The Institute will be held in the Smith College Conference Center on College Lane. |
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8:30–9 a.m. |
Continental Breakfast |
9–9:15 a.m. |
Welcome by Carol Christ |
9:15–9:30 a.m. |
Introductions, Objectives, Agenda Review Nancy Delaney, Community Engagement Manager, Oxfam America Sarah Kalloch, Campaign Alliances Advisor, Oxfam America Rebecca Hovey, Dean for International Study and Co-Director of the Smith College Global Studies Center (GSC) Drew Guswa, Associate Professor of Engineering and Director, Smith College Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability (CEEDS) |
9:30–10 a.m. |
Oxfam Rights-Based Approach to Development Nancy Delaney and Sarah Kalloch, Oxfam America |
10–10:50 a.m. |
How Will the World Feed 9 Billion People by 2050? Nancy Delaney and Sarah Kalloch, Oxfam America |
10:50 a.m. |
Break |
11 am.–noon |
Panel I: What Causes Hunger? Payal Banerjee, Associate Professor of Sociology Nola Reinhardt, Professor of Economics Paul Wetzel, Senior Research Associate, Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability Sarah Kalloch, Campaign Alliances Advisor, Oxfam America Moderator: Drew Guswa, Associate Professor of Engineering and Director of CEEDS View Abstract
This panel will address some of the causes of global hunger from economic, sociological and agricultural perspectives. Nola Reinhardt will frame the issue of hunger in terms of the current short-term crisis and longer-term trends, addressing some of what drives the dramatic increase in global hunger and analyzing some of the events that lead to it. She will discuss the results of limited access to resources that people living in poverty face and the causes, and effects, of “landlessness.” Paul Wetzel will give an overview of agricultural practices, addressing some of the challenges brought on by soil loss, greater use of fertilizers, irrigation and cost of pumping water in areas of lowered water tables, and the effects of mechanized harvesting and transportation. Payal Banerjee will talk about privatization and displacement and the impacts on people living in poverty. |
Noon–1 p.m. |
Lunch Students discuss, prepare questions for afternoon panel |
1:15–2:30 p.m. |
Panel II: Responses to the World Hunger Crisis Mlada Bukovansky, Associate Professor of Government Nola Reinhardt, Professor of Economics Beth Hooker, Five Colleges Sustainability Programs Coordinator and Research Associate, Mount Holyoke College Nancy Delaney, Community Engagement Manager, Oxfam America Moderator: Greg White, Professor of Government and Co-Director, GSC View Abstract
This panel will offer ideas and contributions about the varieties of (and prospects for) responses to humanitarian and food crises. Mlada Bukovansky will provide a treatment of the political economy of humanitarian crises, focusing on the economic and bureaucratic factors shaping the humanitarian response to famine. Nola Reinhardt will assess the market dimensions of strengthening local farming systems as the principal response to the persistent, long-term problem of world hunger, emphasizing the need to support smallholding farmers with appropriate institutional, infrastructural, and technological support - with the focus in the latter being agroecological approaches as opposed to "Green Revolution" technology. Beth Hooker will focus on a variety of agricultural practices, such as returning biomass to the soil and promoting sustainability through increasing organic matter, soil biodiversity, soil aggregation, and water holding capacity. Part of our response to world hunger should include the appropriate use of ecological agricultural practices such as these and others to foster agroecosystem resilience, a critical factor in ameliorating the effects of climate change. Nancy Delaney will discuss several of the innovative programs that Oxfam has invested in with global partner organizations to address hunger. These will include the System of Rice Intensification, weather insurance and grain banks. |
2:30–3:30 p.m. |
Concurrent Workshops for Students Engaging the Media: Nancy Delaney, Oxfam America How to Lobby Your Elected Representatives: Sarah Kalloch, Oxfam America |
3:30–4:30 p.m. |
Plenary Session: Engaging Your Community Sarah Kalloch and Nancy Delaney, Oxfam America |
4:30 p.m. |
Closing Remarks Sarah Kalloch, Campaign Alliances Advisor, Oxfam America Greg White, Professor of Government and Co-Director of the Smith College Global Studies Center (GSC) |
5–6 p.m. |
Reception at President’s House |