Events
WEBINAR // Case Study: Sudan Internally Displaced People and Refugees
On July 9, 2024 at 12:00pm (EST) the Global Policy Institute (GPI) and Bay Atlantic University (BAU) held an event titled “Sudan Internally Displaced People and Refugees” via Zoom and in-person at BAU, 8th floor conference room.
There was hope for a return to normalcy in Sudan after the arrest and eventual conviction on multiple corruption charges of strongman Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as Sudan’s president from 1989 until 2019. Unfortunately, the country never regained full stability, a necessary precursor to investments and economic development. Two opposing military factions have been fighting each other across the country. The result is chaos and millions of Internally Displaced People within Sudan, and Sudanese people seeking refuge in neighboring countries. There seems to be no end to this conflict that has ruined the country. Sudanese American activist and political analyst Hagir Elsheikh joined us for a conversation on the Sudan refugees crisis.
About GPI/BAU Series on Refugees
The number of forcibly displaced people – people who had to leave their homes on account of conflicts or persecution – is climbing at a rapid pace across the world. At the end of 2023 there were about 110 million displaced individuals, many of them are children. Of these, more than 35 million were and are refugees. Sadly, these numbers are going up, year after year. The refugees crisis is now an enormous human catastrophe.
To shed some light on this tragedy, the Global Policy Institute, GPI, and Bay Atlantic University, BAU, will hold a series of events on refugees, featuring experts who will discuss case studies with the goal of illustrating the issues and the huge human and economic costs associated with them.
Event Recording:
Speaker
Hagir Elsheikh is a prominent Sudanese American activist and political analyst recognized for her significant contributions to the understanding of the political landscape. As a leader and spokesperson for the Sudanese Democratic Front, she faced arrest, torture, and death threats from the former Sudanese regime, leading to her asylum in the United States.
Currently, she is part of Sudan’s advocacy group for Congress and the State Department and advises various humanitarian organizations, including the UN and Amnesty International. Through her platform “The Hagir Show,” Elsheikh engages audiences on global and social issues, particularly through her “Know Your Candidates” segment, which focuses on political engagement.
She has received numerous honors, including the Health Care Hero Award (2017), recognition by the state of Pennsylvania (2018), the GCU Hall of Fame induction (2019), and the YWCA Tribute to Women of Excellence Carolyne L. Smith Legacy Award (2024). Her media appearances on networks like AlhurraTV, VOA, BBC, and CBS highlight her as a sought-after commentator on Sudan’s affairs, US politics, and foreign policy.
Moderator
Paolo von Schirach became President of the Global Policy Institute, GPI, in 2016. He is also Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Bay Atlantic University, BAU, in Washington DC. He previously served as Department Chair for Political Science and IR at BAU. Areas of expertise: US politics and economics, international security, NATO affairs, the war in Ukraine, the Middle East, US-China relations, Africa, terrorism, oil and gas and renewable energy.
Paolo von Schirach is the Founder and Editor of the Schirach Report, an online publication focusing on politics, economics and international security. Von Schirach is a frequent lecturer, TV and radio commentator, on US foreign and domestic politics and global issues. He is frequently on Alhurra TV, Asharq News, BBC Arabic, TG5 (Italy), Cairo TV, Sky News Arabia, Newsy, France 24, and other networks.
For more than 25 years von Schirach worked in emerging markets as Team Leader and Senior Expert managing investment and trade promotion programs. Prior to that he was a Research Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS, which was followed by filling the role of Director of Communications, and later on Senior Research Fellow, at the Atlantic Council. He was Deputy Director of the Global Security Project at Georgetown University, and Vice President for International Programs at Intelx, an institution focusing on international education. He was an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Program of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, (MSFS). He has been a frequent lecturer at the Foreign Service Institute, (FSI), the U.S. Federal Government’s primary foreign affairs training institution. Von Schirach holds higher degrees from Georgetown University where he was also a Fulbright Scholar and Fellow in the Government Department, the London School of Economics, the University of Pisa, Italy, and the Scuola Universitaria Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa.