Conference on the Arab Spring and the Fall of the Iron Curtain with students, academics and UN staff

The Arab Spring has redefined the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East just as the fall of the Berlin Wall changed the political, social, and strategic calculus in Eastern Europe and around the world. The joint conference hoped to contribute to the comparative studies of revolutions and their aftermath.

Consul General of the Republic of Poland in New York Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka provided introductory remarks, and Dr. Rafał Szczurowski (CUNY) introduced the panelists.

The group of panelists consisted of: Dr. Pamela Falk, a Professor and Distinguished Lecturer at Hunter College, Director of the Roosevelt Scholars and President of U.N. Correspondents Association; Dr. Elżbieta Matynia, an Associate Professor of Sociology and Liberal Studies, and the Director of the Transregional Center for Democratic Studies at the New School; Dr. Jillian Schwedler, a Professor of Political Science at Hunter College; Muhamed Sacribey, a distinguished diplomat and international lawyer, best known for serving as Bosnia\'s Foreign Minister and its Ambassador to the United Nations between 1992 and 2000. The discussion was moderated by Sylvana Habdank-Kołaczkowska, the project director of "Nations in Transit", Freedom House\'s annual survey of democratic governance from Central Europe to Central Asia.

The panelists compared and contrasted the Arab Spring and the fall of the Iron Curtain to further the understanding of current events and to propose strategies for economic reforms, bulding civil society, and good governance.

The event garnered high turn-out, as more than 170 people - students, academics, but also UN staff - attended the conference.