Young Professionals in International Affairs

Hi YPIAers:

Sharing a virtual event on a Middle East topic provided by FPRI - Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Event Page:
https://www.fpri.org/event/2025/minorities-in-the-new-syria-threats-opportunities-and-future-prospects/

Register Here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SPoD8lUjRgSRhjBRL8BwNA#/

For any technical issues please contact FPRI.

***

"About the Event

Since the 2011 uprising and subsequent civil war, Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities have borne heavy costs amid threats from multiple warring actors. The fate of these communities has come under sharp focus following recent massacres targeting Druze and Alawite groups since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime last December. Smaller religious minorities, including Christians and Yezidis, have also suffered deeply over the past decade and a half, primarily due to attacks by radical jihadi groups.

Syria’s Kurdish population, too, has endured grave abuses, including mass expulsions, detentions, killings, and property seizures in northern Syria by rebel factions during 2018 and 2019.

This online panel will explore the challenges facing Syria’s minorities in the post-Assad era—their aspirations, struggles for representation, and continued exposure to violence and insecurity—as well as their prospects in an evolving Syrian state. The discussion will also examine how external actors, including the United States and Europe, can use their leverage to help ensure fairer conditions and more equitable outcomes for these communities.

## Speakers

#### Sirwan Kajjo - Sirwan Kajjo is a Washington-based journalist and researcher specializing in Kurdish politics, Islamic militancy, and Syrian affairs.

#### Nadine Maenza - Nadine Maenza serves as Co-Chair of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Roundtable, Chair of the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE), and Senior Advisor to the Shai Fund.

#### Mohammed A. Salih - Mohammed A. Salih is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s National Security Program and a researcher and journalist based in Virginia, United States. He holds a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. ; Moderator"

Best,

Anjel

Hi YPIAers:

Sharing a virtual event from WITA / Washington International Trade Association.

USMCA / US Mexico Canada Agreement (new name and new agreement for old NAFTA)

WITA Event page: https://www.wita.org/events/usmca-power-competition/

Registration required:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-tRaYYJmTTmaoj57hC4CjQ#/registration

For any technical issues please contact WITA

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# "The Role of USMCA in Great Power Competition

Friday, November 14, 2025 at 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (EST)
WITA Webinar | WITA Online Event


This event is free to attend thanks to the support of our USMCA Review Series sponsors.

Please join WITA on November 14th for an online panel discussion on the importance of USMCA to North American competitiveness, including in relation to great power competition with China. Speakers will discuss the agreement’s geopolitical significance, its evolution as a trade agreement, and the challenges and opportunities it presents amid growing great power competition.

Featured Speakers:

Emily Kilcrease, Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program, Center for a New American Security; former Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Investment, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Inu Manak, Senior Fellow for International Trade, Council on Foreign Relations; former Research Fellow, Cato Institute

Derek Scissors, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Chief Economist, China Beige Book; former member, US-China Economic and Security Review Commission
Additional Speakers to be Added!"

Best,

~ Anjel