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.
Celeste Wallander is the President and CEO of the non-profit U.S.-Russia Foundation.
Paul Divakar, General Secretary of the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) and a transnational voice for peoples affected by Discrimination based on Work or Descent (DWD) spoke about the struggles faced by these communities and the growing power of international groups that link these communities outside their countries.
David Goldblatt is one of the leading experts on sports and soccer and has written numerous books including the ball is round a global history of soccer. He spoke at Oxy about the crisis facing sports right now. Despite sports enjoying a historical high point in terms of popularity it also faces a growing number of scandals and crises.
Glen Fukushima returned to his native California and visited Occidental College to deliver a lecture at the McKinnon Center for Global Affairs on October 24, 2017. Mr. Fukushima discussed the United States’ past relations with Japan under the Obama administration as well as the current relations with Japan under the Trump administration.
Glen Fukushima returned to his native California and visited Occidental College to deliver a lecture at the McKinnon Center for Global Affairs on October 24, 2017. Mr. Fukushima discussed the United States’ past relations with Japan under the Obama administration as well as the current relations with Japan under the Trump administration.
Aditya Agrawal, director of data ecosystems development at the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data spoke about the Data Revolution and how it can be harnessed to aid in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
William Drozdiak visited Occidental College on September 25, 2017 and gave a lecture at the McKinnon Center for Global Affairs. He offered insight into the current political arenas of the United States and Europe and the implications of such that we may expect to see in the coming years.
In a public forum hosted by the Young Initiative on the Global Economy at Occidental College, students and faculty came together to discuss the US-China relationship as part of the Trump and The World Series.
Ivo Daalder, who served under the Obama administration as the ambassador to NATO and who now is the President of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, visited Occidental on April 6, 2017. He lectured at the college's McKinnon Center for Global Affairs, arguing that the liberal world order we know so well is likely coming to an end.