Lowy Institute

Monday, 9 November, 2009 was the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. To mark this anniversary, the Lowy Institute engaged three prominent commentators on the significance of the end of the Cold War. Lowy Institute Executive Director, Michael Wesley, moderated a conversation between veteran strategic analyst Owen Harries, Amnesty International Director Claire Mallinson, and Westpac international economist Huw Mackay.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2009 Lowy Lecture on Australia in the World was delivered on 18 November by Mr Marius Kloppers, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of BHP Billiton Ltd.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Rudd Government has announced major reforms to our university system in order to ensure that Australia can meet challenges of the next century. At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 29th July, Professor Ian Chubb argued that it is imperative for Australia that we lift our sights and rebuild our capacity to perform alongside the world’s best in those fields of education and research. He argued the proposed Compacts between universities and the Government have the potential to drive change that will secure the long-term international competitiveness of our education and research sectors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 2009 Australia-India Strategic Lecture, delivered at the Lowy Institute on 11 May, Ambassador Chinmaya Gharekhan examined India’s dangerous neighbourhood, and in particular the deep security challenges posed by the situations in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He presented a sobering picture of the prospects for these countries, and the implications for India and other countries threatened by jihadist terrorism.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Lowy Institute, in cooperation with the Sydney Democracy Forum, explored the state of West Asian democracy in a panel discussion held on Tuesday 2 October, 2007 at the Institute. The session compared and contrasted two different ends of the democratic spectrum in the region. It assessed the state of the region and the world’s largest democracy, India, and it explored democratic prospects in Egypt, a country that had, until recently, been lauded by the US government as an example of positive, if incremental, political reform. The session also explored the role of the international community in fostering democratisation in this strategically critical region. The panel speakers were Anthony Bubalo, Niraja Gopal Jayal and John Keane.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Symposium, Strengthening the Global and Regional Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, co-sponsored by Pacific Friends of the Global Fund, AusAID and the Lowy Institute for International Policy, was held at the Lowy Institute in Sydney on 24 February 2009.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2008 Australia-India Strategic Lecture was presented at the Lowy Institute on 25 March 2008 by Ambassador Lalit Mansingh. The title of his lecture was 'The promise and the limits of the India-US relationship: What it means for Asia and the world'. The partnership between India and the United States has been a central part of the story of India's changing place in the world in recent years, and Ambassador Mansingh has played a singular role in the transformation of the relationship between the world's two largest democracies. He is a former Indian Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to the United States. His visit to Australia was supported by the Australia-India Council, the Lowy Institute's partner in the Australia-India Strategic Lecture.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the George W Bush Presidency draws to a close, attention is increasingly focused on the likely policies of his successor, particularly in the Middle East. The Lowy Institute was pleased to present at the Wednesday Lowy Lunch on 30 July 2008 a speaker eminently qualified to address this critical topic, Ambassador Martin S. Indyk. Ambassador Indyk is a Director on the Board of the Lowy Institute for International Policy. He is the Director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, and a former US Ambassador to Israel.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 26 September at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Lucinda Holdforth, a former Australian diplomat and foreign policy adviser and the author of the recently published 'Why manners matter: the case for civilised behaviour in a barbarous world' gave a presentation on the link between good manners and international politics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Wednesday 22 August at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Amos Brandeis, an Ambassador for the International River Foundation, spoke about the links between the environment and conflict. Tim Flannery introduced Mr Brandeis.Mr Brandeis is the manager of the Alexander River Restoration Project, a unique partnership between Israel and Palestine. In 1995 Israelis and Palestinians came together to restore a heavily polluted river that flows through Palestine. In 2003, the Project was awarded the prestigious Thiess International River Prize. Amos Brandeis argued that protection of the environment can assist in creating peace and stability out of conditions of conflict, war and poverty.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.