Lowy Institute

On Wednesday 18 February 2009, as part of the Institute's Distinguished Speaker Series, the Lowy Institute hosted the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, the Hon Peter Garrett MP, who outlined the Australian Government's forward agenda on international whale conservation. With the nations of the International Whaling Commission meeting in March and June of 2009 to discuss the future of the organisation, the Minister set out the Australian Government's approach to transforming the IWC into a modern, conservation-focused body, and to advancing the Government's objective of bringing an end to commercial whaling in all its forms.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Wednesday 18 February 2009, as part of the Institute's Distinguished Speaker Series, the Lowy Institute hosted the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, the Hon Peter Garrett MP, who outlined the Australian Government's forward agenda on international whale conservation. With the nations of the International Whaling Commission meeting in March and June of 2009 to discuss the future of the organisation, the Minister set out the Australian Government's approach to transforming the IWC into a modern, conservation-focused body, and to advancing the Government's objective of bringing an end to commercial whaling in all its forms.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 6 October, Pakistan, a nuclear power of over 160 million people riven by political and religious passions, goes to polls. At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 3 October, Whit Mason provided a preview of the elections and the challenges faced by incumbent President Pervez Musharraf, examining what is at stake in this strategically critical country. Whit Mason is a writer and consultant on international affairs, who recently returned from Pakistan following a year-long assignment with USAID. Together with Lowy Institute Program Director Anthony Bubalo and ANU Indonesia specialist, Dr Greg Fealy, Whit is currently writing a new Lowy Institute Paper exploring the relationship between Islamism and democracy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Africa is usually in the news for all the wrong reasons: civil conflict, endemic disease, even terrorism. Yet, in viewing Africa as no more than a blighted continent, are we missing some of the important and more positive developments that are taking place? To help us understand the outlook for Africa, the Lowy Institute hosted an address by Philip Green OAM, Australian High Commissioner to South Africa. Philip is a career foreign service officer with a strong background in Africa. He has been Australia's High Commissioner to South Africa and neighbouring countries since August 2004. He has previously served in Australian High Commissions in Tanzania, Zambia and the UK.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 16 May at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Sir Richard Feachem reflected on his term at the Global Fund and whether the Global Fund PPP model might be more broadly applied across the spectrum of development assistance finance and program delivery. The Global Fund was established in 2002 as a radical departure from previous multilateral development assistance agencies. It is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) tasked with administering and allocating funds provided by both governments and private sector donors to countries to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Western militaries in the early 21st century find themselves busy with land-based stabilisation and counter-insurgency missions. Yet at the same time, many countries are embarking on major new investments in naval capabilities. Australia, for instance, recently announced its selection of three air warfare destroyers and two large 'strategic projection' transport ships. This week at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Dr Norman Friedman, a leading U.S. expert on strategic and naval affairs, explored why naval power still matters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 5 December at a Tuesday Lunch at Lowy, Dr Ron Pundak, Executive Director of the Peres Center for Peace, spoke on the topic, 'The role of an NGO in the Middle East'. The Peres Center was founded in 1996 by Nobel laureate Shimon Peres with the aim of building peace by promoting socio-economic cooperation and people-to-people relations in the Middle East.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 23 October, as part of our Distinguished Speaker Series, the Lowy Institute for International Policy hosted a panel discussion with three of America's leading experts on terrorism, Marc Sageman, Steve Coll and Daniel Benjamin. They discussed future trends in global terrorism, providing unique insights into how this international threat is likely to evolve over coming years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 9 August, Dr Michael Fulilove launched his new Policy Brief, entitled Capital punishment and Australian foreign policy. In the wake of Van Nguyen's execution and with at least four Australians currently at risk of execution, the death penalty is a controversial topic in this country. In his Policy Brief, Michael examines how the Australian Government's abolitionist position plays out in its advocacy on behalf of Australians on death row and its work on comprehensive abolition. The Brief offers several strong policy recommendations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Fukushima crisis has provoked a furious debate about the future of nuclear energy. Polling in Australia shows a return to a solid majority opposing nuclear power for Australia as part of our future energy mix. The Australian political leadership has declared the subject out of bounds. At a special Wednesday Lowy Lunch on 20 April, three expert industry panellists discussed the future of nuclear energy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.