Past JWAC events: 2012-2013 season 30

This is a partial archive of past JWAC events. In over a decade of service to the community, we've put on hundreds of events that have brought scores of speakers before the community.

'Oil and Gas Lessons Learned in Europe' with Governor Sean Parnell

Thirsday, June 6th | 5:00 | The Hickel Room, Centennial Hall

Governor Parnell discussed Alaska-applicable insights, ideas and lessons-learned regarding oil and gas production, distribution and taxation that were formed on a recent trip to Europe.

'The Betrayal of American Prosperity: Free Market Delusions, America's Decline, and How We Must Compete in the Post-Dollar Era' with economic strategist Clyde Prestowitz

Wednesday, May 1st | 5:00 | KTOO Studio

Clyde Prestowitz is the founder and President of the Economic Strategy Institute (ESI) where he has become one of the world's leading writers and strategists on globalization and competitiveness and an influential adviser to the U.S. and other governments. He has also advised a number of global corporations such as Intel, FormFactor, and Fedex, and serves on the Advisory Board of Indonesia's Center for International and Strategic Studies. The New York Times has called Mr. Prestowitz one of the most far-seeing forecasters of global trends. He was among the very first to warn of the approach of the recent economic crisis, the decline of the dollar, and the dangers of global trade imbalances.

'The Obama Administration's Pivot From the Middle East to Asia and the Opportunities That Presents For Alaska and the West Coast' with foreign correspondent Lew Simons

Wednesday, April 17th | 5:00 | KTOO Studio

Lewis M. Simons has been a foreign correspondent since 1967, reporting from Vietnam and throughout Southeast Asia; India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran; China, Japan, North and South Korea, and the former Soviet Union. He wrote for the Associated Press, the Washington Post, and Knight-Ridder Newspapers and won the Pulitzer Prize for exposing the Marcos family's hidden billions. Author of ''Worth Dying For,'' he is a regular contributor to National Geographic and his op-ed articles have appeared in the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Travelogue: 'Nectar of Immortality' with Bob Schroeder

Tuesday, April 16th | 5:00 | Gold Town Nickelodeon

JWAC board member Bob Schroeder shared movies, images and experiences from his 2013 journey to the Maha Kumbh Mela, the mass Hindu pilgrimage in Prayag (Allahabad) on the Ganges River.

'On the Arctic' with Alice Rogoff

Wednesday, April 10th | 5:00 | KTOO Studio

In 2011, Alice Rogoff organized and led The Arctic Imperative Summit, the first-ever international policy gathering in Alaska focused on the issues and opportunities presented by the melting sea ice. More than 250 decision-makers from the policy and business communities contributed to a productive series of discussions on the Arctic. In 2002, she co–founded and became Chairman of the Alaska Native Arts Foundation. In 2008, Rogoff also founded Alaska House, a non-profit ''virtual embassy'' to promote understanding of the economic issues and opportunities facing the State, including the long-term development of the U.S. Arctic.

Travelogue: 'El Camino de Santiago' with Mark Kelley

Tuesday, March 26th | 5:00 | Gold Town Nickelodeon

Mark Kelley shared photos and experiences from recent treks along El Camino de Santiago in Spain.

Travelogue: 'Chile, Shaken' with John Roxburgh

Tuesday, March 12th | 5:00 | Gold Town Nickelodeon

Travel enthusiast John Roxburgh visited Chile in March of 2010, just one month after a major earthquake, and found this resilient nation well along the road to recovery. He showed us photos of its colourful capital, the verdant Lakes District, the desert, the bodegas, and the ascensores of Valpo.

World Affairs Forum:'China in the 21st Century'

Friday & Saturday, March 8th and 9th| Click for times | UAS Egan Lecture Hall

The annual Forum is an opportunity for us to hear from an array of experts on a specific field. This year's forum was an extensive and detailed look at China's past, present and future. Click here for details.

'Arctic Issues' with Senator Mark Begich

Sunday, March 3rd | 4:00 | Centennial Hall: Egan Room

Senator Begich addressed an array of Arctic issues -both old and new- which are of concern to the state and nation as a whole.

'The Japan-Alaska Relationship and Hopes for the Future' with Consul for Japan Koichi Funayama

Tuesday, February 26th | 5:00 | KTOO Studios

The Honorable Koichi Funayama will speak about relations between Alaska and Japan and touch on energy and liquid natural gas.

