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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260616T180000
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SUMMARY:The U.S. & Cuba: 250 Years of Change – What’s Next?
DESCRIPTION:From the early days of the republic to today’s headlines\, the story of U.S.–Cuba relations offers a compelling window into the evolution of American foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere. This is a story of empire\, revolution\, crisis\, and diplomacy – and it is far from over. \nJoin the World Affairs Council of Connecticut and Pequot Library for a unique opportunity to explore Cuba’s past\, present\, and future with Jack Leslie and Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis\, a central figure in the 2015 restoration of diplomatic relations and the first U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Havana since 1961. \nThe conversation will be moderated by Jack Leslie\, a longtime Fairfield resident and public relations executive\, political consultant\, and international development activist. \nHow has U.S.-Cuba relationship fundamentally changed over 250 years – and where is it headed next? RSVP to find out. \n\n\nDetails\nTuesday\, June 16\, 2026 | 6:00pm – 7:30pm\nPequot Library\, 720 Pequot Ave\, Southport\nTickets: No Charge\, Suggested $20 Donation \nReserve your spot today \n\n\n \n\nWith Special Guest\n \nAmbassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis\nCharge d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Havana (2015-2017); Adjunct Professor\, Fordham University; Senior Non-Resident Fellow in International Affairs\, John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding\, Dartmouth College \nDuring his 28-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service\, Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis worked almost exclusively on Western Hemisphere issues and as a multilateral diplomat at the United Nations. He served as the first Charge d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Havana following the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. Prior to taking up his Cuba post in August 2014\, he was the Ambassador for Special Political Affairs at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Previously\, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs\, and as Minister Counselor for Political Affairs and Security Council Coordinator at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. \nAmbassador DeLaurentis began his State Department career in 1991 as a consular officer in Havana and returned to Cuba as Political-Economic Section Chief in 1999-2002. In Washington\, he served as the Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs\, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs\, and Director of Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council. His last assignment in the Foreign Service was at the Harvard Kennedy School as a Senior Diplomatic Fellow with the Belfer Center Future of Diplomacy Project. \nSubsequently\, Ambassador DeLaurentis was appointed a Centennial Fellow at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service\, Distinguished Resident Fellow in Latin American and Multilateral Diplomacy Studies at the Georgetown University Institute for the Study of Diplomacy\, George S. McGovern Visiting Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University\, Resident Fellow at the Harvard University David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies’ Cuba Studies Program\, and a Senior Advisor with the Albright Stonebridge Group.   He was also a member of the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition Team and called back to government service in January 2021 as the Senior Advisor for Security Council Affairs and Acting Deputy Permanent Representative at the U.S. Mission to the UN\, a position he held until September 2023. He then began a two-year appointment at Simmons University as the Joan M. Warburg Professor of International Relations. At the same time DeLaurentis also served as a diplomatic advisor on the U.S. interagency task force on Haiti and represented the U.S. on the advisory board of the UN Trust Fund in Support of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) to Haiti\, until December 2024. He was subsequently appointed the Magro Family Distinguished Fellow in International Affairs at the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College for the 2025 Fall Term. \nDeLaurentis is a graduate of the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service and Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. A recipient of multiple State Department awards\, he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations\, the American Academy of Diplomacy and the Cuba Study Group. He recently joined the Stimson Center as a Distinguished Fellow and is a member of Stimson’s Latin American Program Advisory Council\, and continues as an associate with the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard. \n\nModerated By\nJack Leslie\nPublic Relations Executive and former Chair\, U.S. African Development Foundation \nJack Leslie is the former Chairman of Weber Shandwick\, one of the world’s leading public relations and public affairs firm. He was appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the US Senate to Chair the Board of Directors of the US African Development Foundation (USADF)\, an independent federal agency. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and is a former Chair of the Ron Brown Scholar Program. \nJack is a veteran communications strategist\, having advised corporations and governments on high-profile campaigns over the past three decades. Jack served as a senior aide to Senator Edward Kennedy in the late 1970s\, and later became President of Sawyer Miller Group\, a pioneer in the political media consulting business. \nIn the 1980s\, he served as political consultant and media advisor to dozens of candidates for U.S. Senate and Governor\, and to presidential candidates in the U.S.\, Latin America\, Africa\, and Asia. Political and business leaders alike have sought his counsel during significant crises\, including American Airlines following the attacks of September 11th. \nJack is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations\, former Chairman of the U.S. Agency for International Development Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid\, former Chairman of USA for UNHCR and is currently a Distinguished Professor at Georgetown University and a Visiting Fellow at the Duke Global Health Institute. He is a member of the board of directors of Water.org\, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and the NIH Clinical Center. Jack is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. \n\n \n\nJoin the Community\nWith continuous breaking global news\, Council membership allows you to understand it all. Members gain lower-cost and exclusive access to discussions with foreign and local leaders\, events with experts and opposing views\, and – most essentially – a community of engaged people like yourself. \nBecome a member or renew today. \n\nMission Partners\n \nSupport global engagement in Connecticut by contacting CEO Megan Torrey about sponsorship opportunities. Learn more on our website about available opportunities. \n\n\n\nThe World Affairs Council of Connecticut provides a platform for open dialogue and the exchange of ideas on global issues. The views expressed by speakers and contributors to this organization’s public programs—in person\, online\, and through affiliated social media sites— are solely their own and do not necessarily represent the official policies or positions of CTWAC\, its individual staff\, board members\, members\, or sponsors. As a nonpartisan and nonpolitical organization\, CTWAC’s purpose is to foster informed discussion and greater understanding of the world\, without endorsing any particular viewpoint.
