UCF Global Perspectives
and International Initiatives
Maintaining Global Dialogue
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| A Message from our Executive Director
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| COP26 and the Water-Energy-Food Nexus
COP26, otherwise known as the 2021 United National Climate Change Conference, is underway in Scotland. Along with it, there has been considerable media attention to the growing threats and challenges posed by climate change. Leaders have shuffled in and out of Glasgow, and two major agreements have been announced which seek to reduce methane emissions and protect forests. Polls suggest the public, at home and abroad, has become much more aware of the seriousness of the issue and the need to address it.
Calls to address climate change are hardly new. COP26 is in fact the 26th UN meeting on the issue. The U.S. has understood the need to protect the environment and develop a sustainable energy policy for decades. With varying degrees of enthusiasm, each president since Richard Nixon has proposed comprehensive plans to address climate change-related issues. There has been incremental progress in environmental protection and cleanup, water conservation, development of alternative fuels sources, increased energy efficiency, green economic development, and food security. There have also been countless studies on the connections between climate change and ecology, extreme weather, public health, quality of life, and degradation of infrastructure. From Marjory Stoneman Douglas to Al Gore to Greta Thunberg, environmental champions have emerged to inform the public and demand action.
COP26 is a step in the right direction globally. The Biden Administration, like most of its predecessors, has proposed legislation and implemented policy that bites at the apple. State and local governments have taken action in all corners of the country to address resiliency, livability, and quality of life issues. The City of Orlando is, in fact, a model for local leadership in this realm. Yet as we hear and see, humans are seemingly losing the fight and in many cases unwilling to pay the short-term price for long-term gains. Much more needs to be done, and with greater urgency, if the globe is to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change.
UCF Global Perspectives and International Initiatives is working on a long-term initiative with our global partners, particularly in the Caribbean and Middle East-North African regions, examining the water-energy-food security nexus, and its connection to human development and governance. The Puerto Rico Research Hub, which was founded in aftermath of Hurricane Maria and large-scale emigration from the island, is playing a key role in this work. In very simple terms, if governments are incapable of providing people with dependable water, energy, and food supplies, nations become more vulnerable to extreme weather, more susceptible to government instability, and more likely to clash with their neighbors and destabilize regions.
The world is replete with recent examples of how WEF nexus failure goes hand in hand with poor governance, human suffering, and property and infrastructure damage. Evidence also shows that the numbers of WEF failures are increasing in frequency and severity, directly linked to climate change. These examples are not exclusive to one region, but truly global in scope. While developing nations tend to be at greater risk because of the lack of resources and historical-rooted challenges, the richest nations have also witnessed damaging extreme weather events made worse because of short-sighted policy decisions which can be lumped in the “poor governance” category.
Unfortunately, Puerto Rico serves as a fascinating example of WEF nexus vulnerabilities and governance shortcomings. Under Puerto Rico’s “commonwealth” status, it is often unclear whether Washington, San Juan, or municipalities are ultimately responsible for making, funding, and implementing decisions. This structural governance flaw contributed to the island’s prolonged economic downturn, bankruptcy, deterioration of critical infrastructure, loss of population, and shrinking tax base. Puerto Rico was highly vulnerable to extreme weather events long before Irma and Maria hit in September 2017. Four years on, recovery continues but the root problems still have not been addressed.
Stay tuned for GPII events, discussions, and projects related to climate change and the WEF nexus. The climate change challenges we face are becoming more dauting and visible by the year, and it is critical that UCF students, faculty, and our larger community continue to be involved and informed as we collectively seek to identify solutions on the local, national, and global levels.
– David Dumke, Executive Director, UCF Global Perspectives and International Initiatives
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Building Peace in a Fractured SocietyNovember 16, 2021 from 11:00AM to 12:15PM
UCF Global Building, Room 101
GPII is privileged to host Rev. Dr. Gary Mason for an in-person presentation titled: Building Peace in a Fractured Society. This talk will be based on his work in Northern Ireland and the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Gary is one of the foremost practitioners of civil conflict resolution – regularly teaching classes at Emory and being a guest lecturer all over the world.
This special event is part of International Education Week.
More Info | All are welcome | Register here
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Meet Consul General of Japan in Miami - Kazuhiro Nakai
November 17, 2021 from 10:00AM - 11:00AM
The Puerto Rico Research Hub is proud to host Consul General of Japan in Miami-Kazuhiro Nakai. Consul Nakai will discuss his professional trajectory, particularly his experience as Director of International Education. He will also discuss his work as Consul in Florida. Finally, he will share how Japan has dealt with current issues affecting the global community including COVID-19, climate change, and others. Dr. Fernando I. Rivera, Director of the Puerto Rico Research Hub will moderate the discussion.
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Sustainability in Indian State
November 18, 2021 from 2:00PM - 3:00PM
The UCF India Center brings you this interactive Zoom discussion on the issue of sustainability in Indian states presented by Neelima Jain of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
India as a nation has made international sustainability commitments. To reach these goals, individual Indian states must take steps toward climate change. Each state is progressing at a variable rate to reach national goals. What is holding some states back from making progress in moving forward with sustainability efforts? Will foreign policy climate change commitments benefit individual states?
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| Consul General of Morocco in New York:
Poetry Session
October 29, 2021 from 1:00PM to 2:00PM
In this session, Mr. Abdelkader El Jamoussi, Consul General of Morocco in New York, led the audience on a journey of exploring the evolvement of Arabic poetry and Haiku. The session continued with an impressive recitation of his poetry followed by an amazing performance with Hassan Hakmoun. The discussion was moderated by Mirvate El Jerdi, Senior GPII Coordinator and Special Advisor for MENA.
