Institute of Current World Affairs

In her first dispatch from the northern capital of Tromsø, Norway, only 600 miles south of the North Pole, Brett Simpson reports that the city recorded historic, mid-70s temperatures this August. The climate here is changing four times faster than the rest of the planet. https://lnkd.in/eJAKGEiT

As the Arctic becomes more vulnerable due to climate change, it's opening up to resource extraction, shipping & global competition. Amid the growing tensions, inaugural Peter Bird Martin Fellow Brett Simpson launches in Tromsø Norway, the seat of the Arctic Council, this month. Brett will be bringing important stories from this region to the world through her monthly dispatches. You can watch her launch interview & read future dispatches here: https://t.co/OGbiwdB8sW

ICWA alumni were busy in May and June! Here are some of their pieces and updates: Recent fellows Emily Schultheis and Joshua Levkowitz wrote for Foreign Policy: https://lnkd.in/e8F_iv7J  https://lnkd.in/eMPYAehH Neri Zilber reports on Israel and Gaza in Financial Times: https://lnkd.in/eR5a87bh https://lnkd.in/eUS7vY87 Jori Lewis nominated as finalist for James Beard award: https://lnkd.in/e5xFeb6j Willy Foote wins sustainability award: https://lnkd.in/eR4WrQmT Ann Mische published on global protest: https://lnkd.in/e4cVwt-f And trustee Andrew Weil published a memoir: https://lnkd.in/eE6Ux_CS

Although the Netherlands is Europe’s largest entry point for heroin & cocaine & the continent’s biggest producer of beer & amphetamines, its overdose rate is 19x lower than in the US. How is that possible? Rowland Robinson reports from Amsterdam:

Following James Courtright's fellowship report, ICWA hosted a panel discussing challenges facing Fulani societies with panelists Abdoul Salam Bello, Catherine Rielly and ICWA alum Hannah Rae Armstrong. Former fellows and trustees were in attendance, including joel aaron millman, joe battat, Bacete Bwogo, Yunfei Liu, CFA, Onyinye Edeh-Vincent, MPH Susan Brind Morrow, Paul Rahe, Joseph Bradley, and Gregory Feifer.

Former ICWA fellow Steven Tagle takes a look at the portentous choices facing #Georgia as the government weighs a Russia-style "foreign agents" law that could endanger civil society: https://t.co/X9TOn7XTuH

REGISTER NOW: Returning ICWA fellow James Courtright has spent a highly illuminating two years deep in the field across West Africa exploring how Fulani societies—the world’s largest pastoralist group—are responding to climate change, discriminatory governments and increasing jihadist activity, and what it reveals about the roots of violence and other major developments in the region’s countries. He’ll report on his fellowship in Washington, DC on Friday, May 17 at 2 p.m., followed by a panel discussion that will include former fellow Hannah Rae Armstrong (Sahel, 2012-2014). https://lnkd.in/euyr9DrP

When Taiwan’s magnitude 7.4 earthquake, the strongest in 25 years, struck offshore from the eastern coastal city of Hualien one morning earlier this month, ICWA fellow Edric Huang 黄祥宇 was lying in bed in his sixth-floor Taipei apartment 100 kilometers from the epicenter. In this latest Global Current, he shares his experience and how Taiwan’s earthquake resilience has strengthened its international standing. https://lnkd.in/eYR_a2Wb

ICWA deeply mourns the loss of David Mixner, a towering figure in the global fight for LGBTQ+ rights & ardent advocate of peace & justice, who died in New York yesterday. His relentless efforts inspired ICWA to establish the @DavidMixner LGBTQ+ Fellowship.  #davidmixner #lgbtqrightsarehumanrights #queerrights #icwafellowship https://lnkd.in/e-S5YUsB

Check out a few of the latest pieces from ICWA alumni! Hannah Rae Armstrong on Mali's peace process: https://lnkd.in/eG4NAcni Neri Zilber on extremists' influence on Netanyahu: https://lnkd.in/eU-KFR_g Gregory Feifer on Alexei Navalny: https://lnkd.in/g4RTCJh4 For more from our alumni and fellows, click here: https://lnkd.in/eR-aF7Zt