February 9, 2012, 6-8 pm, Italian Academy, Columbia University

Opening Reception: The Silent Strength of Liu Xia

The Alliance Program and the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies, in cooperation with the town of Boulogne-Billancourt in France, are pleased to present the only U.S. exhibition of The Silent Strength of Liu Xia, a collection of twenty-five photographs by Beijing artist, Liu Xia. Curated by author and professor, Guy Sorman the exhibition features photographs of life-like dolls in a series of sets devised by the artist. The dolls, called “ugly babies” by Liu, are positioned between large stacks of books, wrapped in plastic, and lying on planks against a bright sky, among other tableaux. The exhibition’s first public showing was in Boulogne-Billancourt, France in autumn 2011. Following its engagement at Columbia, the work will travel to Madrid.

Born in 1959 in Beijing, Liu Xia is a poet, painter and photographer, and the wife of 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo. She has been a noteworthy figure on the contemporary Chinese art scene for more than three decades. Her work in various media focuses on freedom of expression rooted in traditional values and styles.

The Silent Strength of Liu Xia opens on Thursday, February 9 and continues through Thursday, March 1, 2012. An opening reception with commentary from Guy Sorman and renowned China scholar Andrew Nathan, the Class of 1919 Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, will be held on February 9, from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Gallery hours are weekdays from 9:30 to 4:30 pm; Saturdays from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Co-sponsored with the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies, Freedom House and the Institute for the Study of Human Rights and realized with the generous donations of Jim Glanzer, Burton Haimes, Haley and Marie-Chistine Lippman, and anonymous donors.

RSVP to Lauranne Bardin, lb2808@columbia.edu

Flyer
Censored Chinese artist's photos coming to NYC, Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2012

February 16, 2012, 4.30-6 pm, 107 Jerome Greene Hall, Columbia Law School

Public Lecture: Is Democracy On The Retreat? Europe Between Market Pressure, German Rigour And Technocracy

Federico Rampini will be speaking on the current financial crisis affecting European markets and the challenges and solutions that brings. Federico Rampini is la Repubblica's New York Bureau Chief. Previously, he has served as a columnist and correspondent for la Repubblica in Beijing, where he inaugurated the publication's China bureau in July 2004. As a special envoy, he travels frequently to India, Japan and Southeast Asia. From 2000 to 2004, Rampini was la Repubblica's West Coast correspondent based in San Francisco, California. From 1997 to 2000, he was the European editor of la Repubblica. In 2011, Rampini released his latest book, Alla mia sinistra (On my left), expected to be translated in English within 2012. Rampini was named among the "EV50," the European Voice poll of the fifty most influential personalities in Europe in 2005. He has been a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Journalism and at the Shanghai University of Economics and Finance.

Sharyn O'Halloran, George Blumenthal Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs at SIPA, Columbia will act as the discussant.

Co-sponsored with the Blinken European Institute

February 29, 2012, 12-1.30 pm, 918 IAB, Columbia University

Public Lecture:The rivalry between China and Japan for the economic and strategic leadership in Asia

Claude Meyer will present the main ideas which are developed in his new book China or Japan: Which Will Lead Asia? (Columbia/Hurst, 2012). The twenty-first century will doubtless be that of Asia, which by 2030 will be home to three of the world's mightiest economies, including India. According to a widely held view, Asia's future is already mapped out with the irresistible rise of China and the ineluctable decline of Japan, already eclipsed by China in 2010 as second-biggest economy. But such a view is probably ill-advised, just as the notion of an unstoppable Japan proved to be in the ‘80s. In his book, Claude Meyer aims to open a debate on the issue of leadership in Asia by analysing the two rivals' strengths and weaknesses and the major challenges which they will face in that battle for supremacy. On this basis, he proposes the scenario which he considers the most probable for the next two decades in the light of the dialectical relationship between economics and strategic power. Without neglecting the strategic aspects which give advantage to China, priority is given in such scenario to the economic aspects, because that is the primary arena in which Asian integration is taking place and the one in which a resilient Japan still maintains firmly its  leadership, based on productivity, competitiveness and technological edge. Columbia Business School Professor Hugh Patrick will act as the discussant.

Claude Meyer has pursued a dual career as an international banker and an academic. He is presently Associate Professor of international economics at Sciences Po, Paris and Senior Fellow at the research institute GEM-Sciences Po (linked to Brookings).  He lectures regularly in China, Japan, Korea and in the US. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and degrees in Philosophy and Japanese Studies. His research and publications deal mainly with Asian economies and finance, with particular emphasis on the links between economic and strategic issues.

