The Carter Center (audio)

Hear a conversation about the Carter Center's groundbreaking work to eliminate blinding trachoma from countries across Africa. Kelly Callahan, director of the Center's Trachoma Control Program, is joined by Jim Ervin, past international president of the Lions Clubs International Association, a key supporter of the Center's efforts to prevent disease for more than two decades. This conversation includes exclusive footage from a new documentary showing how the Center works with local communities and partners in the field to fight the disease.

This event explores Liberia's progress and setbacks toward a sustainable peace after its 14-year civil war, including the impact of the Ebola crisis on recovery. The Carter Center has worked in Liberia for more than two decades, observing elections and partnering with government and civil society to strengthen democratic institutions, access to information, administration of justice, and mental health services. WABE reporter Jim Burress moderates the event. The panelists include Dr. Pamela Scully, an Emory professor whose research and writing focuses on comparative gender history with an emphasis on biography and on sexual violence in war and post-conflict, especially in Liberia; Elwood Dunn, a scholar, diplomat, and educator who has served in several high-level capacities in the Liberian government, including as Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, and director of the Foreign Service Institute; and Tom Crick, associate director of the Carter Center's Conflict Resolution Program, whose most recent work has focused on peace-building and conflict prevention in Liberia, where he manages the Center's innovative Access to Justice project.

Combating Violence Against Women and Girls and Advancing Peace: Three of the participants in the Human Rights Defenders Forum join President Carter for a discussion about protecting the rights of women and girls, with a special emphasis on women and peacemaking and on the role religious leaders can play in this effort. In addition to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, the panelists are Ayisha Osori, lawyer and the CEO of the Nigerian Women's Trust Fund, a nonprofit focused on increasing the quality and quantity of women in government; Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini, co-founder of the International Civil Society Action Network, and one of the civil society drafters of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security; and Alaa Murabit, Canadian-Libyan doctor who founded The Voice of Libyan Women project, which pushes for inclusive peace processes and conflict mediation. The event is moderated by Karin Ryan, senior project adviser to The Carter Center's Human Rights Program.

The Elders along with women peace builders explore what can be done to prevent conflicts, combat cultural norms, and ensure women are part of peace-making efforts. This event promotes the recommendation on women's role in peace building set out in President Carter's acclaimed recent book "A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power." Carter Center CEO Ambassador (Ret.) Mary Ann Peters moderates the discussion and Q and A. Founded in 2007, The Elders are a group of independent leaders, convened by Nelson Mandela, who work together for peace and human rights. There are 12 Elders including President Carter, Kofi Annan (Chair of The Elders), and Mary Robinson.

Presented in partnership with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, this discussion features a keynote address by President Jimmy Carter, followed by a Q and A moderated by Steve Orlins, committee president.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter discuss recent Carter Center peace and health initiatives around the world.

Tens of thousands of individuals were arrested, tortured, and killed during Argentina's "Dirty War" from 1976-1983, which then U.S. President Jimmy Carter protested by withdrawing U.S. economic and military support. This Conversation starts with the 45-minute documentary "Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo and the Search for Identity," which describes efforts to track down grandchildren missing as a result of the atrocities. A discussion featuring central figures in the film follows, led by President Carter, whose focus on human rights continues today through The Carter Center. Panelists include former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Dr. Charlie Tuggle, producer of "Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo and the Search for Identity", Hodding Carter, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for public affairs, Tex Harris, and former U.S. Embassy officer in Argentina, Bob Cox, former editor of the English-language Buenos Aires Herald. Dr. Jennifer McCoy, director of the Carter Center's Americas Program, moderates.

Note: This conversation opens with a short video. Summary: Neglected tropical diseases afflict the poorest of the poor in some of the world's most remote and isolated communities. Yet they are not as obscure as many people think – the blinding bacterial disease trachoma existed in the United States and Europe until the early-20th century, and river blindness was brought to the Americas from Africa through the slave trade. Through nearly three decades of work at the grassroots, The Carter Center has seen firsthand how fighting these horrific, yet easily preventable illnesses can make a tremendous impact on poverty and improve overall global health. Watch a discussion by Carter Center experts. Participants include Dr. Donald R. Hopkins, vice president for health programs, The Carter Center, and Dr. Frank O. Richards, director, River Blindness Elimination Program, Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Program, Schistosomiasis Control Program, and Malaria Control Program, The Carter Center. Kane Farabaugh, Voice of America correspondent, moderates.

