Autonomous Vehicle Revolution: The Impact of Driverless Cars on Our Cities and Our Way of Life
Dale Dekker, AICP, Principal, Dekker/Perich/Sabatini
July 9, 2017 (Sun) 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
ABQ Museum of Art & History, Ventana Salon
“In the words of Yogi Berra, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” This insight certainly applies to the radical and revolutionary impact autonomous vehicles (a.k.a. driverless cars) will have on the way we live, work and play. What sort of impact can we expect in Albuquerque? What will our city look like and how can we begin to adapt to this “disruptive” technology? +More Info
US – Russian Relations: Is the Past Always the Prologue?
Ambassador C. Paul Robinson
July 28, 2017 (Fri) 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
UNM Continuing Education Conference Center
After 1991, following the break-up of the USSR, the Russian Federation began to slip into the rear-view mirror of American foreign policy. But the Russians have crept back, — and are now front and center, nuclear-armed and assertive, pressing on Europe, the Middle East and Asia. If we want to avoid a return to a Cold War or, God forbid, a hot one, we will have to negotiate and our new President will have to strike some difficult deals. Getting to “Da” with the Russians has never been easy. What can past experience tell us? In his talk, Ambassador Robinson will not concentrate on the technical details of negotiations past. Instead, he will focus on the human side of the deal-making process. He will show how unique and completely unexpected events nearly derailed his negotiations and how —over time— mutual suspicions were overcome. +More Info
Brazillionaires: Wealth and Inequality in Brazil and Beyond
Alex Cuadros, Author/Writer
August 13, 2017 (Sun) 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
ABQ Museum of Art & History, Ventana Salon
Just a few years ago, Brazil was booming. As a young reporter with Bloomberg in the megacity of São Paulo, Alex Cuadros’s job was to cover the country’s emerging class of billionaires, who were shaping not only their own country but the world at large. It’s a story with lessons for the United States. This engrossing tale of a country’s spectacular rise and fall, intertwined with the story of its wealthiest citizens, begins to answer one of the most pressing questions of our age of inequality: Who exactly are the new hyperwealthy plutocrats, and should we welcome or fear them? +More Info
Transcaucasia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia – From Shared Cultural and Historical Heritage to Different Evolution
Dr. Valery Dzutsati, Jamestown Foundation
August 27, 2017 (Sun) 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
UNM Continuing Education Conference Center
The countries of the South Caucasus have experienced deep transformation since the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, despite shared cultural and historical heritage, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia evolved in strikingly different ways. All three countries face a combination of similar and distinct challenges on their way toward constructing stable polities. Valery Dzutsati will examine this evolution. +More Info
Why Mesopotamia Matters: Masterpieces of Ancient Art
Dr. Diana McDonald, Ph.D.
September 10, 2017 (Sun) 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
ABQ Museum of Art & History, Ventana Salon
Some of the earliest, greatest and most enduring artworks were created as early as 5,000 years ago in the “Cradle of Civilization,” Mesopotamia – the land between two rivers, now modern day Iraq. The world’s first cities, the earliest agriculture and domestication of animals, sparked monumental art of stone, gold, and other materials, all created in the harsh desert landscape. While most of us cannot travel to the war-torn Middle East, we can take a virtual tour of the most stunning works, many sadly now destroyed. +More Info
