The Johns Hopkins Foreign Affairs Symposium returns this spring with a lineup emphasizing various forms of activism in the global sphere. Guest speakers include individuals fighting for racial, environmental, educational, and political justice.
This year's theme is "Anthem," inspired by a viral chant to the song "Thawra" led by student activist Alaa Salah during the 2019 Sudanese protests. According to FAS organizers, "'Anthem' aims to capture the diversity of social and political movements across the globe, in addition to the values that unify them."
Launched in 1997, the annual Foreign Affairs Symposium is run by students and sponsored by the university's Office of Student Development and Programming.
All events are free and open to the public. The lineup is below:
Joshua Wong and Nathan Law
Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. | Shriver Hall
Joshua Wong and Nathan Law are two of the most prominent student activists of the 2014 Occupy Central With Love and Peace campaign—also known as the Umbrella Protests—in Hong Kong. Arrested in 2017 for "unlawful assembly" and "incitement to take part in assembly," Wong and Law were eventually released and cleared of charges but continue to face legal challenges from the Hong Kong government.
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez
March 4 at 8 p.m. | Shriver Hall
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, youth director for the organization Earth Guardians, has spoken about environmental issues since he was 6 years old. An indigenous climate activist and hip-hop artist, Martinez travels across the world to encourage youth to participate in environmental activism.
Muzoon Almellehan
March 26 at 8 p.m. | Shriver Hall
Muzoon Almellehan is a Syrian refugee known for her work championing girls' rights to an education. The youngest Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, Almellehan travels the world calling on leaders to prioritize education of children caught in conflicts and disasters. She has been named one of the BBC's 100 most influential and inspirational women and one of Time's 30 Most Influential Teens of 2017.
Angela Davis
April 16 at 8 p.m. | Shriver Hall
Angela Davis has been a leading voice in American activism for decades. Today, Davis advocates for economic, racial, and gender justice. A prison abolitionist, Davis is the co-founder of Critical Resistance, an organization dedicated to dismantling the American prison industrial complex. Her books include Are Prisons Obsolete?, The Meaning of Freedom: And Other Difficult Dialogues, and Women, Race & Class.
Posted in University News, Student Life
