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Conversations On Europe (Archive Collection)

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Conversations On Europe connects top experts from around the United States and Europe to discuss contemporary issues facing Europe and the Transatlantic relationship. Using both personal and institutional videoconference technology, panelists take questions and interact with audiences at Pitt and at remote sites in the US and Europe. Conversations On Europe is free and open to the public. A complete library of video resources to enhance transatlantic conversations is also now available.  In addition, you can view the full Playlist for Conversations on Europe on the Pitt Global Channel of YouTube. Please note, however, that the supplemental materials are only available by clicking on the topics listed below.

The series is intended to present a broad range of views and opinions about topics relevant to Europe. The views expressed are those of the presenters and cannot be taken to represent the views or opinions of the U.S. Government nor the European Union.

With thanks to our co-sponsoring partners in the network of Jean Monnet Centers in the U.S.A, especially: the Miami-Florida Jean Monnet European Center of Excellence at Florida International University; the EU Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne; the Center for European Studies at the University of Florida; the Center for European Studies at the University of Texas – Austin; and the Center for European and Transatlantic Studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology

We welcome your feedback on these videos and the Conversations on Europe series. Please take our survey.

Conversations on Europe: "Elections 2024: European Parliament Elections across the 27 Member States"

Elections 2024: European Parliament Elections Across the 27 Member States
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
MODERATORS:
Jae-Jae Spoon, University of Pittsburgh
Zeynep Somer-Topcu, The University of Texas at Austin
 
PANELISTS:
Kai Arzheimer, University of Mainz
Catherine DeVries, Bocconi University
Jan Rovny, Sciences Po-Paris
 
During this session of our Conversations on Europe, we will focus our discussion on the ongoing election campaign to the European Parliament, as the elections will take place between June 6th and 9th. With looming economic slowdown, increasing migration both on the southern and eastern border of the EU and growing support for populist and nationalist parties, what are the prospects for the EU integration?  What are the main topics of the campaign and how will they impact the elections?  Which parties will gain a majority in the upcoming 5 years term and shape the future of the EU?

Conversations on Europe - Understanding the Human Impact of the Russian War in Ukraine

The Russian War in Ukraine: Displaced People and Changing Security Concerns
Tuesday, March 12, 2024

MODERATORS: 

Randall Halle, University of Pittsburgh
Erica Edwards, University of Pittsburgh
 
PANELISTS: 
Svitlana Babenko, Malmö University (*unable to attend)
Joachim A. Koops, Leiden University
Kseniya Yurtayeva, University of Michigan
 
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine transformed European security concerns dramatically. It has disrupted the lives of countless people in the region. It triggered a new wave of rapid forced migration throughout the EU and in other neighboring countries. Displacement from the war impacts not only Ukrainian women and children fleeing to Poland, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, and other neighboring countries. It has also affected Russians avoiding mobilization or Russian intellectuals avoiding repressions in their home country. Unfortunately, at a time of record numbers of internal and external displaced persons worldwide, numbers of people seeking asylum have now risen in Central Asia and Caucasus. In addition to considering the overall security situation resulting from the war, this Conversation on Europe will ask: how do these movements of people affect the current situation in the EU and in receiving countries? How have societies and state apparatuses reacted to this migration and what can we learn from these dynamics? What role does “security” and securitization play in these processes? 

Conversations on Europe: Mis/disinformation Security: Protecting EU Values and Democracy

“Mis/disinformation Security: Protecting EU Values and Democracies”
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

MODERATOR:

Erica Edwards, University of Pittsburgh
 
PANELISTS:
Ralitsa Kovacheva, Sofia University
Julia Partheymüller, University of Vienna
Elena Bruni, LUISS Guido Carli, Italy, Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer, University of Pittsburgh 
 
Not to be confused with misinformation, meaning inaccurate information, disinformation is false material meant to intentionally mislead or misinform individuals. Brought to the fore in 2016 with Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, disinformation threatens to erode trust in democratic systems, weaken individual freedoms, and increasingly undermine governments around the world. While the U.S. has yet to make meaningful progress in addressing disinformation, Europe has moved forward with new legislation and initiatives.
Join us for this session of Conversation on Europe in which we ask what steps Europe is taking to shore up EU values and counter disinformation.

