From the newsletter I received via email:

Launch of Women In International Security (WIIS) Switzerland Sponsored by: WIIS Switzerland Date: May 31, 2011 Time: 6:00 p.m. Location: Kongresshaus, Gotthardstrasse 5, Zurich Speakers:   - Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) -Prof. Elisabeth Prügl, The Graduate Institute, Geneva -Dr. Antti Kaski, Faculty Member at GCSP, seconded from the Finnish Government Description: In 2011, a national chapter of Women in International Security (WIIS) was created in Switzerland. Our mission is to promote women as leading voices in the global and national discourse on security, understood in a broad sense. We strive to increase the visibility of future leaders and security experts and facilitate their entry into established security expert networks. We do so by enabling the sharing of expertise, experience and contacts among our members. WIIS Switzerland is a non-profit association. To RSVP: Please contact Corinne Bara at bara@sipo.gess.ethz.ch   WIIS DC Chapter Launch Happy Hour Date: June 1, 2011 Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Location: Hudson Restaurant/Lounge (2030 M St, NW), Washington, DC   Women in the US Military Sponsored by: WIIS New York Date: June 1, 2011 Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Location: American Jewish World Service (45 West 36th Street), New York, NY Speakers: Captain Stacy A. Pedrozo, JAGC, US Navy To RSVP: Please email clmadden@gmail.com   WIIS-Seattle Happy Hour Sponsored by: WIIS Seattle Date: Wednesday, June 8th Time: 5:00-7:00 p.m. Location: BluWater Bistro (7900 E Greenlake Dr N.), Seattle WA 98103 To RSVP: Please call Bidisha Biswas at (206) 524-3985. At the restaurant, ask for the table under that same name.   International Security through a Global Health and Development Lens: Expanding the Arsenal Sponsored by: The National Bureau of Asia Research and WIIS Seattle Date: June 24, 2011 Time: 12:00-1:30 p.m. Location: The National Bureau of Asian Research (1414 NE 42nd Street, Suite 300) Seattle, WA Speakers: Erfa Iqbal, Jordan University and Division of Infectious Diseases at Jordan University Hospital Description: The roundtable will include comments from *Erfa Iqbal*, Additional Principal Staff Officer to the Prime Minister of Pakistan and *Najwa Khuri-Bulos*, Dean of Research and Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious Disease at Jordan University and Head of the Division of Infectious Disease at Jordan University Hospital. The discussion will focus on critical global health topics including: -       How can improving health and development outcomes promote global security and conversely, what lessons can the global health community learn from the defense industry? -       What role can the private sector play in promoting health and security around the world? -       How do we achieve health security in resource-poor and/or conflict settings? How are women impacted and what impact can they have?   The discussion will also examine the current status of women’s leadership in health security, and engage the entire room in an interactive conversation on these critical topics. To RSVP: http://myweb.facstaff.wwu.edu/~biswasb/

