Education

More than 200 million girls and women in 30 countries live with the medical and emotional complications of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), UNICEF estimates. But that is an incomplete measure of this global problem. In most countries, the majority of girls subjected to this violence are no more than five years old, and the physical and psychological impacts are lifelong. As part of the United Nations’ global development goals, governments worldwide declared their intent two years ago to end this human rights violation by 2030. Please join us online on December 2 for a day-long conference in which expert educators, medical providers, law enforcement officials, religious leaders and others will lay groundwork for an intensified global strategy that will be required to meet the 2030 goal.

Read the event coverage, Can Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Be Stopped?

The League of Arab States adopted a regional action plan on women, peace and security in partnership with U.N. Women in October 2015, highlighting the need to empower Arab female leaders to strengthen institutions and help communities address conflict peacefully. On December 5, to mark the Fifth Annual Arab-American Day, the League of Arab States and the U.S. Institute of Peace will host a discussion with Arab women leaders, academics and policymakers,  including the newly-elected Minnesota House Representative and Somali American, Ilhan Omar, on how education and economic opportunities can engage women and men in supporting women’s voices, equality and success.

The Asia Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Institute of Peace, will present the findings of the 2016 Survey of the Afghan People at USIP on December 7. Crucial questions of security, economic stability, and reconciliation face the administration of President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah. As they begin their third year in office, an atmosphere of increasing civilian casualties and unrest in the provincial capitals threatens the fragile but significant progress the country has made toward peace and prosperity over the past decade.

Read the event coverage, Afghans: Deeper Pessimism for Future, Fear of Taliban.

More than 300,000 American students study abroad each year, and in 2015 nearly 1 million international students were enrolled at U.S. universities. These flows of students are a resource for America’s diplomacy and its efforts to build peace abroad. Still, diplomats and scholars on the issue say the United States should do much more to promote international education and more effectively integrate it into broader foreign policy. On November 14, scholars and diplomats will examine how the role of international education is changing, and steps that can be recommended to the next U.S. administration.