Conversations on Europe: Yaoundé Conventions 60 Years On

"Yaoundé Conventions 60 years on: Africa-EU Relations Now"
Tuesday, November 14, 2023

MODERATORS:
Randall Halle, University of Pittsburgh
Catherine Koverola,  University of Pittsburgh

PANELISTS: 
Michael Odijie, University College London
Pernille Røge, University of Pittsburgh 
Mounir Saidani, Editor-in-Chief of Omran Social Sciences/Arabb Center for Research and Political Studies-Doha. 
Abdou Seck, Gaston Berger University/Groupe D’Action et D’Etude Critique Africa (GAEC) 
 
It is 60 years since the signing of the Yaoundé Convention (1963).This was a moment in the history of decolonization when the Associated African States, 12 mainly young postcolonial Western Africa countries, signed a trade agreement with the also young European Economic Community. The Yaoundé Convention was part of the EEC’s Eurafrica initiative, an effort to maintain a presence in the former colonies. Yaoundé initiated a series of trade and aid agreements that replaced the colonial relation with a developmental model. An era of trade and infrastructural development followed. However, many critics have suggested that this strategy of aid set off the pattern of uneven and unequal development. This Conversation on Europe and Africa takes this event as an opportunity to consider development aid in Africa historically and in its contemporary form. Our panelists bring a mix of historical and regional knowledge to the conversation.

Conversations on Europe - Polish Post-Election Results and their Impact on European Security

"Polish Post-Election Results in Poland and their: Impact on European Security for Poland
Tuesday, October 17, 2023

MODERATORS:
Randall Halle, University of Pittsburgh
Paweł Lewicki, University of Pittsburgh

 
PANELISTS:
Jan Kubik, Rutgers University & University College of London
Michał Kotnarowski, Polish Academy of Sciences
Monika Nalepa, University of Chicago
 
October is the month of Parliamentary Elections in Eastern Europe’s powerhouse, Poland. On 15 October, the electorate stands at a crossroads and our invited panelists will discuss the path the Polish voters will have chosen. In addition to the implications for Poland, our panelists will discuss what the election results mean for relations with Poland’s neighbors, Ukraine in particular. And given that Brussels has repeatedly drawn attention to Polish democratic backsliding under the current government, this CoE will ask what the election it means for the EU?

 

Conversations on Europe - "European Year of Skills: What's the Future of Labor Security in Europe"

European Year of Skills: What's the Future of Labor Security in Europe?
Tuesday, September 12, 2023

MODERATOR:
Randall Halle, University of Pittsburgh

Panelists:
Jane Gingrich, University of Oxford
Stefan Olsson, Deputy Director General, European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Jamie Woodcock, University of Essex

The EU declared 2023 the Year of Skills to bring attention to the challenges the contemporary workforce faces and to the European responses. It is indeed a period of transition in labor, with no little unrest. The Yellow Vest strikes are perhaps the best known of the strikes that have taken place recently in Europe. This Conversation on Europe (CoE) considers the state of labor and the security of employment. In conversation with our panelists, we will consider labor struggles, the disruption of historical industries, the insecurity caused by inflation, energy scarcity, and AI. We will consider the future in Europe of the developing culturally diverse workforce? And we will hear about EU level initiatives to develop skilled workers for the 21st century.

 

Conversations on Europe - "African and Middle Eastern Migration to Europe"

Climate Change and Migration-What Can the US Learn from Europe?
Tuesday, March 21, 2023

As North and Central America increasingly experience climate change and disasters (fires, hurricanes, drought, rising waters from the Great Lakes and Atlantic Ocean), the US has come to realize what our European colleagues have been experiencing as they have been at the forefront of the accelerating trend of global displacement related to climate change. The panel will be an informal discussion of how Europe’s experience with climate change and migrants can inform the United States.

MODERATOR:
Mary Rauktis
University of Pittsburgh

PANELISTS:
Carla Malafaia
University of Porto, Portugal

Cosmin Nada
University of Porto, Portugal

Sheila Velez Martinez
School of Law, University of Pittsburgh

The series is intended to present a broad range of views and opinions about topics relevant to Europe. The views expressed are those of the presenters and cannot be taken to represent the views or opinions of the U.S. Government nor the European Union.

This video has been funded with the assistance of both the European Commission (through the Erasmus + Programme) and the US Department of Education. The contents of this video are the sole responsibility of the European Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the U.S. government or the European Union.

Co-support provided by the International Foreign Language Education office of the U.S. Department of Education and the European Commission's Erasmus + Programme. Views and opinions expressed are those of the individual panelists and do not reflect the views or opinions of the U.S. Government or the European Union.