RSVP to Lauranne Bardin, lb2808@columbia.edu

Co-sponsored with the Columbia Business School, APEC Study Center, the Center on Japanese Economy and Business and the Weatherhead East Asian Institute.

February 29, 2012, 6.30 pm, Consulate General of France in New York, 934 Fifth Avenue, New York (between 74th and 75th street)

Public Lecture: Should we fear China?

The most populated country in the world and the second economic power after the United States with about 10% growth and the largest exchange reserve, China is rising as an essential actor on the international scene. Should we see China as a threat to the West, or rather as a land of opportunities, leading us to reconsider the traditional balance of powers? The speakers, each endowed with a solid economic and political background, will take stock on French and American views on this issue.

Stephen A. Orlins has been President of the National Committee on United States – China Relations (NCUSCR) since 2005. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director of Carlyle Asia, one of Asia’s largest private equity funds, and the chairman of the board of Taiwan Broadband Communications. Before working as a senior adviser to AEA Investors in Asia, Mr. Orlins worked for the investment banking firm of Lehman Brothers and served as President of Lehman Brothers Asia from 1987 to 1990. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Orlins practiced law in New York, Hong Kong and Beijing.

From 1976 to 1979, Mr. Orlins served in the Office of the Legal Advisor of the United States Department of State. While in that office, he was a member of the legal team that helped establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.

Mr. Orlins is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College and earned his law degree at Harvard Law School. He speaks Mandarin Chinese and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Claude Meyer has pursued a dual career as an international banker and an academic. During the 90’s, he held various positions at the Bank of Tokyo Group in Paris and was the Deputy General Manager of the group until 2000.  He is currently Associate Professor of International Economics at Sciences Po Paris and Senior Fellow at the research institute GEM-Sciences Po, which is linked to the Brookings Institution.  He lectures regularly in China, Japan, Korea and in the US. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and degrees in Philosophy and Japanese Studies. His research and publications deal mainly with Asian economies and finance, with particular emphasis on the links between economic and strategic issues. He previously taught at Sorbonne University and E.H.E.S.S. (Graduate School in Social Sciences). His last book, China or Japan: Which Will Lead Asia?, Hurst and Co. & New York, Columbia University Press (2012), praised by many specialists of Asia, will be available at the end of the conference. 

Please RSVP to: rsvp.new-york-fslt@diplomatie.gouv.fr 

Co-sponsored with the Consulate General of France in New York

April 2012, Columbia University

Public Lecture: Historical sociology of participatory and deliberative democracy

The last thirty years have seen the burgeoning of political and academic speeches on the merits of participative or deliberative democracy. In parallel, in occidental democracies, various systems sharing the ambition to strengthen or increase citizen participation through collective discussion on public issues are being institutionalized. These devices are often viewed today as a novel cure to the present crisis of representative governance. Three specific aims can be outlined: 1. Outcome of deliberative procedures on the participants regarding citizenship education and empowerment; 2. Consequences of citizen participation on the public sphere, influence on public action and links with social movements; 3. Links between a specific historical background and the value given by governments to public
deliberation.

Paula Cossart is the Assistant Director of the CeRIES laboratory, actively involved in several research projects, and member of several selection
committees. After multidisciplinary studies (IEP Paris; bachelor’s degree in history, Paris 1 Sorbonne; DEA in social sciences, ENS-EHESS), she
obtained a PhD in Political Sciences, University of Paris 1 in 2006, supervised by Pr. M. Offerlé, with unanimous congratulations of
the jury. Cossart has published two books, about ten papers, numerous chapters in collective productions and has presented her results in several meetings and symposia in France and abroad.

April 2012, Columbia University

Public Lecture: A talk with Dov Zerah, General Director of AFD , French Development Agency

Dov Michel Zerah e is the General Director of the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement, AFD), since June 2nd, 2010. He graduated from Sciences Po, Paris; holds a Master in Economy from Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne University and is a former student of the École Nationale d'Administration.
Mr. Zerah began his career at the French Treasury where he spent thirteen years. He then became the permanent secretary of Michel Roussin, the Minister of Cooperation, in 1993.  From July 1993 to November 1995, he was Deputy General Director of the Caisse Française de Développement (CFD), which would later become AFD. Dov Zerah became Corinne Lepage's permanent secretary within the Ministry of the Environment, where he stayed from 1995 to 1997. He then headed the cabinet of Edith Cresson, the European Commissioner, from 1997 to 1999. From 1999 to 2002, he was the CEO of DAGRIS (Développement des agro-industries du Sud), the former French Company for the Development of Textile Fibers, as well as of the Compagnie Cotonnière (COPACO). Mr. Zerah then became the Director of the Département des Monnaies, Médailles et Antiques de la Bibliothèque Nationale de France, between 2002 and 2007, before holding the post of senior counselor at the French Court of Financial Auditors until his nomination as the General Director of AFD.
Mr. ZERAH is the author of five books on the French currency and financial system, and of around thirty articles dealing with subjects ranging from economics and the evolution of French society to Jewish thought and philosophy.

