Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

On October 28, 2009, in conjunction with the Lecture Fund and the Taiwanese-American Student Association, the IRC hosted three experts on the trilateral relationship between the US, China, and Taiwan for a Cross Strait Dialogue. Mr. Kuo-Yu Tung, Deputy Representative at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, focused on the history of US-Taiwanese relations and the current status quo. Dr. Nancy Tucker, a Professor of History here at Georgetown, spoke on the relationship between China and Taiwan, and Visiting Professor Dr. Robert Sutter completed the “triangle” by discussing the current relations between the US and China. Read the rest of this entry »

On October 16th, Georgetown’s International Relations Club teamed up The Corp for a 25 Days of Service project. The project took place right outside of Uncommon Grounds as Corp members ran back and forth with supplies from Vittles. GIRC and Corp members stood side-by-side in an assembly line of sandwich making. From turkey on wheat, to PB & J on white, students spread, stuffed, and wrapped sandwiches, before making their way to Dupont circle to hand out their handy work to those in need. When ask about the quantity of sandwiches they were aiming to make, a chorus of “As many as possible!” was the assembly team’s unanimous reply. The group dedication was seen as they worked together for a worthy cause. Yum.

- Elizabeth Sabol-Jones

On Monday, October 5th, the IRC held its inaugural Alumni Lecture Series event — a Defense Professionals Roundtable. The event featured two distinguished former club members, Austin Williams and Matt Merighi, who discussed their experiences working with defense and intelligence and how their involvement with the IRC helped their career paths.

The recent grads shared stories from their hiring processes and work environments. Given the sensitive nature of their work and Top Secret clearance, they were not able to share the intimate details of their day-to-day work. However, our IRC Alumni speakers gave tips on getting one’s foot in the door of the industry.

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Georgetown students and faculty were honored by a visit from Ambassador H.E. Andreas Kakouris, the current Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus, on Wednesday, September 30th in McShain Lounge. The event was hosted by the Georgetown University Lecture Fund and the Hellenic Society, in collaboration with the Georgetown International Relations Club. Roughly 50 people, ranging from undergraduate students to the head of the Turkish Studies Program at Georgetown, were in attendance.

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Three experts in Iranian affairs and culture, Dr. Setareh Derakhshesh, Dr. Mehrdad Mashayeki, and Dr. Shireen Hunter, all spoke to a crowded McShain Lounge Wednesday night, each focusing on different area of expertise on recent changes in the nation. This lecture, sponsored by the IRC in addition to the Iranian Culture Society, MSA, and Mortara Center, centered on the varying affects that the recent Iranian elections have had in the nation.
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GIRA CEO and SFS senior Jasdeep Singh competed last Friday in Georgetown Program Board’s Mr. Georgetown pageant.

Despite not being able to win the Mr. Georgetown crown, Jasdeep wowed the crowds with his exceptional bhangra skills and his eloquent opinions on world peace.

You may not be GPB’s Mr. Georgetown, but you are Mr. Georgetown to us, Jas!

The International Relations Club welcomes current and prospective members to the Hilltop! The following is a schedule of events planned to kick off the Fall 2009 semester. Please be sure to visit our table in Red Square all week and at the SAC Fair on Sunday, Sept. 6! Watch this space for updates on event times and locations. Read the rest of this entry »

The IRC’s Relay for Life team, “International RELAYtions,” raised $1,372.09 for the event.

Georgetown University as a whole raised a total of $395,936.85, with 2721 registered participants and 204 teams to become the biggest Relay school in all of the US.

A big thank you to all Relay participants for their efforts. Donations are still being taken at www.RelayGU.org.

By Clare Scanlan, The Hoya
Feb 12, 2009

Ray Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, encouraged students in a lecture on Tuesday to remain active in pushing for social change during the Obama administration, emphasizing the impact that the young generation will have on the future.

In an event sponsored by the International Relations Club, Offenheiser reflected on the historic moments that this generation of Georgetown students has experienced, including Sept. 11 and the election of President Obama, and compared them with the major events of his generation, including President John Kennedy’s inauguration the assassinations of Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

“These moments will shape who you are and how you see the world,” Offenheiser said.

He advised the students to reflect on the recent inauguration and dubbed the Obama victory “an international moment of change for the world.” He encouraged students to embrace the opportunity to make it meaningful by being active advocates of social change.

“Your generation is critical to this transition. … You made it happen,” Offenheiser said. “Social change doesn’t happen by accident. It requires persistence and lots and lots of organization.”

Offenheiser said he initially entered his field of work because his first day in a Latin American Economic History course in graduate school was the day of the 1973 Chilean military coup. Since then, he has experienced several more uprisings and has witnessed dramatic change in the world. Offenheiser said that he believes in Oxfam’s cause because he considers unbelievable things to be possible.

Speaking of the challenges facing Oxfam as an international relief and development organization, Offenheiser said problems including lack of food and fuel, financial crises and climate change have affected developing countries. He said that students have an ethical obligation to fight against climate change and to foster new legislation to protect the environment.

“Climate change is a very urgent issue,” he said. “It is one of those issues that if we are not active in it we could be taken over by it.”
He also criticized the current U.S. foreign assistance system for its lack of strategic planning. According to Offenheiser, U.S. trade and aid policies are often at odds with each other.

“Something that struck me [about the lecture] was how much the U.S. needs to coordinate its international aid efforts,” Deven Comen (NHS ’12) said. “For example, [Offenheiser] said that USAID went from having 60,000 employees in the time of Kennedy to 2,000 [now].”

Offenheiser said Americans are very fortunate to have leaders with passion and a true commitment to the issues, but he also emphasized that continued pressure from civil society is necessary in order to achieve results. He concluded by applying this mandate to Georgetown students, saying that they must not be apathetic about the challenges that their generation will face in the future.

“I think it’s important to appreciate that this is a pretty important moment in the history of the world,” Offenheiser said. “Active citizenship is really, really important for driving social change. Get involved, make a difference and enable the leaders of this country to make the change.”

Some students took Offenheiser’s words to heart, saying that they feel an obligation to support and campaign for worldwide advancement.

“I agreed with many of [Offenheiser’s] remarks on globalization and development,” Ceci Nicol (NHS ’12) said. “In particular, his emphasis on the duty of our generation to make real the social and environmental change we hope to see in this new era.”