Information and communications technology is quickly changing the ways in which nongovernmental organizations such as The Carter Center do their work. What are the inherent risks, challenges, and opportunities of using these tools? How is the Center harnessing technology to promote peace? Watch a panel discussion by Carter Center technology experts. Connie Moon Sehat manages the Center's ELMO initiative, a software system designed to streamline and advance the field of election observation. It allows observers to submit data via tablet, cell phones, or online, and enables The Carter Center to make quicker and more accurate assessments of an election. Dr. Sehat previously developed software for a Lockheed Martin/NASA International Space Station project, and she has addressed the intersection of technology and social scientific research at George Mason and Emory universities. As a Carter Center intern, Christopher McNaboe developed what is now the Syria Conflict Mapping project, and he joined the program to formalize and expand the project in 2012. McNaboe documents and analyzes information found through social media to understand the players and structure of rebel groups in Syria. He extracts the data to draw a sophisticated conceptual map showing the connections among and evolution of armed groups. The Carter Center provides the information to neutral parties working toward a peaceful end to the crisis. The Center is among the first to use social media mining for the Syrian conflict in such a comprehensive way. Sean Ding designs and manages Carter Center China Program projects in online awareness raising, access to information, Chinese corporate social responsibility in Africa, and U.S.-China relations. This also includes overseeing programmatic websites www.sinoafrica.org, www.uscnpm.org, and www.chinatransparency.org, which aim to spur conversation and debate. This Conversation is moderated by Carter Center Vice President for Peace Programs Dr. John Stremlau.

In 2011, South Sudan celebrated its independence after more than two decades of war, but conflict in the region continues. An expert panel discussed the Carter Center's efforts to strengthen peace and create a lasting understanding between the two countries, including most recently a series of dialogues between prominent leaders from Sudan and South Sudan. Panelists included two members of the Carter Center's dialogue group, Ambassador Nureldin Satti and Professor Jok Madut Jok. Brief bios are below. The event was moderated by Itonde Kakoma, assistant director of the Carter Center's Conflict Resolution Program and manager of the Center's Sudan-South Sudan Dialogue Group. Ambassador Nureldin Satti is director of the National Library of Sudan and serves as co-chair at the Woodrow Wilson International Center's Sudan Working Group. Previously, he was director for the UNESCO cluster offices in Addis Ababa (2007-2008) and Dar Es Salaam (2001). He also served as deputy special representative at the U.N. Political Office for Burundi. Professor Jok Madut Jok is the undersecretary in the Ministry of Culture, Youths, and Sports for the Government of South Sudan. Jok also is executive director of the Sudd Institute and a professor in the Department of History in the Loyola Marymount University in California. Previously, he was a J. Randolph Senior Fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace and a fellow at the Rift Valley Institute.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter discuss recent Carter Center peace and health initiatives around the world.

Venezuela experts Margarita López Maya and Carter Center Americas Program Director Dr. Jennifer McCoy discuss the future of Venezuela in the wake of President Hugo Chavez' death and snap presidential elections on April 14. Venezuela controls the largest oil reserves in the world, including 10 percent of U.S. imported oil. For more than a decade, The Carter Center has conducted election observation, media training, and conflict resolution efforts in Venezuela as it has undergone profound transformations. Carter Center Vice President for Peace Programs Dr. John Stremlau moderates.

Mental illnesses affect one in four people each year, yet they are some of the most poorly understood and stigmatized conditions. Many mental illnesses often develop in young adulthood, when stigma and discrimination against people with these disorders can have a significant impact on their ability to seek treatment and recover. Early intervention and community support can make a positive impact toward healing and recovery. Carter Center stigma expert Rebecca Palpant Shimkets moderates a discussion with Dr. Mark McLeod, director of Emory University Counseling Services; Billy Howard, 2011-2012 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism and Step Inside My Head creator; Alison Malmon, Active Minds founder and CEO; and Kimberly Minor, mental health advocate and president of Active Minds at Georgia Perimeter College.

A new generation of top Chinese national leadership will take the stage at the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in November 2012. The new leadership will have a huge impact in the next decade on China's political and social development, U.S-China relations, and the Carter Center's programming in China. Panelists include Harvard law professor William P. Alford; Boston University international relations and political science professor Joseph Fewsmith; and Carter Center China Program Director Yawei Liu. Carter Center Vice President for Peace Programs Dr. John Stremlau moderates.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter discuss current Carter Center peace and health initiatives, as well as reflect on the Center's 30-year history.