| A Message from our Office
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| Message from the Executive Director, Office of Global Perspectives and International Initiatives
Kicking off the 2022-2023 Academic Year
As we begin the 2022-2023 academic year, the Office of Global Perspectives & International Initiatives is working on a number of timely projects and events that will provide Central Florida a greater opportunity to engage, understand, and collaborate with UCF’s international partners. Connecting community to campus, GPII has adapted a length and breadth approach, working in key geographic areas as well as on issues which truly connect the world. GPII’s work is part and parcel of UCF Global’s quest to, “provide access to high impact, international experiences across the UCF and global community with a commitment to excellence in partnership, innovation, and services.”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine reminded us that no region of the world is free from turmoil and turbulence. As with most significant armed conflicts, the root cause of the Ukrainian war lies with opportunism, political miscalculation, differing readings of regional and global affairs, and an inability of cooler heads prevailing. This conflict has not only caused great hardships for the Ukrainian people, but tens of thousands of casualties to Ukrainian and Russian troops. It has resulted in spikes in global fuel and food costs at precisely the same time the global supply chain was under strain from COVID. It has also challenged diplomats, tangled alliances, disrupted trade, and led all nations to carefully read global tea leaves. The world is a much more dangerous place today than it was a year ago.
GPII’s Fall Semester agenda includes events looking at different aspects of the Ukrainian conflict. On Monday, August 29, UCF Global and the College of Arts & Humanities (CAH) will cohost an exhibition and discussion with the Ukrainian National Ballet. These amazing dancers are world class performers, and as such, seeing their work is a cultural treat on any occasion. However, performing in the name of their country as it fights for its survival gives their work added meaning. How can these artists remain focused on their work at such a seminal moment in their nation’s history? What does their dedication say about the power of art and culture?
On September 7, the Center for the Study of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery will host an event featuring Shawn Sullivan, head of the faith-based nonprofit Mission 823, which helps at-risk children throughout Ukraine. Meanwhile, on August 25, CAH is sponsoring the Concert for Ukraine. Former UCF Symphony Orchestra concertmaster and Ukrainian national Iryna Usova return to Central Florida to play Handel, Bach and Haydn, and works by two Ukrainian composers with UCF musicians. The performances will raise money for Iryna and her family as they rebuild their lives after fleeing war-torn Ukraine.
The Ukrainian events take place a year after the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan, ending a 20-year American involvement in a war which cost much blood and treasure. This month’s newsletter features three articles looking at Afghanistan a year later, including two written by GPII non-resident fellow Owen Kirby. Kirby visited Afghanistan many times during the course of the conflict, including just weeks before the final collapse of the Afghan government. Among his assignments, Kirby was posted by the State Department in remote Kandahar Province.
The Puerto Rico Research Hub will continue its work studying Puerto Rico and its people, as well as engaging the local Puerto Rican community and serving as a UCF bridge to the Caribbean and Latin America. The Hub will continue to participate in, host, and facilitate events, work with partners, and examine the policies that shape the health, quality of life, and development of Puerto Ricans on and off the island. During Hispanic Heritage Month, which starts September 15, the Hub will host an event looking at Puerto Rico five years after Hurricane Maria. Partnering with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando, the Hub also kicks off another cohort of the Hispanic Business Education and Training Program. Later this year, the Hub will partner with the University of Puerto Rico to launch a magazine focusing on Puerto Rican development.
Terrorism Studies Director Dr. Ted Reynolds will teach a unique class at the UCF Honors College, “Exploring terrorism, political violence and the long journey to an agreement in the Irish conflict.” Working with internationally the renowned expert Rev. Dr. Gary Mason, who is himself a key player in the Good Friday Agreement, UCF students will meet with participants involved in the Irish peace process and learn what it takes not only to reach a peace agreement but also to facilitate societal tranquility.
Later this fall, UCF faculty will travel to Egypt to cohost climate change events with partners from American University Cairo. The events will focus on sustainable urban development, water use, ecology, and the impact of climate change on coastal communities. These events will run in advance of the United Nation’s COP 27 global climate change conference, which will be held in Egypt in November.