EVENTS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

Innovation in Afghanistan Sponsored by: Meridian International Center Date: June 1, 2011 Time: 8:30-9:45 a.m. Location: White-Meyer House (1624 Crescent Place, NW), Washington, DC Speakers: -   Yusuf Azim, Foundation for Afghanistan -   Sulaiman Lutfi, Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce -   Barmak Pazhwak, United States Institute of Peace -   J. Alexander Their, USAID To RSVP: Please email hhaines@meridian.org with the subject “Invitation” or call (202) 939-5570   Supporting Police Reform – Capacity Building for Advisers and Trainers Sponsored by: United States Institute of Peace Date: June 1, 2011-June 3, 2011 Time: 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Location: USIP Headquarters (2301 Connecticut Ave, NW), Washington, DC Speakers: Nadia Gerspacher, US Institute of Peace Description: This course discusses the actors, dynamics, and issues involved in police reform in post-conflict environments and how that reform fits into the overall security sector reform. Participants learn how to build the capacity of various actors and institutions to provide civilian-led security to the population. Participants also learn how to assess the capacity of various law enforcement actors and systems, identify the appropriate police structure to respond to a specific spectrum of security issues, and transfer knowledge to police actors, from the ministry to the local police station. To RSVP: http://usipa.ismartsoftware.net/ismartregister/IRegister/ItemView.aspx?ItemID=128   Words, Not Swords: Iranian Women Writers and the Freedom Movement Sponsored by: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Date: June 1, 2011 Time: 4:00-5:00 p.m. Location: One Woodrow Wilson Plaza (1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW), Washington, DC Speakers: Farzaneh Milani, University of Virginia Description: These are exhilarating times in the Middle East and North Africa. From the Green Movement in Iran to the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia and other uprisings in the region, demonstrators are demanding their democratic dignity and the expansion of their rights as citizens. The desegregated nature of these massive demonstrations, in which throngs of women walk shoulder to shoulder with men and face batons and bullets with open hands and life-affirming words, is unprecedented. It is indeed a revolution within revolutions. It is an antidote to Islamic fundamentalism, a turning point in the contemporary history of Islam. These circulating women-visible, voiced, and mobile-are seasoned negotiators of confined spaces, veteran trespassers of walls, closed doors, and iron gates. They are an audacious moderating, modernizing force to be reckoned with. Milani will discuss the complex interconnectedness between power, space, and physical mobility in the Islamic world in general and Iran in particular. To RSVP: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1426&fuseaction=topics.event_rsvp&event_id=698449   Center for a New American Security’s Fifth Annual Conference Sponsored by: Center for a New American Security Date: June 2, 2011 Time: 9:00 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Location: The Willard InterContinental Hotel (1401 Pennsylvania Ave., NW), Washington, DC Description: This year’s conference will focus on how the United States can manage global risk and seize opportunities in a time of growing economic constraint. Featured topics include cyber security and Internet freedom, the rapidly evolving Middle East, a new phase of the war in Afghanistan, and cooperation and competition in the Asia-Pacific. To RSVP: https://www.cnas.org/join   High Stakes: New Reports on the Democratic Republic of the Congo Sponsored by: United States Institute of Peace Date: June 2, 2011 Time: 9:30-11:30 a.m. Location: USIP Headquarters (2301 Constitution Ave, NW), Washington, DC Speakers: -       Laura Seay, Morehouse University -       Joshua Marks, National Endowment for Democracy -       Tia Palmero, Stony Brook University Description: This is a year of high stakes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO)  is due for renewal by the end of June and elections will be held before the end of this year.  Meanwhile, a new report has documented that sexual violence in the DRC is occurring at much higher rates than previously reported and is less concentrated in North and South Kivu and other conflict affected areas.  Moreover, elections preparations are worryingly behind.  With human security at such low levels and uncertainty about the upcoming polls, recent reports state that the DRC could face renewed political crisis.  What are the underlying reasons for these problems and how should the United States and the international community respond to such high stakes in the DRC? To RSVP: https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6060/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=32453   A New Era in Peace-building & Democratization: The Increasing Importance of Civil Society Sponsored by: The Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Nutze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University Date: June 2, 2011 Time: 10:00-11:30 a.m. Location: Room 500, 1717 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC Speakers: -       Mohamed Nimer, American University -       Vladimir Fedorenko, Rumi Forum -       David Koránya, Center for Transatlantic Relations -       Amb. Kurt Volker, Center for Transatlantic Relations Description: As the Arab Spring has made clear, new technologies have made civil society one if not the most important factor in determining the stability and durability of governance around the world.   Hear four experts share their perspectives on how the role of civil society has changed, and how its effective mobilization can speed the development of democracy and peace in the 21st century. To RSVP: Please email mefthymiopoulos@jhu.edu with “June 2 event” in the subject line   The Future of Women in the MENA Region, a Tunisian and Egyptian Perspective Sponsored by: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Date: June 2, 2011 Time: 12:00-1:30 p.m. Location: The Wilson Center (One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW), Washington, DC Speakers: -   Lilia Labidi, Minister of Women’s Affairs in Republic of Tunisia and former fellow, Woodrow Wilson Center -   Moushira Khattab, former Minister of Family & Population in Egypt and former Ambassador of Egypt to the Republic of South Africa, the Czech Republic and Slovakia To RSVP: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.event_rsvp&event_id=699983   Ten Years After 9/11: Evaluating a Decade of Conflicts on the Rules of War Sponsored by: United States Institute of Peace and the American Red Cross Date: June 3, 2011 Time: 9:30 -11:00 a.m. Location: USIP Headquarters (2301 Constitution Ave, NW), Washington, DC Speakers: -       Rosa Brooks, Department of Defense -       Richard Jackson, Office of the Judge Advocate General -       William K. Lietzau, Department of Defense -       Matthew Waxman, Columbia University -       David Meltzer, American Red Cross Description: Almost ten years after the devastating attacks of 9/11, the United States engaged in two wars that sent tens of thousands of American troops to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq.  