigrants, or so the saying goes. Most people are familiar with this idea. Far fewer know that the United States has deported more people than any other nation. Join Dr. Adam Goodman and Dr. Lina-Maria Murillo for a conversation about the history of mass deportation during the past 150 years. How have public officials' used force, coercion, and fear to purge immig...

Anni Fjord, a Danish nurse with over 45 years of experience working in both Denmark and international crisis zones, shares insights from her extensive career with Médecins Sans Frontiéres (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders. Her presentation explores the diverse roles and challenges faced by medical professionals in the field, including responding to natural disasters and conflict zones, c...

The 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait, which separates the small democratic island of Taiwan from the People's Republic of China, has emerged as one of the world's most volatile geopolitical flashpoints. As tensions between China and the United States continue to rise, the risk of conflict-either deliberate or accidental-has become a subject of serious concern. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province...

Since 2007, Frontier Co-op's Well Earth program has been the foundation of the co-op's responsible sourcing efforts, fostering long-term relationships with suppliers around the world. In this program, speakers share how the Norway, Iowa-based company ensures the long-term sustainability of its supply chain by investing in their partners and communities at origin to improve their social and environ...

Despite all the caveats about how much we do not know about the records practices of authoritarian governments, it is clear that they directly affect archives in a number of distinct ways: greatly increasing the production of some documentation; creating political climates that lead to self-censorship and, therefore, lack of records creation, withholding the release of current records, and tightly...

Researchers, sovereign tribal communities, and women farmland-owners will discuss how they are collaborating to foster climate resilience through the newly established Central Midwest Climate Opportunities and Learning Team (CM CO-Learn), funded by the NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnerships program, that supports Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. This panel brings together a tribal community mem...

An inspiring panel discussion exploring the intersection of sustainability and design with Keith Porter (Stanley Center for Peace and Security), Sally Obernolte (Neumann Monson Architects), and Deb Schoelerman (Unitarian Universalist Society-Coralville). Together, they delve into the transformative role of sustainable building practices in addressing climate change. Highlights include a closer loo...

A new immigrant and refugee welcome center is opening in Polk County in 2025. The hub for refugees and immigrants, which has been designed with community input to create an inclusive environment, will feature professionals who provide confidential and sensitive spaces, services related to employment, housing and education, and transition programs for new Iowans living in the capitol. Mak Suceska,...

Historically, industrialized countries have created our climate crisis but have yet to take responsibility for the development dilemmas associated with climate change. The solutions proposed at the international level have largely prioritized technical fixes, including new cooking technologies and carbon credit accounting. Highlighting perspectives from below -- the lives and livelihoods of margin...

Will China or the US lead the way in the Fourth Industrial Revolution? To answer this question, leading thinkers and policymakers in both countries draw lessons from past technology-driven power transitions that center the moment of innovation -- the eureka moment that sparks astonishing technological feats. In this talk, focused on his new book, Technology and the Rise of the Great Powers, Jeffre...