The Cornell International Law Journal is hosting a symposium to honor Professor Stephen Yale-Loehr's career in immigration law. The event will cover topics such as the current state of asylum law, immigrants and the economy, and the need for increased legal representation for immigrants. Additionally, there will be a lighthearted roast of Professor Yale-Loehr and opportunities for networking during lunch and the reception. Articles presented during the symposium will be published in an upcoming issue of the Cornell International Law Journal.

Please visit website to register to attend in person or via webinar.

Fall 2024 Harry ’51 and Joshua ’49 Tsujimoto Perspectives in Global Development Seminar Series

Register to attend via Zoom.

Abstract

Agriculture remains integral to Nigeria’s economy, accounting for 24% of the GDP and employing 38% of the workforce. Despite this, widespread multidimensional poverty impacts millions reliant on agriculture for their livelihoods. Driven by rapid adoption of mobile phones and increased access to internet connectivity, digital agriculture (DA) promises to unlock opportunities to boost productivity, enhance food security, and build resilience against climate crises. DA innovations such as mobile-based extension models, digital marketplaces, financial solutions, and shared mechanization services, offer smallholder farmers tools to sustainably improve yields, reduce losses, and optimize resource use. However, as an emerging sub-sector, DA in Nigeria faces key barriers, including inadequate infrastructure, limited access to finance and weak policy and regulatory environment. Based on ongoing research with several faculty members at Cornell University, this seminar explores Nigeria’s DA ecosystem, highlighting innovative use cases, scalability challenges, and critical policy interventions needed to advance digital transformation in agriculture.

About the speaker

John B. Babadara is a development expert with about a decade of experience working to transform agrifood systems in Africa. He has led and supported complex, multi-stakeholder programs that create value and spur innovation in agriculture, climate adaptation, circular economy and rural entrepreneurship in Africa. He is the co-founder and managing partner of AceAgric Agritech, a management consulting firm, and the founder of Tomatrix Postharvest Innovation for Nutrition (TOPIN), a social enterprise which addresses rural poverty and food loss through value-added agro-processing. John champions sustainable development through policy intervention, innovation management and social entrepreneurship. In recognition of his significant contributions to agrifood systems in Nigeria, he was awarded the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship at Cornell University in 2022 by the US Department of State. Babadara holds a BSc. (ED) in Biology from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria and a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the Federal University of Dutsin-MA, Nigeria.

Seminar co-sponsors

Cornell Institute for Digital AgricultureInstitute for African Development in the Cornell Einaudi Center for International StudiesAbout the seminar series

The Harry ’51 & Joshua ’49 Tsujimoto Perspectives in Global Development Seminar Series showcases innovative approaches to development with experts from around the globe. Each year, the series attracts online registrants from over 45 countries and more than 350 organizations.

Seminars are held Wednesdays from 12:20-1:10 p.m. eastern time during the semester in 175 Warren Hall. Students, faculty and the general public are welcome to attend in-person or via Zoom.

The series is co-sponsored by the Department of Global Development, the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and the School of Integrative Plant Science as part of courses GDEV 4961, AEM 4961, NTRES 4961, GDEV 6960, AEM 6960, and NTRES 6960.

Join us in 175 Warren Hall for a lecture with Ketevan Gurchiani, Professor of Anthropology at Ilia State University in Tbilisi. This lecture is titled "On Hidden Power of Trees: Urban Resistance in Tbilisi." This event is co-sponsored by the Institute for European Studies and Einaudi Center for International Studies, Part of Global Cornell.

About our Speaker:

Sirikan “June” Charoensiri is the Executive Advisor at TLHR, which she co-founded after the 2014 military coup in Thailand. In 2024, she founded Engage Thailand to further democracy and human rights advocacy internationally. June has a legal background from Thammasat University and the University of Essex. She has faced threats for her advocacy work but continues to fight for justice. June has received several awards, including the Lawyers for Lawyers Award in 2017 and the U.S. State Department's 2018 International Women of Courage Award.

Since the end of colonialism in Africa, the continent has become a strategic battleground for influence among global superpowers. Russia, China, and the United States have each pursued distinct approaches that have shaped African nations in vastly different ways. An experienced diplomat in US-Africa relations, Ambassador Herman J. Cohen draws on his extensive career as a diplomat in the region, from the beginnings of African nationalism to the end of the Cold War, to share critical experiences from this varied history of involvement in Africa.

Ambassador Cohen explains what the past can tell us, not only regarding the enduring impact of these global power dynamics on Africa's trajectory but about the continent's evolving role in the shifting geopolitical landscape of the 21st century. He will be in conversation with Aileen Marshall, a former World Bank and USAID official, who worked closely with Ambassador Cohen during his career at the State Department.

About the Speakers
As an ambassador, advisor to Presidents, and a 38-year veteran of the Foreign Service, Ambassador Herman J. Cohen has devoted his entire professional career to African and European affairs. Cohen retired from the U.S. Department of State in 1993. His last position was assistant secretary of state for African affairs under President George H.W. Bush (1989-1993). During his 38-year career with the U.S. Foreign Service, he served in five African countries and twice in France. He was the ambassador to Senegal, with dual accreditation to the Gambia, from 1977 to 1980.

During assignments in Washington, he also served as special assistant to President Ronald Reagan (1987-1989), principal deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and research, and principal deputy assistant secretary for personnel. Through his role at the NSC in the Reagan White House, Cohen worked to bring about peaceful transitions of power in South Africa and Namibia and helped to end conflicts in Angola, Ethiopia, and Mozambique.

He is the author of a number of books, including Intervening in Africa: Superpower Peacemaking in a Troubled Continent (2000), The Mind of the African Strongman: Conversations with Dictators, Statesmen, and Father Figures (2015), US Policy Toward Africa: Eight Decades of Realpolitik (2020), and a recent memoir Africa, You Have a Friend in Washington (2023).

Aileen Marshall
​​​​​​​Aileen Marshall has considerable professional experience of socio-economic development, political economy, governance and conflict management in Africa. Since retiring from the World Bank in 2020, she works as an international development consultant and is a member of the management team for Partnership for Transparency Fund, a non-profit. Earlier in her career, she was Senior Advisor to the Global Coalition for Africa, responsible for its political economy portfolio, and served with USAID in Africa. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Durham in England.

Zoom Registration Link
Register in advance to join this virtual seminar

Host
Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

Co-sponsors
Institute for African Development and the East Asia Program

Over 70 undergraduate students will present their international summer experiences in a poster session. Their work includes conducting research, working in Global Internships, and putting leadership into action as Laidlaw scholars.

The poster session will be in the Baker Portico & Atrium of the Physical Sciences Building. Light refreshments will be served.

Applications for Global Internships are open now. Applications for the Laidlaw Scholars Program will open on November 15.

Global Internships give undergraduate students valuable international experience in fields spanning global development, climate and sustainability, international relations, communication, business, governance, and more. They are managed by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies and Office of Global Learning, both part of Global Cornell.

The Laidlaw Undergraduate Leadership and Research Scholarship Program provides generous funding to first- and second-year undergraduates over two years as they pursue internationally focused research, engage in leadership training and a leadership-in-action experience, and join a global network of like-minded peers. The program is managed by the Einaudi Center.