A new survey conducted recently by the American Red Cross about  the attitudes of the first post-9/11 generation of American youth reveal for the first time their opinions about the rules of war and what is or is not acceptable behavior in wartime. The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the American Red Cross invite you to join us for a timely discussion on the relevance and importance of international humanitarian law at a time when civil conflicts are also erupting in North Africa and the Middle East. To RSVP: http://tenyearsafter911.eventbrite.com/   The Launch of the Project on U.S. Leadership in Development Sponsored by: The Center for Strategic and International Studies and Chevron Corporation Date: June 3, 2011 Time: 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Location: CSIS (1800 K Street, NW), Washington, DC Speakers: -   Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor -   General James L. Jones, Former National Security Advisor -   Hon. Henrietta Fore, Former USAID Administrator and CSIS Trustee -   Stephen W. Green, Chevron Corporation -   Dr. John J. Hamre, CSIS Description: The Project on U.S. Leadership in Development is a partnership between CSIS and Chevron to explore new thinking on development with a focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, and market-driven economic growth. This project is focused on leveraging all U.S. assets, with a particular focus on the private sector, to promote economic development, improve livelihoods, and reduce poverty worldwide. The goal of the effort is to craft an international development agenda that renews the discourse in Washington and develops a fresh, actionable set of recommendations for 2012 and beyond. To RSVP: Please email edenniston@csis.org.   Global Security Forum 2011 Sponsored by: The Center for Strategic and International Studies Date: June 8, 2011 Time: 7:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Location: CSIS (1800 K St, NW), Washington, DC Description: http://csis.org/event/global-security-forum-2011 To RSVP: Please email GSF2011@csis.org.   Health in Post-Conflict and Fragile States Sponsored by: United States Institute of Peace Date: June 9-10, 2011 Time: 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Location: USIP Headquarters (2301 Constitution Ave, NW), Washington, DC Speakers: -       Hon. Walter T. Gwenigale, MD, Minister of Health & Social Welfare of the Republic of Liberia -       Jonathan D. Quick, MD, MPH, Management Sciences for Health -       Lois Quam, Global Health Initiative -       Michael Posner, Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, State Department -       Donald K. Steinberg, USAID Description: Countries that have experienced armed conflict and political instability account for approximately 15 percent of the world’s population. However, these same countries account globally for 30 percent of maternal deaths, 50 percent of children who die before the age of five, and a third of those affected by HIV/AIDs in developing countries. They face huge challenges in the planning, organizing, financing and sustaining health services. These hurdles are often exacerbated by the loss of infrastructure and the departure of health workers, in part as the result of attacks on health facilities. In spite of the compelling challenges associated with building legitimate governments, health systems development in post-conflict and fragile states has experienced important successes. Questions still arise as to how health development in unstable and post-conflict states fits within donor global health priorities and policies, peacebuilding and stabilization, and human rights and governance. The conference will review the last decade in health programming in post-conflict and fragile states, as well as address key questions about the intersection of health in “fragile states” and development, national security policy, and consider a way forward. To RSVP: http://health-in-post-conflict-states.eventbrite.com/   Funders, Implementers, and the Challenge of Effective Evaluation Sponsored by: United States Institute of Peace and the Alliance for Peacebuilding Date: June 16, 2011 Time: 2:00-3:30 p.m. Location: USIP Headquarters (2301 Constitution Ave, NW), Washington, DC Speakers: -       Meredith Blair, Humanity United -       Melanie Kawano-Chiu, Alliance for Peacebuilding -       Sharon Morris, Mercy Corps -       Andrew Blum, USIP Description: Peacebuilding organizations are under increasing external pressure to demonstrate the impact of their programming. From within the field as well, there is a growing desire to develop effective evaluation systems that can create accountability to funders and to the beneficiaries of peacebuilding initiatives. In response, the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Alliance for Peacebuilding initiated the Peacebuilding Evaluation Project: A Forum for Donors and Implementers to improve the evaluation process. Join USIP on June 16th we discuss main findings from the Peacebuilding Evaluation Project’s first year. The panel will discuss the Alliance’s “Peacebuilding Evaluation Project: Lessons Paper” and the upcoming USIP Special Report entitled, “Improving Peacebuilding Evaluation: A Whole-of-Field Approach.” To RSVP: http://fundersimplementers.eventbrite.com/   Becoming a Senior Executive Sponsored by: Women in Defense Date: June 16, 2011 Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m. Location: Stevens Institute of Technology (1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW), Washington, DC Description: Join Mary E. Lacey and Sherly (Sharie) Bourbeau as they lead WID’s June mentoring event on advancing your National Security career. Lacey skyrocked from a GS-2 to her current position, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Reseach, Development, Test & Evalution). Bourbeau started as an Army intern and is now responsible for ensuring the Navy’s 330,000 military and 180,000 civilians have the knowledge and skills to meet the Navy’s mission. Both are long-time proponents of the mentoring and coaching process. Come join us for this exciting event and the dynamic discussion that will follow. It will be extremely beneficial to all interested in advancing their careers To RSVP: http://www.cvent.com/events/becoming-a-senior-executive/event-summary-739a0e7d2de84d7fba031fb7b9465184.aspx   Defense Institution Building Conference Sponsored by: The Naval Postgraduate School and Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Partnership Strategy and Stability Operations Date: June 20-21, 2011 Location: Arlington, VA Description: This two day conference will convene stakeholders to discuss approaches and share experiences on the challenge that Secretary Gates’ call – to focus on building defense institution capacity within partner nations – poses. Policymakers, DIB-related security cooperation providers and practitioners, policy analysts, and representatives of the Combatant Commands and Services will examine DIB challenges, identify strategies and approaches, and discuss how to further develop this evolving issue. This conference will serve as a launching event for a series of smaller, focused workshops, which will refine approaches and establish best practices for use in the field. The overall program will solicit participant views and suggestions for future development in the conceptual, programming, and implementation arenas. To RSVP: Submit an application at http://defenseinstitutionbuilding.org/.

