The Young Initiative invites foreign policy experts and guest speakers to campus to engage in discussions on international relations and the global political economy with students and faculty.
Annually: United Nations Week
With the William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program, the Young Initiative supports the annual United Nations Week at Occidental College, each spring. We are passionate in maintaining students involvement and engagement in sustainable development. Our students choose topics that link Global Political Economy, Social Justice, and Sustainable Development.
One Day Conference - Data and the Feminist City Conference - September 30, 2025
The Young Initiative will host invited representatives from city governments from around the world for a one-day conference on the Oxy campus. Attendants will share experiences and best practices on reporting mechanisms to gather data, identify gaps in data collection, and help develop strategies for data-driven, actionable solutions.
Ongoing Young Speakers Events
Young Initiative speakers give students and faculty an opportunity to expand their understanding of global issues. The Young Initiative sponsors several speakers each academic year highlighting particular aspects of global affairs and the global political economy. The Young Speakers program is devoted to highlighting the work and success of eminent international affairs experts and Oxy alumni in public service and academia.
Just before the lunch hour on Wednesday, November 4, 2015, the McKinnon Center for Global Affairs hosted Norwegian author in the Johnson Global Atrium.
On Monday, October 26, 2015, Occidental College hosted "Sexualities, Genders, and Rights: Histories and Futures."
I have found that one of the most important resources that every student can and should take advantage of here at Oxy is the wide assortment of guests that the department will bring in. It never ceases to amaze me the number of famous well-known figures that come. Speakers like Howard Dean and Strobe Talbot.
The last academic year has proven to be exceptionally productive for the Young Initiaitve at Occidental College.
This past Monday, February 9th, 2015, Dr. Kathryn Sikkink visited Occidental College to give a talk entitled "Human Rights as a Tool for Emancipation." I had the pleasure of hearing both her official talk, given to Occidental’s first-year class as a part of the Core Program’s lecture series, as well as attending a smaller lunch between Dr. Sikkink and students. Dr.
View the full talk given by Dr. Kathryn Sikkink here. For more information, please see blog post above.
In his talk on "The Costs and Consequences of Torture," Doug Johnson examined the morality and logic of US foreign policy decisions that led to the use of torture in Guantanamo Bay. In authorizing torture, the United States had to break our own eighth amendment and the fifth amendment.