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Signature Events

The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies brings world leaders, preeminent scholars, and public figures to Cornell to foster conversation about the global questions and conditions that shape our lives. Our signature events spark engagement on campus, in national debates, and around the world.

Student asking question. Bartels lecture: Carlos Alvarado Quesada, March 22, 2023. Photo: Simon Wheeler
Student speaking during the 2023 Bartels World Affairs Lecture. 

Bartels World Affairs Lecture

Established in 1984, this annual lecture brings distinguished international figures to campus to speak on global topics and meet with Cornell students and faculty.

Lund Critical Debate 

This annual debate brings to campus two to three international affairs experts to discuss pressing issues in world news and policy.


Lund Debate: Democracy and Its Opposites

Wilson and Garrett, Lund Debate April 2023
Damon Wilson, National Endowment for Democracy (left) and Thomas E. Garrett, Community of Democracies (middle), with Einaudi Center director Rachel Beatty Riedl at the 2023 Lund debate. 

Frank H. Golay Memorial Lecture

This lecture, hosted every three years by the Southeast Asia Program, addresses key questions in Southeast Asian studies.

Hu Shih Distinguished Lecture

Hosted by the East Asia Program, this annual lecture features leading scholars of Chinese and East Asian studies.

Tagore Lecture in Modern Indian Literature 

Hosted by the South Asia Program, this annual lecture features a contemporary South Asian author.