Travelogue: 'Dancing on the Danube' with Elfrida Nord

Tuesday, February 19th | 5:00 | Gold Town Nickelodeon

Former JWAC board member Elfrida Nord shared photos and stories from her 2012 riverboat trip on the Danube River, including visits to great cities such as Vienna and Budapest along one of Europe's most famous waterways.

WorldQuest 2013!

Friday, Jan 25th | 6:00 | Centennial Hall

WorldQuest is JWAC's largest fundraiser, featuring an international buffet, no-host bar, silent auctions, and our delightfully amusing trivia contest. This year's winners were the MRVandals! Thank you, everyone, for coming out to support JWAC.

'Horse Dancing Over the Fences of Tradition: Korea, YouTube, and the marketing of culture in the 21st Century' with Jocelyn Clark

Monday, Jan 21st | 5:00 | KTOO Studios

As Harvard Government Professor Michael Sandel notes in his new book, ''What Money Can't Buy,'' we have moved from having a market economy to becoming a market society. This is true not only in the U.S., but in many places around the world, including South Korea. The so-called ''Korean Wave'' of the last decade or so, which began to crest in the 1990s and came washing over the west in 2012 with the viral success of Psy's ''Gangnam Style'' horse dance, may currently represent Korean culture to the world, but is this the ''wave'' for which Koreans want their country to be best known? Korean officials have been working hard over the past decade to identify and present to the world ''national brand'' that embodies Korea's distinct cultural heritage. The country's now successful bid to claim the folk song ''Arirang,'' as its own national heritage (snatching it from China's clutches) reveals today's Korea as a country ''of two minds, both made up.'' Will Korea continue to be best known for its globalism and the hybrid acts that arise out of its artists' international exposure? Or will the country bring its own unique cultural traditions to the global marketplace? Lifelong Juneauite and current professor of International Studies at Pai Chai University in Daejeon, S. Korea, Jocelyn Clark, explored these questions and how they intersect with issues Alaskans face in trying to identify, share, and preserve our traditions in the 21st Century.

'China In Transition' with Jack Perkowski

Wednesday, Dec 12th | 8:00 | KTOO Studios

Jack Perkowski is often called ''Mr. China'' because he is widely recognized as an expert on doing business there. He authored Managing the Dragon: How I’m Building a Billion Dollar Business in China, which provides timely insights into ongoing developments in the country.

His articles on China, its economy and developing a business in the country have been published in the Wall Street Journal, the Far Eastern Economic Review, the Huffington Post and more. Jack is a frequent speaker to university and business school groups, corporate and industry conferences and leading professional organizations, among them the Council on Foreign Relations.

'Nuclear Doctrine: The Evolution of Strategic Thought in the Atomic Age' with Chris Preble

Wednesday, Dec 5th | 5:00 | KTOO Studios

Chris Preble spoke to us about nuclear weapons and the evolving strategy for their use and utility. He is the vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. He is the author of several books, including The Power Problem: How American Military Dominance Makes Us Less Safe, Less Prosperous and Less Free, which documents the enormous costs of America's military power, and proposes a new grand strategy to advance U.S. security; and John F. Kennedy and the Missile Gap which explores the political economy of military spending during the 1950s and early 1960s.

In addition to his books, Preble has published over 150 articles in major publications, and is a frequent guest on television and radio.

Travelogue: 'Impressions of the Middle Kingdom' with Mark Hickey

Tuesday, Dec 4th | 5:00 | Gold Town Nickelodeon

Local photographer Mark Hickey shared images and impressions from his October 2012 trip with his wife, Susan, to the People's Republic of China. Locations visited include Beijing, the Great Wall, Xi'an, Chongqing, the Three Gorges region of the Yangtze River, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

'Prospects for the Resolution of US-Iran Conflict' with Farideh Farhi

Wednesday, Nov 14th | 5:00 | KTOO Studios

Islamic Iran is going through its 32nd year with almost as much political noise as it generated at its inception. On the one hand, Iran's nuclear program and the confrontation it has engendered, on the other hand, the June 12, 2010 election and its aftermath, involving the first major popular mobilization against the government since the 1979 revolution.

