Bonnie Sammons

The International Criminal Court is the first permanent tribunal designed to hold individuals criminally accountable for the most serious war crimes and human rights abuses.  When it became operational in 2002, it was welcomed by the human rights community as a deterrent to mass atrocity through the globalization of law and opposed by the Bush […]

Rising red curves, glowing red globes and red bars belong to the well-established graphic repertoire of climate research. Climate pictures today should be called political images.  They not only have become an important vehicle to transport  findings of climate research to policy makers, stakeholders and the public; often they are used as instruments in the […]

This talk will be a conversation about American law enforcement as a diplomacy tool.  Andrew Goodridge, Assistant Special Agent, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, will share personal observations and experiences regarding international law enforcement and business community partnerships during his five years living in the Middle East. A Maine native, Goodridge has been employed domestically and internationally as […]

  Syria’s Arab Spring of March 2011 had transformed into a tragic sectarian civil conflict within six months, fracturing the glue that for centuries had held together the mosaic of diverse Christian and Muslim communities that composed Syria. Since 2012 thousands of militant foreign Islamist fighters, often called Jihadis and determined to rid Syria of […]

Yvonne Davis is an international relations expert specializing in politics and world affairs around the globe. She has worked in dozens of countries in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe studying and reporting on critical economic and socio-political issues. Davis was a Presidential Appointee of George W. Bush, and serves as a […]

March marked Lady Borton’s fiftieth year working with Việt Nam, her forty-fifth since first working for the American Friends Service Committee in South Việt Nam, and her fortieth since her time in North Việt Nam. For many years, Lady was the “dean” of the INGO community in Việt Nam. As she says, “I’ve made more […]

Russia annexed Crimea and began a proxy war in eastern Ukraine a few months later. Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has cracked down on democratic institutions, rapidly increased military spending, and engaged in an old-style propaganda war with the west. While the Russian economy is cratering, Putin’s popularity remains high among citizens. In this talk, […]

In the more than fifty years since the beginning of the space age in 1957, much has been accomplished, our knowledge advanced, and a future made more positive. This presentation offers a survey of spaceflight history and offers comments on what might be expected in the next fifty years. Our speaker, Roger D. Launius, is […]

William Farrell serves as Vice President for Corporate and Foundation Relations at Mercy Corps, a leading relief and development organization with ongoing operations in 43 countries, nearly 4,500 staff, and an annual operating budget of over $300 million. He helps develop partnerships to increase the reach and results of Mercy Corps' work. Prior to this […]

Marta Ameri received her Ph.D. in Art History and Archaeology from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University in 2010. She is currently working as an Assistant Professor of Art History at Colby College where she teaches courses focusing on Ancient, Medieval and Islamic Art. Her research focuses on the role the seals […]

Immigration to Maine has been part of the American narrative for past few centuries. America, as a nation of immigrants, has historically, with a few exceptions, welcomed the world’s persecuted by offering them safety and a chance to start a new life. Maine’s recent immigrants, most of them refugees fleeing wars, religious and political persecution, […]

Kyle Knight is a researcher in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered) rights program at Human Rights Watch. Prior to joining the LGBT rights program, he was a fellow at the Williams Institute of the University of California at Los Angeles and a Fulbright scholar in Nepal. As a journalist he has worked for Agence […]

SOFT VENGEANCE is a film about Albie Sachs, a lawyer, writer, art lover, and freedom fighter. Shining a spotlight on Albie’s story provides a prism through which to view the challenges faced by those unable to tolerate a society founded on principles of slavery and disempowerment of South Africa’s majority black population. As a young […]

Rozell “Prexy” Nesbitt was born and raised on Chicago’s West Side. After graduating from the Francis Parker School in Chicago, Nesbitt enrolled at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. After graduating from Antioch in 1967, Nesbitt continued his education, attending the University of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania; Northwestern University; and Columbia University. Even before […]

Rozell “Prexy” Nesbitt was born and raised on Chicago’s West Side. After graduating from the Francis Parker School in Chicago, Nesbitt enrolled at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. After graduating from Antioch in 1967, Nesbitt continued his education, attending the University of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania; Northwestern University; and Columbia University. Even before […]

Khalid Albaih is a political cartoonist from Sudan. He is Colby’s 2016 Oak Fellow at the Oak Institute for the Study of International Human Rights. Albaih uses his daring, often biting cartoons to champion freedom of expression and democracy in the Arab world, while criticizing Western Islamophobia and U.S. practices including torture and drone attacks. […]

(Please note the earlier starting time. Please arrive 15 minutes early if you are having lunch.) The images most Americans have of Saudi Arabia are frighteningly predictable – deserts, camels, and oil; Sharia law, Islamic fundamentalism, and jihad; rich sheikhs in white robes, oppressed women in black veils, and terrorists. In this talk I challenge […]

Steve Ball, a retired U.S. Army Colonel and MMGF Board Member, will give a talk on current efforts to address the ongoing problems associated with unexploded munitions left from wars in Vietnam and its neighbors, Cambodia and Laos, and what actions are being taken by Vietnam and partnering countries to alleviate the associated damaging social […]

Scott Erb is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine at Farmington, whose specialty is German politics and the European Union. In this talk, Professor Erb will discuss both the background of the Syrian civil war and refugee crisis, and the profound impact this has on Germany and the European Union.  The crisis […]

Elizabeth Helitzer, Executive Director, Holocaust Human Rights Center, Augusta David Greenham, Program Director HHRC The story of immigrants in Maine is older than the state itself. From Verrazano’s first glimpse of Maine in 1524 on, immigrants have played a key role in shaping Maine and her people. This program, inspired by our 2015 exhibit of […]

Adotei Akwei, originally from Ghana and now Managing Director for Government Relations for Amnesty International USA, will be at the showing to lead a discussion afterwards. One doctor. One hospital. One million patients. Welcome to the war-torn Nuba Mountains of Sudan, where American doctor Tom Catena selflessly and courageously serves the needs of a forgotten […]

Adotei Akwei is Managing Director for Government Relations for Amnesty International USA. Before rejoining AIUS he was Deputy Director for Government Relations for CARE USA. As CARE USA Deputy he worked on Climate Change, Emergencies, Countries in Conflict and Micro-Finance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining CARE he worked for 11 years for Amnesty in […]