More information to follow soon

Monday and Wednesday, 9-10.50 am, IAB 902, starting January 16, 2012

Course: Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Goals

It has become vital (because of mass poverty, climate change,biodiversity rapid erosion,water and food crisis,...), to shift to a more sustainable form of development. This will require effectively mobilizing all resources of human societies:scientific and technical resources, as well as behavioral and institutional moving forces. None may be neglected,and the way they are articulated will be decisive.

Claude Henry is a physicist (quantum mechanics) turned economist. He has taught public economics and environment economics at Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and at Lausanne University; he has written articles and books on these subjects. He is currently teaching on innovation and sustainable development at Sciences-Po Paris. From 1997 to 2002, he was adviser to the Prime Minister of France on matters pertaining to public utilities and environmental policies; he is currently an adviser to the Director of the European Environmental Agency.

Course offered in collaboration with the Scool of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University

Tuesdays 8.10-10 pm, Low 314, starting January 17, 2012

Course: Progressive Alternatives: Institutional Reconstruction Today

An exploration of the past and future agenda of progressives, whether
selfdescribed as liberals or as leftists. What should they propose, now that
they no longer believe in the usefulness of governmental direction of the
economy or in the sufficiency of redistributive social programs? A basic
concern is the relation of programmatic thought to the understanding of
change and constraint. The course will draw on many disciplines and consider examples from many settings. It will try to develop ways of thinking as well as proposals for change. Readings from classic and contemporary social and political theory. For 2011-2012, a major theme will be innovation, education, capabilities, and creativity and the policies and institutions that their development requires.

Joint lecture by Jeffrey Sachs and Laurence Tubiana.

Jeffrey D. Sachs is the director of the Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. From 2002 to 2006, he was Director of the UN Millennium Project and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals, the internationally agreed goals to reduce extreme poverty, disease, and hunger by the year 2015. Prior to joining Columbia, Sachs spent over twenty years at Harvard University, most recently as director of the Center for International Development. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Sachs received his BA, MA, and PhD degrees at Harvard University.

Laurence Tubiana is founder of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) in Paris. She follows and participates in the international negotiations on climate change, in which IDDRI is highly involved. She is also professor and director of the Sustainable Development Center at Sciences Po Paris. Laurence Tubiana studied at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris and holds a PhD in economics.

Thursdays 9-10.50 am, IAB 1401, starting January 19, 2012

Course: Political Economy of Energy and Climate Change Policies

This course will present the challenges attached to the transition towards
low carbon economies. Based on empirical data and experience, a discussion of the different policy instruments is proposed, along with an analysis of key stakeholder strategies. Specific attention will be given to the
specificity of different contexts (developed, emerging and developing
countries) and economic sectors in evaluating the efficiency and the
effectiveness of alternative policy design in driving technological,
economical and societal change. We will then explore the difficulty to build
collective action at the global level, by revisiting the most significant
moments in the history of negotiation, and discuss possible avenues forward.

Laurence Tubiana is founder of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) in Paris. She follows and participates in the international negotiations on climate change, in which IDDRI is highly involved. She is also professor and director of the Sustainable Development Center at Sciences Po Paris. Laurence Tubiana studied at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris and holds a PhD in economics.

Course offered in collaboration with the Scool of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University

October 9-14, 2011, Italian Academy, Columbia University

EDF-Alliance Executive Workshop

The program for this event, hosted by the Alliance Program, features an exceptional array of talks by world-renowned professionals and academics. Leading experts in the fields of Economics, Environmental Law, Engineering, Sociology, Political Sciences, Architecture, Climatology and Computer Science will discuss the most pressing issues in the contemporary global socio-economic landscape. Special emphasis will be given to the current affairs in the United States.

The program for this event has been designed by Dr. Marta Vicarelli, Postdoctoral Associate at the Yale University Climate and Energy Institute, within the framework of the Alliance Program.

The Alliance Program team is comprised of Alessia Lefebure, Director, Lauranne Bardin, Assistant Director and Katerina Koinis, Program Coordinator.

Videos and a complete list of the topics covered is available here.

A complete list of speakers' bios is available here.