Things to Do

(January 18, 2009) Social entrepreneurship is one of the most popular terms in use across the world today, and it is central to Barack Obama's agenda for helping the charitable sector in the United States. However, the word has many meanings and is shrouded in confusion. Everyone believes in social entrepreneurship, but not necessarily in the assumptions about how entrepreneurs behave, why their ideas are important, when opportunities for change are ripe, and what kinds of organizations are most helpful to successful implementation.

Paul C. Light<http://wagner.nyu.edu/faculty/facultyDetail.php?whereField=facultyID&whereValue=234>,
Paulette Goddard Professor of Public Service at Robert Wagner School of Public Service, New York University
Gabriel Brodbar, Director of the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation
Program in Social Entrepreneurship<http://www.nyu.edu/reynolds/index.flash.html> at New York University

(April 26, 2009) Conversations with Authors Renowned scholar of Arabian Peninsula lore and oral culture, Professor Saad Sowayan engaged in conversation about his Nabati Poetry project. This is a multi-faceted interdisciplinary project that has been researched for decades and that includes: socio-linguistic, aesthetic, literary, historical, and socio-cultural examinations of the poetic material and its associated narratives. It is the result of years of field work, issuing also from the study of manuscripts and published material in Arabic and European languages. Its scope is vast and quite unique, forming an invaluable register of recent and pre-modern Arabian culture. (An excellent overview of the project and related work can be had at www.saadsowayan.com<http://www.saadsowayan.com/>.)

This conversation will show the project's potential for engagement with historical, political and literary scholarship alike.

Saad Abdalla Sowayan, King Saud University
In conversation with Philip F. Kennedy, Faculty Director, NYU Abu Dhabi Institute; Associate Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and Comparative Literature, New York University.
Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton
University; Director of the Institute for Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.

(October 15, 2009) The completion of the first phase of the Yas Island development project, with the Formula 1 racetrack at its heart, is a significant step in the transformation of Abu Dhabi into a globally-relevant world capital. Our panelists will consider the potential impact of the Yas Island project and its associated tourist attractions on Abu Dhabi's economy, urban development, and emerging cosmopolitan community.

Introductory Remarks:

• H.E. Khaldoon Al Mubarak Chairman, Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management
• H.E. Mohammed Ben Sulayem FIA Vice President for Sport; President,
• Automobile and Touring Club UAE
• Moderator
• Mariët Westermann Provost, NYU Abu Dhabi
• Panelists
• Richard Cregan Chief Executive Officer, Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management
• Rand Abbas Architecture & MP Manager, Yas Island Project, Aldar Properties
• H.E. Falah Al Ahbabi General Manager, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council
• Victor Matheson Associate Professor, Department of Economics, College
• of the Holy Cross

(November 15, 2009) Conversations with Authors: Without carbon, we are nothing. The fourth most abundant element in the Universe, carbon is in the soil, the air, the oceans, the cells of every living thing—and unfortunately in the fossil fuels we burn. As fossil fuels are combusted, they release carbon atoms that have been locked underground for millions of years, causing gigatons of CO2 to enter the global carbon cycle. Dr. Volk asks: Can new technologies and new energy sources—carbon sequestration, biomass, solar, wind, and nuclear—hold back the carbon tide? What facts should every Earth citizen know about the carbon cycle?

Tyler Volk Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies, NYU
Anne Rademacher Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Metropolitan Studies, Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, NYU 

(March 28, 2010) Anna Deavere Smith will be interviewed and will then perform excerpts from her “On The Road: A Search For American Character” Series. The series features performances of little-known and well-known people whom Ms. Smith has interviewed in order to create her unique signature kind of theater.

Anna Deavere Smith University Professor, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU in conversation with Rubén Polendo Associate Professor, NYU; Associate Professor of Theater, NYU Abu Dhabi

(October 20, 2010) Continuing advances in quantitative techniques will allow us to solve mysteries of how the brain responds in social contexts. New knowledge about making judgments, moral responses, social comparisons, and a host of other mental states will form the basis for thinking about our species' ethical posture towards ourselves and others. Of particular interest is how these advances will be viewed in light of traditional judicial and legal practices.

Michael Gazzaniga Professor, Psychology; Director, SAGE Center for the Study of Mind, University of California, Santa Barbara

(January 24, 2011) Renowned writer and journalist James Zogby speaks about his book Arab Voices: What They Are Saying To Us, and Why It Matters published to critical acclaim last year. The Arab World is a region that has been vastly misunderstood in the West. Arab Voices asks the questions, collects the answers, and shares the results that help us see Arabs clearly. The book brings into stark relief the myths, assumptions, and biases that inhibit informed understanding of the Middle East and North Africa region and its people. 

James Zogby Founder & President, Arab American Institute; Senior Advisor, Zogby International polling firm

(February 10, 2011) This panel will discuss the ongoing protests in Egypt, and the implications for the region. Panelists bring expertise on opposition movements, politics, economy, youth, and US foreign policy to bear in their analysis.

Tarik Yousef Founding Dean, Dubai School of Government
Shadi Hamid Director of Research, Brookings Doha Center
Nasr Arif Executive Director, Institute of Islamic World Studies,
Zayed University (ZU) Moderated by Riaz Hassan Global Professor of Social Research and Public Policy, NYU Abu Dhabi

(February 24, 2011) The Right Honorable Gordon Brown MP Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Distinguished Global Leader in Residence, NYU 

In conversation about his recent book Beyond the Crash: Overcoming the First Crisis of Globalisation with Bruce D. Jones Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution; Director, The Center on International Cooperation, NYU