Annual Report 2010 | 2011 - Columbia Global Centers

Conferences and Seminars
The Center continues to cooperate with numerous partners to hold conferences and seminars featuring international
experts and regional scholars that focus on issues ranging from press freedom to education reform to civic
engagement. Partners have included the Gerhart Center at the American University of Cairo, the World Bank, and
various research centers from the region. National partners have ranged from government ministries to business
organizations to universities. These events promote academic discourse on a number of issues and help solidify the
Center’s prominence in the region as a focal point of intellectual engagement.
Highlights of major events from 2010-2011 include:
A Free Press for a Global Society: A Columbia University Forum Series
As a global center of learning with a core commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship, Columbia University is
particularly well-suited for a dialogue on the future of a global free press. A Free Press for a Global Society is a forum
series that seeks to harness the dialogue among influential thinkers and policymakers for the purpose of refining a
research agenda and generating recommendations for promoting and protecting a culture of free speech and free
press around the world. The series was launched by President Lee C. Bollinger in conjunction with the Schools
of Journalism, Law, and International and Public Affairs, and was inaugurated on November 3 and 4, 2010, at
Columbia University in New York City. Participants included high-ranking government officials, representatives
from NGOs and regional treaty groups, First Amendment scholars, journalists, business leaders, and Columbia
students and alumni.
The Columbia Global Centers | Middle East participated in part of this two-day forum by broadcasting live from
Columbia’s New York City campus the introductory remarks by President Bollinger on November 3. This was
followed by a panel addressing the role for media in the 21 st century. The Center then held its own panel discussion
with local experts entitled, “Jordan: Media in Times of Change,” followed by an interactive questions and answer
session. The panel was composed of a number of local journalists, and moderated by George Hawatmeh, former
Chief Editor of Al Ghad, Al Rai and The Jordan Times.
The Columbia Global Centers in Beijing, Paris, and Mumbai also participated via videoconference. The forum is
envisioned as an ongoing discussion, with a subsequent event held in Istanbul in March 2011 and an upcoming
event to take place in Mumbai in early November.
Columbia University PRE-LAUNCH Events in Istanbul
The Center participated in several events held by Columbia University in Istanbul on March 21-23, 2011, as the
precursor to the launch of the Columbia Global Centers | Turkey. The events included an address by Columbia
President Lee Bollinger on the issue of global press freedom on March 21 at Istanbul Technical University, which
was moderated by Nicholas Lemann, Dean of the Columbia Journalism School.
The Directors and several team members of five of the Global Centers including Amman, Paris, Mumbai, Beijing
and Nairobi in addition to the Office of Global Centers, met for a full-day on March 22 to discuss challenges,
building partnerships, fundraising, and community visibility. Professor Safwan Masri shared best practices, advice
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