URL:https://ctwac.org/event/us-cuba-250-years-of-change/
LOCATION:Pequot Library\, 720 Pequot Ave\, Fairfield\, CT\, 06890\, United States
CATEGORIES:Fairfield County
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260618T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260618T193000
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SUMMARY:250 Years of American Diplomacy
DESCRIPTION:A Celebration of the U.S. at 250 with Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam and Yale’s Michael Brenes\n\n\n\nJoin us as we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with an all-American party and reflect on America’s place in the world after 250 years. \nWe’ll explore the pivotal decisions\, influential leaders\, and defining moments that propelled the nation onto the global stage. \nHow has diplomacy shaped America – and what does it mean for the road ahead? Join the celebration and RSVP today. \n\nDetails\nThursday\, June 18\, 2026 | 6:00-8:00pm\n6pm Celebration | 7pm Discussion\nWorld Affairs Council\, Studio A\, Hartford CT\nTickets: $30 General Admission\, $20 Members | No Charge for Students \nReserve your spot today \n\n\n \n\n\nFeaturing\nMichael Brenes is co-director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy and lecturer in history at Yale University. \nHis research interests include United States foreign policy\, political history\, and political economy. He is the author of For Might and Right: Cold War Defense Spending and the Remaking of American Democracy\, published by University of Massachusetts Press in 2020\, and the co-editor (with Daniel Bessner) of Rethinking U.S. Power: Domestic Histories of U.S. Foreign Relations\, published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2024. His next book\, co-authored with Van Jackson\, is titled The Rivalry Peril: How Great-Power Competition Threatens Peace and Weakens Democracy\, and will be published by Yale University Press in January 2025. \nIn addition to his academic articles and book chapters\, his work has been published in The New York Times\, The New Republic\, Foreign Affairs\, Foreign Policy\, Politico\, Dissent\, Boston Review\, The Nation\, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. \nHe is currently writing a history of the War and Terror from the 1990s to the present\, to be published by Grove/Atlantic. He is also finalizing a co-edited volume with Daniel Bessner on Cold War liberalism\, which is under contract with Cambridge University Press. \nModerated By\n \nMayor Arunan Arulampalam\nMayor\, City of Hartford \nMayor Arulampalam is a father\, husband\, attorney\, former nonprofit executive\, and is committed to strengthening our neighborhoods and building a Hartford that works for everyone. \nThe son of Sri Lankan refugees\, Mayor Arulampalam was born in Zimbabwe. He made a home and eventually a family in Hartford soon after graduate school. Prior to being elected mayor\, Mayor Arulampalam served as the CEO of the Hartford Land Bank\, where he developed a first-in-the-nation program to train Hartford residents to become local developers and tackle blight in Hartford. The Land Bank takes on the city’s vacant and blighted properties and\, with the help of Hartford developers\, fixes them up to encourage investment in our neighborhoods across the city. \nMayor Arulampalam also served in the Lamont Administration as Deputy Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection where he went after a notorious Connecticut slumlord and fought for consumer rights and small businesses. Before then\, he was a lawyer downtown at the firm of Updike\, Kelly & Spellacy\, P.C. Mayor Arulampalam also served on the Board of the Hartford Public Library\, the House of Bread\, and on the Hartford Redevelopment Authority. He earned his B.A. in International Studies from Emory University and his J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law. \nMayor Arulampalam lives in the Frog Hollow neighborhood in a formerly vacant and blighted house with his wife and five small kids. Mayor Arulampalam’s wife\, Liza\, is the Senior Minister of the First Church of Christ (Center Church) in Hartford. \n\nJoin the Community\nWith continuous breaking global news\, Council membership allows you to understand it all. Members gain lower-cost and exclusive access to discussions with foreign and local leaders\, events with experts and opposing views\, and – most essentially – a community of engaged people like yourself. \nBecome a member or renew today. \n\nMission Partners\n \nSupport global engagement in Connecticut by contacting CEO Megan Torrey about sponsorship opportunities. Learn more on our website about available opportunities. \n\n\n\nThe World Affairs Council of Connecticut provides a platform for open dialogue and the exchange of ideas on global issues. The views expressed by speakers and contributors to this organization’s public programs—in person\, online\, and through affiliated social media sites— are solely their own and do not necessarily represent the official policies or positions of CTWAC\, its individual staff\, board members\, members\, or sponsors. As a nonpartisan and nonpolitical organization\, CTWAC’s purpose is to foster informed discussion and greater understanding of the world\, without endorsing any particular viewpoint.
