On April 16, USIP hosted the Africa Futures Summit to examine approaches to catalyze Africa’s potential to benefit and shape the global system. Discussions drew on the African Futures research, forecasting and policy analysis led by the Institute for Security Studies, along with perspectives from Africa, the African Diaspora and American experts.

Panel Discussion

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/africa-futures-summit

On April 16, USIP hosted the Africa Futures Summit to examine approaches to catalyze Africa’s potential to benefit and shape the global system. Discussions drew on the African Futures research, forecasting and policy analysis led by the Institute for Security Studies, along with perspectives from Africa, the African Diaspora and American experts.

Opening Remarks

Panel Discussion

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/africa-futures-summit

On April 16, USIP hosted the Africa Futures Summit to examine approaches to catalyze Africa’s potential to benefit and shape the global system. Discussions drew on the African Futures research, forecasting and policy analysis led by the Institute for Security Studies, along with perspectives from Africa, the African Diaspora and American experts.

Panel Discussion

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/africa-futures-summit

In his new book, “American Diplomacy Toward Lebanon: Lessons in Foreign Policy and the Middle East,” former U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale explores the legacy of U.S.-Lebanon relations. On April 2, USIP hosted a discussion with Hale on his new book and how past U.S. diplomatic engagement with Lebanon can offer valuable lessons for American diplomatic tradecraft in the Middle East and beyond.

Lise Grande, opening remarks 
President and CEO, U.S. Institute of Peace

Ambassador David M. Hale 
Former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; Former U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon 

Ambassador Edward M. Gabriel, moderator
President, American Task Force on Lebanon; Member, Board of Directors, U.S. Institute of Peace

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/legacy-and-lessons-us-diplomatic-engagement-lebanon

Since the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the question of whether to use seized Russian assets — worth approximately $300 billion — to pay for the eventual reconstruction of war-torn Ukraine has been the subject of extended debate within the global community. On March 13, USIP and Ukrainian Minister of Justice Denys Leontiyovych Maliuska hosted a discussion on the potential utilization of confiscated Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction efforts.

Lise Grande
President and CEO, U.S Institute of Peace 

Denys Leontiyovych Maliuska
Minister of Justice of Ukraine 

Ambassador David Scheffer, moderator
Former Ambassador at Large for War Crimes
Professor of Practice, Arizona State University

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/russian-asset-seizures-and-justice-ukraine

On February 24, 2021, India and Pakistan announced a renewal of the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. On March 8, USIP hosted a conversation on the LoC ceasefire that explored findings from a new USIP report, “The 2021 India-Pakistan Ceasefire: Origins, Prospects, and Lessons Learned,” the factors that have helped keep the ceasefire in place, and what new regional dynamics could mean for its sustainability in the future.

Christopher Clary 
Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Albany 

Happymon Jacob 
Founder and Honorary Director, Council for Strategic and Defense Research 

Asfandyar Mir
Senior Expert, South Asia, U.S. Institute of Peace 

Tamanna Salikuddin, moderator 
Director, South Asia Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace

For more about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/fragile-intact-understanding-india-and-pakistans-three-year-ceasefire

On March 1 -- ahead of International Women’s Day and on the first day of Women’s History Month -- USIP recognized and celebrated the awardee and finalists for USIP's 2023 Women Building Peace Award. The conversation explored how these four fearless women from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya and Syria are making history while working for a peaceful future.

Marcia Myers Carlucci, welcoming remarks
Co-Chair, USIP's Women Building Peace Council

Megan Beyer, moderator 
Director, Office of Art in Embassies, U.S. Department of State; Co-Chair, USIP’s Women Building Peace Award Council

Pétronille Vaweka 
Awardee, 2023 Women Building Peace Award; Senior Mediator and Coordinator, Centre Femmes Engagées pour la Paix en Afrique (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Dr. Marie-Marcelle H. Deschamps 
Finalist, 2023 Women Building Peace Award; Deputy Executive Director, Les Centres GHESKIO, (Haiti)

Abir Haj Ibrahim 
Finalist, 2023 Women Building Peace Award; Co-Founder and Executive Manager, Mobaderoon (Syria) 

Hamisa Zaja 
Finalist, 2023 Women Building Peace Award; Founder and CEO, Coast Association for Persons with Disabilities (Kenya)

For more information on this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/how-women-front-lines-forge-peace

On February 27, USIP and the Atlantic Council hosted a discussion with former U.S. ambassadors to Ukraine and Russia analyzing the current battlefield situation, the importance of Western aid and the disastrous consequences that would result without it, and what can be done to secure Ukraine and its democracy long term.

Lise Grande, opening remarks 
President and CEO, U.S. Institute of Peace

Denys Sienik, opening remarks
Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Ukraine

Ambassador John Herbst
Senior Director, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council; Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine

Ambassador Steve Pifer
Senior Fellow, Brooking Institute; Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine

Ambassador John Tefft 
Distinguished Chair, Diplomacy and Security, RAND Corporation; Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia

Ambassador Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch
Senior Advisor, Russia and Europe Center, U.S. Institute of Peace; Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine

Ambassador William Taylor, moderator
Vice President, Russia and Europe Center, U.S. Institute of Peace; Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/two-years-analyzing-war-ukraine

On February 22, USIP hosted a conversation on what’s changed in the month since riots engulfed Papua New Guinea, the Pacific Islands' largest and most populous nation, as well as how U.S. and international policymakers can respond to the causes that are driving instability there. 

Brian Harding, moderator
Senior Expert, Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands, U.S. Institute of Peace

Gordon Peake 
Senior Advisor, Pacific Islands, U.S. Institute of Peace

Ruth Kissam 
Senior Advisor, Papua New Guinea, U.S. Institute of Peace

Zuabe Tinning 
Program Manager, Papua New Guinea, U.S. Institute of Peace

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/papua-new-guinea-one-month-after-riots

On February 21, USIP hosted a discussion featuring perspectives from regional experts and former government officials on practical options to respond to a rapidly shifting political landscape in the western Sahel. The conversation followed the publication of the final report of the USIP Bipartisan Sahel Senior Study Group and explored opportunities for mitigating conflict and advancing durable peace in the region.

Joseph Sany, welcoming remarks
Vice President, Africa Center, U.S. Institute of Peace

General Francis Béhanzin
Former Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Economic Community of West African States

Honorable Tiéman Hubert Coulibaly
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mali

Ambassador Bisa Williams
Former U.S. Ambassador to Niger; Sahel Senior Study Group Member

Ambassador Kamissa Camara, moderator
Senior Advisor, Africa, U.S. Institute of Peace; Chair, Senior Study Group for the Sahel

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/peace-security-and-prosperity-sahel