Global Studies

Waseem Mardini is a 2008 graduate from the University of Pittsburgh. He then went on to obtain his Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University, studying subjects such as Human Rights, Humanitarianism, and Sustainable Development. He has worked in New York City and Washington, DC, working for groups such as the Foundation for Middle East Peace, Equitable Origin, and the Arab American Institute. He was the Policy Advisor at Publish What You Pay, where he focused on the corruption in the oil, gas and mining sectors.

The Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES) and the Study Abroad Office (SAO) in collaboration with the Pittsburgh-based global service-learning organization Amizade propose to bring together community organizers and nonprofit leaders with University of Pittsburgh faculty and students for a public forum themed “Water Is Life." The thematic concentration on water reflects the contemporary significance of the topic, which invites inquiry from a regional and global perspective. Water is at the core of human and environmental existence.