EVENTS OUTSIDE D.C.

United Nations Legitimacy Series: Legitimacy and the Security Council Date: May 31, 2011 Time: 1:15-2:30 p.m. Location: Conference Room 6, Temporary North Lawn Bldg, United Nations Headquarters, NY Speakers: Sam Daws, Project on UN Governance and Reform Center for International Studies, Oxford University To RSVP: http://seccouncil.eventbrite.com/   United Nations Legitimacy Series: Legitimacy and Peace Operations Date: June 8, 2011 Time: 1:15-2:30 p.m. Location: Conference Room 7, Temporary North Lawn Bldg, United Nations Headquarters, NY Speakers: Roland Paris, University of Ottowa To RSVP: http://peaceops.eventbrite.com/   Will Instability in the Middle East Derail the Global Economic Recovery? Sponsored by: The Chicago Council on Global Affairs Date: June 16, 2011 Time: 7:30-9:15 a.m. Location: The Chicago Club (81 East Van Buren St), Chicago, IL Speakers: -       Edward L. Morse, Citigroup -       Amy Myers Jaffe, Wallace S. Wilson Fellow and Director, Baker Institute Description: Oil remains the most pivotal commodity to sustained economic growth, and yet key producers in the Middle East are facing a period of enormous political unrest and transition.  What will this mean for oil prices and the global economic recovery?  How will volatile energy prices affect U.S. multinationals and households?  Join The Chicago Council and two leading experts on the geopolitics of oil to discuss what the Arab Spring means for long range economic planning. To RSVP: http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/files/Events/All_Upcoming_Events/Calendar/Core/Events/eventdetails.aspx?iKey=110616B

EVENTS OVERSEAS

Sexual Violence, the Armed Forces and Military Operations Sponsored by: Norwegian Defense University College Date: June 17, 2011 Time: 8:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Location: Gamle Logen, Grev Wedels plass 2, Oslo, Norway Description: The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325) was passed in October 2000. The resolution emphasized women’s roles as actors and victims in conflict and urged gender concerns to be incorporated at all levels of peacekeeping, conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction efforts.   In 2008, UNSCR 1820 further emphasized the special need for the protection of civilians against widespread and systematic sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations.   Since the adoptions of these resolutions, the UN, NATO and various national armed forces have sought to integrate gender perspectives and UNSCRs 1325 and 1820 into their guidelines and policies. Nevertheless, challenges remain, including effectively addressing the different security needs of male and female citizens in armed conflicts.   This conference will highlight existing (military) efforts to prevent and handle sexual violence and abuse. It seeks to strengthen the analysis and replication of good practices and to foster dynamic exchange of experiences and information between armed forces personnel, peacekeeping personnel, academics and policymakers. The conference focuses on three interrelated areas: Formal commitments (from the UN, NATO and at the national level) to integrate gender perspectives, including handling and responding to sexual violence, in the armed forces and in military operations. Why and when handling and responding to sexual violence is a military responsibility. How handling, or failing to deal with, sexual harassment in the armed forces may affect military operations. To RSVP: http://hogskolene.forsvaret.no/forsvarets-hogskole/om-hogskolen/gender/Documents/Registration_form.doc