Global Minnesota

During World War I, many people in Europe faced starvation due to the German occupation and British blockade. In response, the Commission for Relief in Belgium was created to help feed children and mothers in Belgium and northern France. More than half of the food aid that went to Europe was wheat and wheat flour, much of it coming from the farmers and flour mills of Minnesota. This hunger relief effort grew to become the largest humanitarian effort in history, feeding more than 150 million Europeans from France to Russia between 1914 and 1923.

In return, children from Belgium sent letters of gratitude to American children. A selection of these letters has been translated and used to create a powerful exhibit that has been shown across the United States.

Join us for the virtual opening of this special exhibit in Minnesota.

Presented in partnership with the Consulate General of Belgium in New York City, the Embassy of Belgium, the French American Chamber of Commerce of Minnesota, the Mall of America, Wafels & Dinges, and Wallonia-Brussels International (WBI).

The exhibit will be available for viewing at the Mall of America during the month of October and is presented as part of Global Minnesota’s World Food Day activities.

Global Minnesota- What’s New in the New NAFTA

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the world’s best plan to build a better world for people and our planet by 2030. These goals recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, equality, and job opportunities while tackling climate change and working to preserve our ocean and forests.

Hear from Peg Thomas, Executive Director at the Sundance Family Foundation, and Tim Roman, Co-Founder & CEO of Ecotone Analytics GBC, about measuring and presenting the SDG-impacts on the work of the Sundance Family Foundations’ Earn and Learn Program.

Peg Thomas is the Executive Director at the Sundance Family Foundation and manages the Foundation’s operations and initiatives, provides strategic program guidance to the board, mentors Sundance college interns, and provides both grants management and technical support to grantees. Peg holds an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, an MS in Therapeutic Recreation and Administration from the University of Minnesota, an MPP in Business from the Carlson School of Business, and a BS in Music Therapy also from University of Minnesota.

Tim Roman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ecotone Analytics GBC. Tim has an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, where he studied integrative leadership and stakeholder collaboration for social and environmental impact. He has consulting experience in business modeling, organizational design, and process improvement for social enterprise, as well as 12 years of experience in IT, from coding to department management.

It is often said that foreign policy is about connecting means with ends. With perhaps a few exceptions, most agree that the ultimate end of U.S. foreign policy should be a more prosperous, sustainable, and secure world. Yet today, food security around the globe remains a pressing challenge, especially in low-income, conflict-prone, and climate-affected areas.

Following decades of decline in hunger, the number of hungry people globally is once again rising – this trend made all the worse by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Patching up vulnerabilities in food systems remains paramount in ending hunger around the world and such trends pose challenges – some new, some old – to U.S. foreign policy.

Hear from a panel of experts as they explore U.S. food security and current gaps in policy, particularly as they relate to the effects of COVID-19.

• Asma Lateef, Director, Bread for the World Institute

Red Penguins, the just-released film from award-winning director Gabe Polsky, tells the wild forgotten true story of capitalism and opportunism run amok in Moscow. Shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the famed Red Army hockey team formed a joint venture that redefined what was possible in the new Russia. Eccentric marketing whiz Steven Warshaw was sent to Moscow and tasked to transform the team into the greatest show in Russia, attracting some of the biggest names in Hollywood and advertising along the way.

Listen to a discussion to examine the lessons learned during this tumultuous era of oligarchs and corruption, and how they can help shape business, cultural, and political relations between the U.S. and Russia in the years ahead.