URL:https://ctwac.org/event/250-years-of-american-diplomacy-hartford/
LOCATION:World Affairs Council of Connecticut\, 1049 Asylum Ave\, Hartford\, CT\, 06105\, United States
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260715T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260715T200000
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SUMMARY:The Future of War | WorldNow
DESCRIPTION:What will war look like in 2084 – in a world devastated by climate change? \nJoin us on WorldNow with Jim Falk as we sit down with Elliot Ackerman\, author of 2084: A Novel of the Future of War; NYT bestselling author\, and contributing writer at The Atlantic. \nIn 2084\, decorated military officers and award-winning authors Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis write a world on the brink of war\, divided between equatorial countries ravaged by climate change and the wealthier\, politically fractured countries like China and the U.S. 2084 follows their two previous novels\, envisioning a war between the U.S. and China in 2034 and the breakdown of American politics fueled by AI in 2054. \nThe details:\nWhen: Wednesday\, July 15 | 7:00pm-8:00pm EDT\nWhere: Zoom Webinar\nTickets: No charge\, RSVP Required \nReserve your spot today \n\n\n \n\nMeet the Guest\n \nElliot Ackerman is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Halcyon\, 2034\, Red Dress In Black and White\, Waiting for Eden\, Dark at the Crossing\, and Green on Blue\, as well as the memoir The Fifth Act: America's End in Afghanistan\, and Places and Names: On War\, Revolution and Returning. \nHis books have been nominated for the National Book Award\, the Andrew Carnegie Medal in both fiction and nonfiction\, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize among others. \nHe is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and Marine veteran who served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan\, where he received the Silver Star\, the Bronze Star for Valor\, and the Purple Heart. He divides his time between New York City and Washington\, D.C. \n  \n\nMeet the Host\n\nJim Falk is President Emeritus of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth. Now residing in Santa Fe\, NM\, he is Vice Chairman of the Board of Global Santa Fe. In addition to hosting WorldNow with Jim Falk\, Jim produces and hosts The Forum\, a weekly talk show on KSFR-FM\, Santa Fe Public Radio. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. \n  \n  \n\nAbout the Book\n2084 (A Novel of Future War) by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis \n“Gripping…Ackerman and Stavridis stage a harrowing global conflict that pits military might against an appetite for justice… equal parts haunting and entertaining.” —Publishers Weekly\, starred review\nA gripping drama and chilling prophecy about the possible path to war for a planet devastated by climate change \nIn their novel 2034\, decorated military officers and award-winning authors Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis imagined a war between the US and China. In their follow-up novel\, 2054\, they envisioned a breakdown in American politics fueled by a radical advance in AI. Now they make their boldest\, most astonishing\, and arguably most necessary leap—imagining the consequences of a climate war. \nBy the year 2084\, the world is divided into the equatorial countries that bear the brunt of the climate crisis—led by Nigeria\, Brazil\, and Indonesia—and wealthier countries like China and the US\, beset by their own problems after a series of civil wars. Tensions between the two sets of countries have reached a breaking point\, until finally the so-called Reparationist nations of the equator decide that only military force can bring them justice. \nA fascinating and disturbingly plausible extrapolation from current realities\, 2084\, like other classics of the genre such as Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future and Neal Stephenson’s Termination Shock\, deploys a global cast of characters\, all protecting their interests as the fate of human civilization hangs in the balance. Individuals often seem small in the face of the forces that drive global change\, but in the end human agency proves surprisingly decisive. Big doors can swing on small hinges. We have it within ourselves to write a different destiny\, if only we can imagine it. \nGet yourself a copy of 2084 on Bookshop.org and support your local bookstore \n\nPresented by\nWorldNow with Jim Falk is hosted by the World Affairs Council of Connecticut with the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth and the World Affairs Councils of America. Presented in partnership with Councils nationwide: \n \n\nMission Partners\n\nSupport global engagement in Connecticut by contacting CEO Megan Torrey about sponsorship opportunities. Learn more on our website about available opportunities. \n\nStay Globally Involved\nRenew your membership or become a member on our website. Council members gain exclusive\, lower-cost access to global events and travel opportunities\, while engaging with top international leaders. Join our community of global citizens and let us bring the world to you. \n\n\n\nThe World Affairs Council of Connecticut provides a platform for open dialogue and the exchange of ideas on global issues. The views expressed by speakers and contributors to this organization’s public programs—in person\, online\, and through affiliated social media sites— are solely their own and do not necessarily represent the official policies or positions of CTWAC\, its individual staff\, board members\, members\, or sponsors. As a nonpartisan and nonpolitical organization\, CTWAC’s purpose is to foster informed discussion and greater understanding of the world\, without endorsing any particular viewpoint.
URL:https://ctwac.org/event/future-of-war-worldnow/
LOCATION:Zoom Webinar
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