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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

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WorldBoston

WorldBoston was founded in 1961 as the Boston Center for International Visitors, a nonprofit organization with a mission to connect hundreds of emerging leaders from around the globe each year with their counterparts in Greater Boston's business, government, academic, cultural and scientific communities. In 2002, the organization merged with the World Affairs Council of Boston, a nonpartisan forum founded in 1949 to engage the public in discussions about critical international issues. WorldBoston today is an active independent member of both the National Council for International Visitors and the World Affairs Councils of America, and a dynamic and respected community leader in Boston.s global network. With its expertise in fostering international exchanges and unique mix of educational programs, WorldBoston continues to build on its distinguished tradition of promoting dialogue among leaders, cross-cultural connections and public learning.

http://www.worldboston.org/

Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia

Thu, Oct 15, 2026

Join us for a conversation with author of Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia, Sam Dalrymple. The discussion will explore the history and consequences of five pivotal partitions in modern Asia, examining how the division of territories and communities shaped the region’s political landscape, identities, and enduring conflicts.

Forum Network

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WorldBoston
Great Decisions: Multilateral Institutions

Thu, Sep 17, 2026

Vesko Garčević of Boston University’s Pardee School, sits down with Daniel O’Connor of the United Nations Association of Greater Boston to discuss multilateral diplomacy. They examine the role of multilateral institutions in addressing global challenges and how shifting geopolitical dynamics are reshaping international cooperation.

Forum Network

Partner:

WorldBoston
Great Decisions: The Future of U.S. - European Relations

Thu, May 28, 2026

U.S. foreign policy is undergoing a period of recalibration, prompting renewed debate over how to balance domestic priorities with international engagement. As Washington redefines its global role, what are the implications for the future of transatlantic relations? How might shifting approaches to security, trade, and multilateral cooperation reshape ties between the United States and Europe—and where do opportunities for renewed alignment lie?

This program brings together Ambassador (ret.) Mark Libby, WorldBoston Ambassador-in-Residence, and Ruth Bajada, Deputy Chief of Mission of the European Union to the United States, for a timely and nuanced discussion. Bajada currently serves in Washington in a leading EU diplomatic role, while Libby previously held the parallel position as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission to the EU. This shared perspective—shaped from opposite sides of the same relationship—offers a rare combination of credibility, candor, and personal rapport as they explore how both sides of the Atlantic can navigate emerging challenges while sustaining one of the world’s most consequential partnerships.

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WorldBoston
Great Decisions: Kelly Sims Gallagher on International Cooperation on Climate Change

Wed, Mar 11, 2026

Kelly Sims Gallagher directs The Climate Policy Lab at Tufts University, dedicated to identifying which climate policies work, which don’t, and why in countries around the world, with particular emphasis on major emerging economies including China, India, Ethiopia, South Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, and Brazil.

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WorldBoston
U.S. Engagement with Africa

Thu, Jan 29, 2026

This lecture will examine the evolution of U.S. engagement with Africa by critically comparing decades of aid-led diplomacy with an emerging emphasis on trade, investment, and commercial partnership.

Forum Network

Partner:

WorldBoston
Great Decisions | Rana Mitter on U.S. - China Relations

Thu, Nov 13, 2025

What is driving this deterioration of Sino-American relations, and what are America’s strategic options in the face of Chinese power and ambition?

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WorldBoston
American Foreign Policy at a Crossroads

Thu, Dec 11, 2025

What are the decisions, risks, and opportunities that lie ahead in an increasingly tumultuous international landscape? Michael Poznansky, Associate Professor and author on International Relations, responds.

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WorldBoston
Diplomacy Now | The U.S., China, and the Great Powers

Thu, Sep 11, 2025

WorldBoston's signature Diplomacy Now program is an opportunity to consider American diplomacy within the context of U.S. national interests.

This year’s program focuses on “The U.S., China, and the Great Powers.”
with Nicholas Burns (ret.) Ambassador to China, and the Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

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WorldBoston
American Foreign Policy in the Middle East: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead

Tue, Sep 16, 2025

Analysts of American policy in 2025 have the unusual advantage of being able to assess the new president’s likely policies regarding the Middle East against the backdrop of what he did in his first term, four years earlier.

Join WorldBoston for a timely Great Decisions discussion of this topic with Mona Yacoubian, senior adviser and director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

This program will feature an expert presentation, live audience Q&A, and time for networking and discussion with other globally-oriented participants.

Forum Network

Partner:

WorldBoston
Great Decisions | The Future of NATO and European Security

Tue, Jun 17, 2025

Europe is frightened and frightening for the first time really since the 1980s, when nuclear sabers were rattling as the Soviet Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) both deployed contending intermediate range missiles along the dividing line of the military alliances. With Russia’s continued barbarity in Ukraine there is no escaping that Vladimir Putin intends not to be “European”.

Join WorldBoston for this timely discussion with Dr. Kori Schake, leader of the foreign and defense policy team at the American Enterprise Institute.

WorldBoston: Great Decisions

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WorldBoston