Global Minnesota

Second Session: Mexico and Minnesota – A brief history and panel discussion on Mexican history in Minnesota with Mexican-Minnesotan leaders in the arts, education, business, and civic life. Moderated by Patricia Lopez, Editorial Writer, Star Tribune

Great Decisions Conference

The United States and Mexico

Keynote Presentations – Challenges and Opportunities Ahead with Jeffrey Davidow

Great Decisions Conference - First Session: A Shared Border, A Shared Future

with Tom Hanson

Great Decisions Conference

The United States and Mexico

Conversation and Q&A with Ambassadors Bárcena and Davidow

Listen to a conversation with Inter-American Dialogue President Michael Shifter as he discusses the complex and often strained relations between the U.S. and Latin America including a look at immigration and trade policies, the reversal of the Cuban thaw, the Trump administration’s return to a more militant war on drugs, and the implications of recent developments with Venezuela and China. The program will also include a Q&A session with Michael, moderated by Adrean Scheid, Senior Vice President, International Relations at UnitedHealth Group.

During the Trump administration, the usual ways of conducting diplomacy have been upended. Many positions in the U.S. Department of State have never been filled, and meetings with foreign leaders such as Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin have been undertaken with little advance planning.

Listen to Tom Hanson, former U.S. Foreign Service Officer, on how these changes are impacting ongoing relationships between the United States and its allies and adversaries. The program will also include a Q&A session with Tom, moderated by Mary Curtin, Diplomat-in-Residence at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

Cyber conflict is a new and continually developing threat, which can include foreign interference in elections, industrial sabotage, and attacks on infrastructure. Russia has been accused of interfering in the 2016 presidential elections in the United States, and China is highly committed to using cyberspace as a tool of national policy. Dealing with cyber conflict will require new ways of looking at 21st-century warfare.

Listen to Andrew Borene, Senior Director, U.S. Federal National Security Group Leader at Symantec Corporation, on the United States' ability to respond to growing cyber threats.

Listen to Ambassador Ahmed Isse Awad, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of The Federal Republic of Somalia, to Minnesota for a special program on Somalia. Ambassador Awad will speak about economic, political, and cultural aspects of Somalia as well as the country's efforts to rebuild after years of war.

The program will also include a moderated Q&A session.

In 1994 over the span of 100 days, nearly a million Tutsi were killed in Rwanda. After finding personal healing and forgiveness, author Denise Uwimana turned her extraordinary experience as a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide into a personal mission to provide material and spiritual assistance to fellow survivors. To mark the 25th commemoration of the genocide, Denise recently released the moving memoir "From Red Earth: A Rwandan Story of Healing and Forgiveness," where she recounts her story of survival and continuing efforts to restore her country by empowering Rwandans to band together, find healing, share their stories, and rebuild their lives.

Listen to a special program with Denise as she shares her testimony and discusses Rwanda's turbulent history and the projects and programs established to promote healing, renovation, and community building in the region. The evening will include a Q&A session.