Conversations on Europe - Understanding the Human Impact of the Russian War in Ukraine

The Russian War in Ukraine: Displaced People and Changing Security Concerns”
Sunday, March 12, 2023
MODERATORS: 
Randall Halle, University of Pittsburgh
Erica Edwards, University of Pittsburgh
 
PANELISTS: 
Joachim A. Koops, Leiden University
Kseniya Yurtayeva, University of Michigan
 
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine transformed European security concerns dramatically. It has disrupted the lives of countless people in the region. It triggered a new wave of rapid forced migration throughout the EU and in other neighboring countries. Displacement from the war impacts not only Ukrainian women and children fleeing to Poland, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, and other neighboring countries. It has also affected Russians avoiding mobilization or Russian intellectuals avoiding repressions in their home country. Unfortunately, at a time of record numbers of internal and external displaced persons worldwide, numbers of people seeking asylum have now risen in Central Asia and Caucasus. In addition to considering the overall security situation resulting from the war, this Conversation on Europe will ask: how do these movements of people affect the current situation in the EU and in receiving countries? How have societies and state apparatuses reacted to this migration and what can we learn from these dynamics? What role does “security” and securitization play in these processes? 
 
 

 

 

Conversations on Europe - "Climate Change: Perspectives from France and Italy"

Climate Change: Perspectives from France and Italy
Tuesday, February 14, 2023

In the last few years, we have seen an increasing international awareness of the challenges facing the interaction between human populations and a changing environment. In France and Italy, these issues have in fact occupied a really important role in philosophical, social and political debates and initiatives for at least five decades. Our panelists will offer a diverse and far-reaching presentation of their own involvement with the research and initiatives presently occurring in Italy and France.

MODERATOR:
Giuseppina Mecchia
University of Pittsburgh

PANELISTS:
Yves Citton
Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint Denis, France

Daniela Fargione
University of Turin, Italy

Giuseppina Mecchia
University of Pittsburgh

The series is intended to present a broad range of views and opinions about topics relevant to Europe. The views expressed are those of the presenters and cannot be taken to represent the views or opinions of the U.S. Government nor the European Union.

We would appreciate your feedback on these videos and the Conversations on Europe series. Please see our survey at: https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/fo...

For more resources and readings related to this session or any of our past sessions, go to: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/esc/events/coe

This video has been funded with the assistance of both the European Commission (through the Erasmus + Programme) and the US Department of Education. The contents of this video are the sole responsibility of the European Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the U.S. government or the European Union.

Co-support provided by the International Foreign Language Education office of the U.S. Department of Education and the European Commission's Erasmus + Programme. Views and opinions expressed are those of the individual panelists and do not reflect the views or opinions of the U.S. Government or the European Union.

Conversations on Europe - Artistic Exploration and Negotiation of Irish Nationalism

Legacies and Manifestations of Irish Nationalism and Irish National Identity in the EU and the UK in the Context of Brexit
Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Ireland’s relationships with Europe have safeguarded features of national identity from the early twentieth century to the present as the region negotiated its long-standing and historically fraught relationship with the United Kingdom.  In recent years, Ireland’s role in the EU has further solidified these regional relationships as a counterpoint to its tangled politics with the UK, especially in complex concepts of national identity in Northern Ireland.  In the midst of ongoing political tumult in the UK and the complexity of Britain’s extraction from the EU through Brexit, what does Irish nationalism look like today north and south of the border? 

This panel was organized and moderated by Professor Jennifer Keating, Department of English, Pitt organized and moderated the panel discussion.

PANELISTS:
Garrett Carr
Seamus Heaney Center, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland

John Carson
Carnegie Mellon University

Mairéad McClean
Artist and Filmmaker, from Bath, England, and Northern Ireland

Eve Patten
Director of the Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Professor Patten discusses ongoing relationships between the Long Room Hub, its resident artists and scholars and governmental grant programs at Trinity College.  Mairéad McClean discusses her recent Beyond 22 residency supported by the Decade of Centenaries grant to undertake work with the Irish Archives and the Long Room Hub and her exhibition “Here,” at Belfast Exposed in Northern Ireland.  Garrett Carr discusses his book, The Rule of the Land:  Walking Ireland’s Border. Professor Carson provides commentary.

The series is intended to present a broad range of views and opinions about topics relevant to Europe. The views expressed are those of the presenters and cannot be taken to represent the views or opinions of the U.S. Government nor the European Union.

We would appreciate your feedback on these videos and the Conversations on Europe series. Please see our survey at: https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/fo...

For more resources and readings related to this session or any of our past sessions, go to: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/esc/events/coe

This video has been funded with the assistance of both the European Commission (through the Erasmus + Programme) and the US Department of Education. The contents of this video are the sole responsibility of the European Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the U.S. government or the European Union.

Co-support provided by the International Foreign Language Education office of the U.S. Department of Education and the European Commission's Erasmus + Programme. Views and opinions expressed are those of the individual panelists and do not reflect the views or opinions of the U.S. Government or the European Union.