Wilson School to host annual colloquium

The second annual Princeton Colloquium on Public and International Affairs, to be held April 23 and 24, will address the significance of nongovernmental organizations in domestic and international relations across the globe.

The event, titled "In the Service of All Nations? The Role of NGOs in Global Governance and Society," will be open to the entire Princeton community. Some of the foremost authorities in the study of international relations will convene to discuss the ways in which NGOs interact with other societal institutions, especially through the lenses of the AIDS epidemic and democratization.

Wilson School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter '80 said that NGOs are a topic of major interest in public policy "because of the increasing role that NGOs play as partners with public and private sectors, particularly in the rebuilding of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the containment of AIDS."

The keynote speaker is Major General David H. Petraeus, GS '87, Commanding General of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division. Petraeus, whose speech is called "A Division Commander's Experience in Iraq," worked with NGOs in Bosnia before relocating to Iraq and applying his expertise there.

Slaughter touted Petraeus as an ideal candidate to address the colloquium's focus. "Since we're looking at governance in society, someone in the military who is associated with state-building and can speak to the critical NGO role in that respect would be perfect," she said.

Other panelists and speakers scheduled to appear include Sarah Chayes, a former NPR correspondent in Paris and Kosovo who established an NGO in Afghanistan; Julius Coles, GS '66, president of Africare; and Deborah Pearlstein, head of Human Rights First, a lawyer's committee on human rights. Members of the University faculty will also serve as moderators and panelists.

Slaughter founded the colloquium four years ago as the Harvard Colloquium on International Affairs with the help of students from the university's professional schools.

"Its signature was that it brought together the entire community," she said.

Slaughter said that while last year's first annual Princeton Colloquium achieved that goal, she is still looking for ways to improve the event. A new arts component featuring photographs and short films has been added to enhance the appeal of the upcoming program.

Also, more Wilson School students participated in the organizational effort this year. "The MPA students are very much involved as a steering committee, whereas last year it was primarily run out of the dean's office," she said.

The Wilson School considered other matters such as health policy and bioethics before settling on NGOs as the subject of the colloquium. Slaughter said she hopes that Princeton students, alumni and faculty will find the topic of NGOs interesting and informative.

"It's a way of bringing the entire Princeton community together to focus on an issue of importance in the contemporary world and to immerse ourselves for several days in many perspectives against the backdrop of the Wilson School's interdisciplinary strengths," she said.