Populism on the Rise

Populism on the Rise: What Does This Mean for Minority Communities in Germany and Europe?

Presented by Stefan Schlüter
Monday, October 22, 2018

11:45 am to noon – Check in
Noon – 1:30 pm – Lunch and Presentation

Schiff Conference Center, Cintas Center at Xavier University

Stefan Schlüter will speaking on Jewish life in Germany, Germany’s coming to terms with its past, German-Israeli relations, rising anti-Semitism and populism in Europe. In addition, the meetings will provide opportunities to discuss these and a wider range of topics, such as transatlantic relations, migration issues and refugee policy, developments in the EU, Brexit, and the Middle East conflict.

Mr. Schlüter has been engaged with the Jewish community for many years and strongly believes German diplomats have an obligation to reach out to Jewish communities due to the legacy of the Holocaust. After studying political science at the University of Hamburg, Mr. Schlüter went to Israel as a 23-year-old in 1975 and lived on Kibbutz Ramat Rachel near Jerusalem.

He joined the German Foreign Office in 1979, and was sent to Buenos Aires, where he met his wife, and then Algiers before moving to Tel Aviv as spokesman for the German Embassy. While in Tel Aviv from 1986 to 1990, his daughter was born. During diplomatic postings in Los Angeles (where is his son attended a synagogue preschool), New York as Deputy Consul General, and San Francisco as Consul General, Mr. Schlüter engaged in dialogue with Jewish organizations and at synagogues about Germany’s relationship with the Jewish people and organized several trips to Germany for rabbis. In the summer of 2017, he left the German Foreign Service and currently serves as a Program Director at the Foreign Officer’s Diplomatic Academy in Berlin.

Event sponsored by:

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

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

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.

Event sponsored by:

Xavier University - Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue

World Affairs Council

Civil Rights in the US: The World is Watching

A Wide Ranging Conversation with
Thomas E. Wheeler, II
Former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights
United States Department of Justice

Thursday, October 26, 2017
5:30-7 p.m. – Reception & Dinner
7:00-8:30 p.m. – Presentation and Discussion

Schiff Conference Center
Cintas Center at Xavier University

Conflicts over civil rights in the United States are front page issues almost every day and discussed by politicians and pundits alike. Receiving less attention, but of significant interest nonetheless is the impact these conflicts have in the United States’ interests overseas. Former Assistant Attorney General Wheeler will address these issues and offer his analysis of the future of civil rights enforcement in the Trump Administration.

Former Assistant Attorney General, Mr. Tom Wheeler is a member of Frost Brown Todd and oversaw the Civil Rights Division during the transition from the Obama administration to the Trump Administration. During that time, he made hate crimes a priority and oversaw some of the Nation’s most difficult legal matters. These included criminal matters like the investigation and prosecution of Michael Kadar in the JCC bomb threats case, the prosecution of Adam Purinton for the Kansas City shooting of two Indian men whom he believed to be Muslim, and the death penalty phase of the Dylan Roof Charleston church shooting case that left nine African-American parishioners dead.

He also oversaw the investigation and resolution of police cases in the deaths of Alton Sterling, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, and Eric Garner. Tom also directed all of the Department of Justice’s civil rights litigation in the areas of employment, housing, education, disability rights, and voting. Prior to joining the Justice Department, he was counsel to then Indiana Governor and now Vice-President Mike Pence.

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