ºù«Ӱҵ

Skip to main content

The Young Initiative invites foreign policy experts and guest speakers to campus to engage in discussions on international relations and the global political economy with students and faculty.

Annually: United Nations Week

With the William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program, the Young Initiative supports the annual United Nations Week at ºù«Ӱҵ, each spring. We are passionate in maintaining students involvement and engagement in sustainable development. Our students choose topics that link Global Political Economy, Social Justice, and Sustainable Development.

One Day Conference - Data and the Feminist City Conference - September 30, 2025

The Young Initiative will host invited representatives from city governments from around the world for a one-day conference on the ºù«Ӱҵ campus. Attendants will share experiences and best practices on reporting mechanisms to gather data, identify gaps in data collection, and help develop strategies for data-driven, actionable solutions.

Ongoing Young Speakers Events

Young Initiative speakers give students and faculty an opportunity to expand their understanding of global issues. The Young Initiative sponsors several speakers each academic year highlighting particular aspects of global affairs and the global political economy.  The Young Speakers program is devoted to highlighting the work and success of eminent international affairs experts and ºù«Ӱҵ alumni in public service and academia.

Glen Fukushima: Trump and Japan
Glen Fukushima returned to his native California and visited ºù«Ӱҵ to deliver a lecture at the McKinnon Center for Global Affairs on October 24, 2017. Mr. Fukushima discussed the United States’ past relations with Japan under the Obama administration as well as the current relations with Japan under the Trump administration. 
More
Aditya Agrawal on The Data Revolution

Aditya Agrawal, director of data ecosystems development at the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data spoke about the Data Revolution and how it can be harnessed to aid in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

More
William Drozdiak
William Drozdiak: Trump and Europe

William Drozdiak visited ºù«Ӱҵ on September 25, 2017 and gave a lecture at the McKinnon Center for Global Affairs. He offered insight into the current political arenas of the United States and Europe and the implications of such that we may expect to see in the coming years.

More
Jeffrey Wasserstrom
Trump and China

Jeffrey Wasserstrom is a noted academic, specializing in Chinese history.

More
Image for Finessing the China Relationship in the Age of Tru
Finessing the China Relationship in the Age of Trump
In a public forum hosted by the Young Initiative on the Global Economy at ºù«Ӱҵ, students and faculty came together to discuss the US-China relationship as part of the Trump and The World Series.
More
Ivo Daalder, "Donald Trump and the End of the Liberal World Order"
Ivo Daalder, who served under the Obama administration as the ambassador to NATO and who now is the President of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, visited Occidental on April 6, 2017. He lectured at the college's McKinnon Center for Global Affairs, arguing that the liberal world order we know so well is likely coming to an end. 
More
Image for New article by Amb. Derek Shearer
New article by Amb. Derek Shearer
Click the link below to read a new article by the Director of the McKinnon Center for Global Affairs, Ambassador Derek Shearer. 
More
Michel Gabaudan: President, Refugees International
Michel Gabaudan spoke in the McKinnon Center for Global Affairs at Occidental on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017 and was the keynote speaker for Occidental’s 2017 UN Week.
More
Image for Gregory Treverton: Global Trends
Gregory Treverton: Global Trends
On Tuesday, Dr. Gregory Treverton spoke about the future of global dynamics, citing a paradox in the trajectory of globalization. As globalization continues to evolve, forces fight against it, yearning for situations of the past. 
More
Image for Judge Nguyen: From ºù«Ӱҵ Gown to Judge's Robe
Judge Nguyen: From ºù«Ӱҵ Gown to Judge's Robe
On Thursday, February 2, 2017, the Honorable Jacqueline Nguyen visited ºù«Ӱҵ to discuss her journey from ºù«Ӱҵ on graduation day to her current position as a Judge sitting on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She is the second guest in the ongoing Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series, hosted by both the Young Initiative and the Politics Department.
More
Contact the John Parke Young Initiative on the Global Political Economy
Johnson Hall

The McKinnon Center for Global Affairs