As UCF kicks off another academic year, UCF Global is excited to implement programs which further connect our community to the world. Please follow the GPII website and social media for information about future events, TV shows, podcasts, articles, and other international opportunities.
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– David Dumke, Executive Director, UCF Global Perspectives and International Initiatives
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Dances and Discussion: An Evening with the Ukrainian National Ballet
August 29, 2022 from 6:00PM to 7:30PM
The world-renowned Ukrainian National Ballet will perform a 45-minute exhibition followed by an interactive discussion with the dancers and the Director of the Ukrainian National Opera House. Nicholson School of Communication and Media journalism instructor Katie Coronado will serve as the moderator.
This special event is made possible in part by the Ginsburg Family Foundation and is supported by the College of Arts and Humanities and UCF Global.
More Info | All are welcome | Register here
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Humanitarian and Human Rights Crisis in Ukraine
September 7, 2022 from 10:00AM
Barbara Ying Center (BYC), Room 101
Join the UCF Center for the Study of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery (HTMS) and our guest, Shawn Sullivan, President of Mission 823, for a discussion on the current humanitarian and human rights situation in Ukraine. Sullivan will share his account of what he has seen on the ground in Ukraine as his organization has located and rescued civilians in conflict areas; provided safe transport of evacuees and refugees; provided housing and shelter; and provided food, clean water, medical care and humanitarian aid. Mission 823 is also actively involved in the reduction and elimination of human trafficking in Eastern Europe through prevention, rescue and restoration efforts.
More Info | All are welcome | Register here
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Anti-Trafficking Professionals from Thailand Visit UCF
Hosted by WorldOrlando on behalf of the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), the Center for the Study of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery at GPII welcomed a group of anti-trafficking professionals from Thailand on August 18, 2022. The group consisted of accomplished anti-trafficking leaders from law enforcement, the judicial system and community organizations. UCF faculty and staff met with the visitors to share experiences and exchange best practices. The visitors were especially impressed by the level of collaboration to prevent and combat human trafficking among the UCF and greater Orlando communities.
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Global Women Think Tank
As part of launching the Global Women’s Think Tank (GWTT), GPII’s David Dumke and Zoe Colon, and Karama’s president and founder Hibaaq Osman conducted a series of meetings and events in Orlando and Washington, DC consecutively. The meetings included UCF faculty and staff, community leaders, and government officials and allies. These conversations will strength partnerships; move the needle on peace, security, and gender equity; and create opportunities to amplify and scale the work across different regions.
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Launching IDH 4030H- Windows to the World
Dr. Ted Reynolds and Rev. Dr. Gary Mason are offering a new course this semester for the Burnett Honors College students on the role of terrorism and political violence using one of the world’s longest running conflicts, namely the Irish conflict. In this course, they will examine the political, historical and theological roots of the conflict and see how terrorism emerged in the late 1960’s and what factors contributed to non-state actors pursuing what they termed political violence. They will also explore the diverse influences that contributed to ending the conflict and the role both state and non-state actors had in cementing the peace.
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Global Perspectives TV Show
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UCF Global Perspectives Hosts Lauri Fitz-Pegado, Diplomat, Former Assistant Secretary and Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service
Lauri Fitz-Pegado reflects back on her career as a former foreign services diplomat. She shares how her personal and educational background shaped and encouraged her advocacy work in becoming a "strategic disrupter" for international knowledge, diversity, and facing colorism in America.
Start Watching
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It is hard to believe that a year has already passed since the withdrawal of the
US forces from Afghanistan. GPII Executive Director David Dumke and GPII Non-Resident Fellow Owen Kirby share their reflections on Afghanistan, the successes, challenges, failures, and lessons learned in 3 must-read articles.
Kirby adds a unique insight as he previously served in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province with the U.S. Department of State and was a recipient of Afghanistan’s Ghazi Mir Bacha Khan Medal for Government Service presented by President Hamid Karzai and the late King Zahir Shah. Kirby was visiting Afghanistan in August 2021 just days before the fall of the last U.S.-backed government.
Some of these articles are published by the Cairo Review, a quarterly journal of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP) at the American University in Cairo, as part of UCF’s partnership with AUC, thanks to the generous support of Jonathan and Nancy Wolf.
Click on the article title to read more.
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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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