Farideh Farhi is an Independent Scholar and Affiliate Graduate Faculty at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa where she also teaches Middle East Politics. She has also taught comparative politics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Tehran, and Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. Her publications include States and Urban-Based Revolutions in Iran and Nicaragua as well as numerous articles and book chapters on comparative analysis of revolutions and Iran’s politics and foreign policy. She spent most of the 1990s in Iran teaching as well as working as a research associate and English editor at the Institute for Political and International Studies. She has served as a consultant to the World Bank and International Crisis Group and has been a grant recipient of the United States Institute of Peace. Most recently she was a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Immediately followed by: The Fall Meeting

Wednesday, Nov 14th | about 6:00 | KTOO Studios

Following Farideh Farhi's talk we transitioned into JWAC's Annual Meeting, which occurs every November, and is the time when we gather to make goals, prioritize, and elect new board members (interested? Send us an e-mail!). There's often food...

'Postcards from Tomorrow Square' with James & Deborah Fallows

Sunday, Nov 11th | 3:00 | UAS Egan Lecture Hall

James Fallows is a national correspondent for The Atlantic and winner of the National Book Award. He will be discussing his new book, Postcards from Tomorrow Square, which covers China's economic explosion, its environmental impact, the transition to democracy, and compelling human stories. Deborah Fallows is a linguist and China expert. She is the author of Dreaming in Chinese and will share her experiences and insights as well.

Travelogue: 'Diving Chuuk Lagoon' with Loren jones

Tuesday, Oct 30th | 5:00 | Gold Town Nickelodeon

Loren Jones presented slides and a video of his scuba diving trip to Chuuk Lagoon (formerly known as Truk Lagoon) in May 2009. This was the site of one of the most important U.S. Navy air strikes of WWII and the diving was to see the wrecks of the Japanese ships and aircraft sunk during the battle. It was known as Operation: Hailstone and took place Feb 17-18, 1944. This presentation should be of great interest to WWII history buffs and scuba divers.

Travelogue: 'Middle East' with Barbara Propes

November | date TBA | Gold Town Nickelodeon

Barbara Propes, a JWAC board member and past president of World Affairs Councils of America, shareed images and experiences gathered during her travels to Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East.

'China's Legal System: Prospects for Reform' with Alison Conner

Friday, Oct 19th | 7:00 | UAS Egan Library

Alison Conner is Professor of Law and director of international programs at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii. She joined the faculty in January 1995 after nearly twelve years of teaching and research in Asia. She earned her doctorate in Chinese and South East Asian history at Cornell University and her law degree at Harvard Law School, where she specialized in Asian and comparative law and was a research fellow in the East Asian Legal Studies Program. Following law school, she taught Chinese and East Asian history and then spent five years practicing law on Wall Street.

'International Politics of Seafood Ecolabeling & 'Sustainability' Certification' with Bob Tkacz

Wednesday, Oct 17th| 5:00 | KTOO Studios Conference Room

Bob Tkacz is a freelance journalist & publisher of the seafood law newsletter, "Laws for the SEA." He arrived in Alaska in 1986 to work for the Petersburg Pilot and has been covering Alaskan and international seafood and fisheries issues ever since. Currently he is a columnist for "Pacific Fishing" magazine and writes about seafood and other issues for "Aquaculture North America," the "Alaska Journal of Commerce," and other publications.

'The Hydropolitics of Palestine and Israel' with Skip Schiel

Thursday, Sept 20th| 5:00 | KTOO Studio

This presentation unpacked controversies and conflict over water allocation in Israel and Palestine. This arid region has scant water resources. Mr. Schiel examines water allocation and its effect on agriculture, communities, and society. He looks at water use in small Palestinian villages and on the Gaza strip and in the large cities of Haifa and Jerusalem where water resources are shared by both Jews and Arabs.

Skip Schiel is a Cambridge, Massachusetts photo-journalist who has been working seasonally in Israel and Palestine since 2003 documenting aspects of the continuing conflict in this area. He has taught photography at the Landscape Institute at Harvard University, the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, and filmmaking at Boston College. In the Levant, Mr. Schiel has worked as a volunteer with American Friends Service Committee, the Quaker Palestine Youth Program, and Al Aqsa University in Gaza.