Forums Archive
Below is an archival listing of all Cape Ann Forum forums. Audio and/or video may be available for some of the forums. Please click on the forum's title or the "read more" link to see more details about the forum.
This forums archive is updated frequently and past forums are added on a regular basis. This archive is a work-in-progress.
The Rise of China in Africa
In recent years, Beijing has identified the continent of Africa as an area of significant economic and strategic interest, spending billions of dollars on energy and infrastructure projects there. But concerns about China’s role have been voiced by a range of actors, from human rights groups to international observers to Africans themselves. Houdek will discuss how the growing influence of China will affect economic development, human rights, and democracy in Africa. read more »
Global Slavery in the 21st Century
There are more slaves in the world today than at any time in history, says investigative reporter Ben Skinner, who infiltrated trafficking networks and slave markets on five continents (including ours) for his book, "A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-day Slavery."
WHAT TO DO?
From Ben Skinner, following his talk at the Cape Ann Forum
1. Understand the problem read more »
U.S. Foreign Policy Challenges in the Obama Era
Iran Today: What’s Behind the Headlines
Thirty years after the revolution that transformed Iran into an Islamic republic, the country is back on the front pages. One day the news is about the country’s nuclear program, the next its regional policies, then its fiercely contested political arena. What’s behind these multi-layered confrontations and conflicts, and how do they feed on each other? Who—or what forces—controls Iran today, and what does the future hold? If the United States is going to engage Iran, how should we do so, and what can we expect? read more »
Covering Africa: Pirates, Rebels and Other Tales
Jeffrey Gettleman has spent the past three years on the frontlines of news from Africa. He has lunched with pirates in Somalia and sweated it out for a week in an Ethiopian jail (not by choice). He’s covered Darfur, Congo, Kenya’s implosion last year, and the secretive side of Eritrea. He’s even sparred with a blind boxer in Uganda. Throughout these adventures, he tries to capture the humanity of the people he’s writing about and to look deeply into the causes of conflict. read more »