Over 20 distinguished guests will be speaking at Tufts from Monday to Wednesday at a symposium entitled, "Iraq: Moving Forward."
The symposium is the inaugural event for the Institute for Global Leadership's Robert and JoAnn Bendetson Global Public Diplomacy Initiative and involved collaboration with The Project on Justice in Times of Transition.
Ali A. Allawi, a senior adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, will be among the speakers, which will also include leading experts spanning various fields and coming from a myriad of countries.
"It's a very distinct group," Sherman Teichman, director of the Institute for Global Leadership, said. "It's very eclectic ... they are the people who are active players."
Allawi, for example, has served as Iraq's first postwar civilian Minister of Defense and has been a member of the Transitional National Assembly and filled the post of Minister of Finance.
Another speaker, Brett McGurk, is the Director for Iraq at the U.S. National Security Council.
A third will be former ambassador and past Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the U.S Department of State Barbara Bodine.
The main focus of the discussion will not be what could have been done differently in Iraq, but rather what can be done to bring peace to the country now.
None of the speakers are receiving any monetary benefit for traveling around the world to meet here.
According to Robert Bendetson (A '73), chairman of the External Advisory Board of the Institute for Global Leadership and chair of the Institute's Executive Board, their appearance is an indication of their dedication. "They are committed to trying to work through the conflict," he said.
While the focus of the symposium will be the future of Iraq, speakers will also examine examples of conflicts that have ended successfully, using countries such as South Africa and Ireland as examples of areas moving away from destruction and in the direction of peace.
The panels will be open to the public, but they won't be the only chance for an improved future in Iraq.
According to Teichman, the guests will have between 40 to 60 hours for private conversations. "It's the beginning of creating relationships," he said.
"I think it's a historic moment for Tufts," Bendetson said. The first panel will be on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Cohen Auditorium.
- Sarah Butrymowicz
