The Kozmetsky Center at St. Edward's University provides a forum for global dialogue and exchange of diverse perspectives among the academic, policy and private-sector communities-
Examining Global Security
The Kozmetsky Center promotes comprehensive multi-disciplinary approaches to subjects that impact global security. Learn about how our conferences tackle critical issues, such as the religion-security nexus.
Events
Film Screening & Discussion: The Invisible City [KAKUMA]
On Tuesday October 15, the Kozmetsky Center will host a screening of the award winning documentary "The Invisible City [KAKUMA]," a penetrating and humanistic exposé of one of the world's largest refugee camps, focusing experiences of its children. Winner of the Docs Without Borders IFF, Impact Docs Awards “Award of Excellence,” Ischia Film Festival “Best Documentary” and Docville International Film Festival competition, Kakuma offers insights into the human consequences of recent and ongoing political conflicts in East Africa. This documentary film is centered on the lives and stories of the refugee camp's remarkable children, many of whom have known no life beyond its borders. Kakuma UNHCR refugee camp, built in the middle of the Turkana desert in Kenya, has become the region's fastest growing city. It is now home to over 185,000 refugees from South Sudan, Somalia, Congo (DRC), and other areas in the region. We have invited St. Edward’s University Professors Dr. James Puglisi (Campus Ministry) and Dr. Selin Guner (Global Studies) to offer their impressions at the conclusion of the film leading an open audience discussion to share reactions to the documentary. The documentary film event will be held in the Jones Global Events Center from 7:00-9:30 PM.
"Information Apocalypse": Issues of Reliability and Manipulation of the Public Information Space on Institutions and Leadership
On Wednesday, October 30, the Kozmetsky Center will host a lecture event session in the Jones Global Event Center from 7:00-8:30 PM with U.S. Army Major General (Ret.) Mari K. Eder on the topic “Information Apocalypse: Issues of Reliability and Manipulation of the Public Information Space on Institutions and Leadership” assessing the erosion in confidence regarding public information and suggesting ways that we might safeguard society from disinformation. Major General Eder served as the Army’s Deputy Chief of Public Affairs, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Reserve Joint and Special Troops Support Command, Deputy Chief of the Army Reserve, leader of the Army Reserve Ambassador Program, Director of Public Affairs at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, and professor and lecturer in communications and public diplomacy at the NATO School in Germany and Sweden’s International Training Command. She was inducted into the Army Public Affairs Hall of Fame in 2017 and received the Joe Galloway Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in strategic communication. In addition to numerous military awards and recognition, Maj. Gen. Eder received the Vatican award of the Knight, Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great from Pope Benedict XVI in 2011. Maj. Gen. Eder’s book, Leading the Narrative: The Case for Strategic Communication, is used in university communication courses, and she is the author of numerous case studies and articles on strategic communication topics. She holds a PhD from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and has spoken for the World Affairs Council, Atlantic Council and at major universities throughout the country on issues of national security, communication (including cyber and artificial intelligence), ethics and leadership. We have asked Maj. Gen. Eder to share her perspective on the media and information in influencing perceptions of institutions, public leaders and elections. The lecture will analyze developments in the information space for national security and the future of warfare. Maj. Gen. Eder will offer suggestions on how policymakers and society might respond to challenges in obtaining credible information or limiting vulnerability to deliberate attempts on the part of domestic and foreign sources or adversaries to shape perceptions with non-factual information.
Council on Foreign Relations Conference Call Series
The Kozmetsky Center will continue to offer the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Conference Call Series. Please click here to see the Fall 2019 CFR Conference Call Series Schedule. These conference calls are open to all students; please RSVP to Joseph Sadek [jsadek [at] stedwards.edu] if you would like to attend.
Please check our website [https://www.stedwards.edu/kozmetsky-center-excellence] for additional details on these events, and other activities supported by the Kozmetsky Center throughout Fall 2019. Kozmetsky Center events are free and open to the community. Please contact Joseph Sadek, Executive Assistant (jsadek [at] stedwards.edu) or (512-233-1678) in the Kozmetsky Center, Main Building G-11 should you have questions regarding our events and programs.
Director's Upcoming Speaking Activities
-"Wilson Center/Kennan Conversations: Russia-China Strategic Partnership," Tulsa Committee on Foreign Relations, December 2019
-Participating in the conference sponsored by the SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University, Cornell Emerging Markets Institute (EMI) Annual Conference: "Constructive Engagement," Bloomberg Center on Roosevelt Island, Cornell Tech Campus, New York, November 2019
-Chairing panel entitled "Russia’s Perspectives on World Order: Implications for Geopolitics Among Major Powers, Russia, China and the United States" 51st Annual Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies ASEEES Convention to be held at the San Francisco, November 23-26, 2019
-Speaking at the Delphi World Economic Forum V, Delphi Greece, March 5-8, 2020
-Chairing panel entitled “Major, Emerging and Small State Interactions in a Time of Shifting Global Geopolitics,” and presenting paper “Russia, China and Regional Security Flashpoints: Authoritarian Convergence Counterbalancing the United States and Challenging the Western Liberal Order,” Research Committee on Geopolitics, International Political Science Association (IPSA) World Congress, Lisbon Portugal, July 2020
Please click here to see past Director's Activities