This event was brought to you by the Middle Eastern Studies Program at UCF Global Perspectives and International Initiatives in collaboration with UCF’s English Department and the Modern Languages and Literatures Department. This event was in partnership with the Kerouac Project of Orlando.
Start Watching
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Hispanic Heritage Month
October was full of events and discussions celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Browse the events you have missed from climate change and Latinos in media and art to Latino demographic changes and federal issues impacting Puerto Rico.
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Human Trafficking Fall 2021
"Lunch and Learn" Series
Series Event #2
Identifying and Assisting Minor Male Victims of Trafficking
November 10, 2021 from 12:00PM to 1:00PM
The Department of Justice estimates that 36% of minor sex trafficking victims are boys. In this training provided by John Long, the Executive Director of the U.S. Institute of Human Trafficking, we will look at the under-identified and under-reported minor male victims of sex trafficking. Participants will also learn how to better identify minor male victims of trafficking.
Start Watching
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Global Perspectives Hosts Ambassador Frederick D. Barton
Author Rick Barton discusses international diplomacy efforts, the conflict of simultaneously fighting terrorism and building democracy, and modernizing the rights and governance roles of the "silenced majority."
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Listen to GPII's latest podcasts to get insights and news from around the globe.
Check out these titles and much more:
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| | | Dr. Fernando Rivera Conversation with Carmen Feliciano, Director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration
For the final episode of Hispanic Heritage Month, Dr. Fernando Rivera sat down with Carmen Feliciano, the director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration.
The pair discuss the role of PRFAA and current initiatives the organization is working on, and what Hispanic Heritage month means to Director Feliciano.
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| | | Mirvate El Jerdi Conversation with Mr. Abdulkader El Jamoussi, Consul General of Morocco
Mirvate El Jerdi, GPII's Senior Coordinator and Special Advisor for Middle East and North Africa, sits down with Mr. Abdulkader El Jamoussi, the Consul General of Morocco in this originally produced podcast.
The pair sits down to discuss future Moroccan initiatives, sustainability, the diaspora in the United States and partnerships between the two countries.
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| GPII Visits Egypt
GPII delegation visited Cairo last month as part of UCF’s ongoing commitment to building and strengthening strategic partnerships. The team attended the inauguration ceremony of Ahmad S. Dallal as the 13th President of the American University in Cairo (AUC) at the New AUC Cairo campus. The delegation met with partners from the American University in Cairo, Badr University in Cairo, and the think tank community to advance projects and activities. Members of the delegation were also featured in several public lectures about US-Turkey-Egypt relations. Additionally, the delegation gained insight as to how UCF could support Egyptian sustainable tourism and cultural preservation efforts.
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| | | UCF Afghan Students Lift Their Voices for Afghanistan
The article explores the stories of three Afghan students at UCF. The three are sharing a parallel experience, getting their masters degrees under the stress of looking out for how their families are doing under the new government.
Read more
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| Failed Coups but Successful Transition? Contextualizing Sudan's Latest Coup
Jonathan Powell, UCF’s Associate Professor of Political Science, and Salah Ben Hammou, UCF Ph.D. student of Security Studies, write on Sudan's latest coup. Members of the Sudanese military attempted to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in a failed coup d’etat on September 21, 2021.
This article was first published by American University in Cairo’s Cairo Review of Global Affairs. It was published as part of UCF’s partnership with AUC, thanks to the generous support of Jonathan and Nancy Wolf.
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| Thomas L. Crisman presents at the King Fahd University’s Water Security Forum
Thomas L. Crisman, GPII non-resident Global Fellow, gave an invited presentation entitled “Water, Energy, Food Nexus Sustainability in Arid Regions” as part of the Water Security Forum held at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia on October, 25, 2021.
Dr. Crisman discussed the general food sector failure throughout MENA and a shift in water sources from groundwater historically to surface water to the current dependence on desalination. While most countries of MENA are potentially failing in the water sector, as well as agriculture, they are in danger of Nexus instability which will lead to community instability which will lead to political instability. Somalia, Yemen and Syria were mentioned as examples where this has happened.
Finally, the stability of the Nexus of MENA countries was compared with that of ten small island developing states in the Caribbean. Even with rich water supplies, most Caribbean islands display similar trends in the Nexus as MENA. Poor resilience of governments to provide infrastructure, long term planning and adaptive management to meet disasters was common to both regions.
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| Violence in Beirut: Lebanon at the Brink of Collapse
Kinsey Farmer, GPII Intern
Kinsey Farmer writes on the violence that struck the capital of Lebanon on Thursday, October 14th, 2021. A Hezbollah-led protest against the investigation into the Beirut port explosion in August 2020 was sent into chaos as someone opened fire into the streets, killing at least six individuals and injuring more than 30 others.
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| The Ongoing Fight Against Coronavirus in India
Kassidy Menk, GPII and India Center Intern
Kassidy Menk explores India’s recent plans to restart the exportation of Covid-19 vaccines to neighboring and allied countries, its increased manufacturing, and also the vaccination of its own citizens.
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| Democracy Denied: What Lead to the Violent Coup in Guinea
Desiree Winns, Diplomacy, Peace, and Securities
Studies Intern
Desiree Winns discusses the events of September 5, 2021 when a relentless hail of gunfire outside the Guinean presidential palace announced the beginning the violent military coup.
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|  | UCF GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
AND INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES
4356 Scorpius Street, Orlando, FL USA 32816
Phone: 407.823.2337 | Fax: 407.823.2526
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