Tag Archives: FPLC Events

Business and Human Rights: Progress in addressing modern slavery in Asian supply chains

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SEAN LEES, Business and Human Rights Specialist
July 10, 2018 from 5:30-6:15 p.m.
Reception @ 6:15 p.m.
Dinner – 7:00-8:30 p.m. followed by
Presentation and Discussion

Schiff Conference Center
Cintas Center at Xavier University
1624 Herald Avenue, Cincinnati OH 45207

There are more than 45 million victims of modern slavery today, working across agricultural, electronics, garment and other industries. Greater collaboration between businesses, government and communities is leading to change in Asia, though the threat of divestment campaigns, consumer boycotts, lawsuits, and associated reputational risks remain. What are the structural and political forces driving these abuses, and what more can business leaders, lawyers, and consumers do to put them to an end?

Sean Lees is the Business and Human Rights Specialist at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) covering Asia-Pacific. He has worked on human rights and justice issues for the United Nations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Fiji, Sudan, Thailand and Uzbekistan, among other places. Prior to this, he worked as a lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security. He is a Cincinnati native.

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Iran versus Saudi Arabia

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Ancient religious divide – Modern fight for power
An evening with
Ambassador Kenton Keith

Tuesday, February 13, 2018
5:30-6:15 p.m. – Reception 6:15 p.m. Dinner
7:00-8:30 p.m. – Presentation and Discussion

Schiff Conference Center, Cintas Center at Xavier University

Today’s burgeoning proxy conflicts in the Middle East between forces loyal to Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran are rooted in irreconcilable religious differences between the two main schools of Islam. Rarely have the two powers been as close to open conflict as they are today. Iran’s regional influence is increasing as Shia allies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere appear to be gaining influence. Saudi Arabia’s succession drama is playing out in ways that few would have predicted only a couple of years ago. The Kingdom is involved in a conflict in Yemen that pits Sunni against Shia. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran are in existential conflict with ISIS, which is largely Sunni.

Each has oil and gas resources, but each has domestic economic and political challenges that have distanced the leadership from their populations. U.S. interests are tied to maintaining stability in the Middle East, progress toward Mideast peace between Israel and the Arab world, and unimpeded access to oil and gas. All those interests are affected by the dynamics of Saudi-Iranian competition.

Kenton KeithKenton Keith retired from government service in 1997 after four years as a naval officer and thirty-two in the U.S. Information Agency and Department of State. His final years at USIA included assignments in Brazil, Paris, and Cairo in public affairs and cultural affairs in deputy and senior positions. In Washington, he served as both Deputy Area Director and Area Director for USIA’s (NEA) North Africa, Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs. Keith led the USIA planning team for the amalgamation of foreign affairs agencies. He was confirmed as Chief of Mission Doha, Qatar in 1992. For five years he served as a team leader in the Department’s Office of the Inspector General, before being named US Ambassador to Qatar in l992 for three years.

As Ambassador to Qatar he oversaw U.S. cooperation with American private sector companies competing for a share in the rapid expansion of Qatar’s LNG development, related technologies, as well as traditional petroleum exploration and development. He participated in successful negotiations with the Qatari government on regional security cooperation including the pre-positioning of U.S. military equipment and had an active role in Qatar’s establishment of American university faculties in the country.

Post Foreign Service Keith was Senior Vice President of Meridian International Center, the largest program agency assisting the Department of State in the management of the International Visitor Leadership Program. After retirement from Meridian, Ambassador Keith returned to State for occasional stints as Team Leader for Office of Inspector General teams. He led inspections of embassies in Luxembourg, The Hague, Reykjavik, Madrid, Lisbon and Brasilia, as well as the board of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

Keith serves on the boards of the conflict resolution organization Partners Global, the Association of Diplomatic Service and Training, the Washington Humane Society, and the anti-human trafficking organization Artworks for Freedom. He belongs to the American Academy of Diplomacy, the citizen diplomacy organization Global Ties U.S., Meridian’s Hospitality and Information Service, and DACOR, and organization for retired diplomatic and consular officers.

Ambassador Keith is a Chevalier in the French Order of Arts and Letters. He is a member of the Cosmos Club of Washington, DC.

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Xavier University - Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue

World Affairs Council

US Foreign Policy Matters

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When US Foreign Policy Goals Conflict with
the Conduct of American Businesses Abroad
Presented by Qaisar Shareef

Monday, March 26, 2017

5:30-7 p.m. – Reception
7:00-8:30 p.m. – Presentation and Discussion
Schiff Conference Center at Xavier University

Mr. Qaisar Shareef concluded in 2011 a career of nearly 30 years with Procter & Gamble. He joined the company at headquarters in 1981, and spent a dozen years living and working abroad as P&G country manager in startup ventures in the emerging markets of Pakistan and Ukraine. The subsidiaries he led in those two countries continue to thrive today in spite of difficult circumstances. P&G Pakistan received from the U.S. State Department an Award for Corporate Excellence in 2012.

In his first book, When Tribesmen Came Calling: Building an Enduring American Business in Pakistan, published in 2017 by Blue Ear Books, Qaisar narrates his experiences successfully building American businesses in emerging markets, sharing learning about how business success was achieved and exploring the interplay among business, economics, culture, and politics. He was witness to historical political events that continue to shape Pakistan and Ukraine. He tells these stories in an engaging and informative way – as only an eyewitness can.

He is an advisory partner at Ward Howell International, a global executive search and management consultancy firm. He has taught as adjunct faculty in International Marketing in the School of International Business at the George Washington University.

Based in the Washington, DC area, Qaisar serves on the boards of many organizations from the Pakistani-American and American Muslim communities. He also serves on the Leadership Council of Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, a D.C.-based think tank. Originally from Pakistan, Qaisar moved to Cincinnati in 1977. He has a B.S. degree in Management from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey and an MBA from the University of Cincinnati.

Event sponsored by:

Xavier University - Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue

World Affairs Council

CHINA Town Hall: Local Connections, National Reflections

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Dr. Henry A. Kissinger and Dr. Tom Gold
China on the Road to Rejuvenation: Challenges to the U.S.

Tuesday, October 18 – 6:30 Doors open / 7-9 p.m.
Kennedy Auditorium, Conaton Learning Commons
Xavier University

Dr. Henry A. Kissinger

Dr. Henry A. Kissinger

China’s emergence as a global player and potential partner with the U.S. ensures that the Sino-American relationship will directly impact the lives of us all. To help us understand this complex relationship, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations will conduct the 10th annual CHINA Town Hall, a national day of programming on China involving about 70 cities throughout the United States. We will participate in a live webcast discussion from 7-8 p.m. with former Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger, moderated by National Committee President Stephen Orlins.

At 8 p.m., Dr. Thomas B. Gold will be with us in person. A 1966 Walnut Hills graduate, Dr. Gold is professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Thomas Gold

Dr. Thomas Gold

He began his study of Chinese at Oberlin College and received his M.A. and PhD from Harvard. He was part of the first group of government-sponsored American exchange students to go to China, studying at Fudan University from 1979-80. Subjects of his publications range widely, including youth, guanxi (关系), popular culture, private business, microfinance, laid-off (下岗) workers, civil society, social change in Taiwan, and cross-Strait relations. He serves on the board of the Asia Society/Northern California and has served on the board of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. In 2012 he returned to Fudan to teach in the University of California Education Abroad Program. Dr. Gold will discuss China’s “Road to Rejuvenation” and how it presents challenges to the U.S., as well as opportunities.

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