The 4th award ceremony for the 2 LSE scholarships that the CIDOB Foundation and the Caixa Catalunya Foundation have been offering since 1999 for master’s studies at the London School of Economics (LSE) coincides with the official presentation of the Catalan LSE Alumni Association, an organisation that today could have some 200 members. An intervention by Howard Davies, Director of the London School of Economics, complements the act with a speech on the progress this institution is making in order to continue to be a university of reference in Europe as well as in the rest of the world.

This event is free and open to all with no ticket required, please confirm your assistance. Confirm through: LSE web

After four years of U.S. occupation in Iraq, at the beginning of 2007, the Bush administration announced the deployment of new troops in Baghdad. Even before this deployment was made, several violent groups, except for Al Qaeda in Iraq, left the zone, thus lowering the number and intensity of attacks. This scenario which was propitious for proposing political initiatives was allowed to slip away, and just when the number of troops deployed is about to reach its highest level, the sectarian violence has also risen to its previous high levels. The United States cannot manage to legitimise its intervention in Iraq, and, although it finally has a political plan, it is not a very ambitious one, and it seems to have arrived too late. In this context, and through an analysis of the U.S. strategy, Joost Hiltermann, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Program of the International Crisis Group, lays out the possible solutions to the conflict.

Comments by Fred Halliday, Lecturer at the London School of Economics and the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals.

>> For further information, see the attached invitation

A reflection on the impact of immigration on the Spanish labour market, based on the book, Spain 2020: An Inescapable Miscegenation, by Josep Olivé, an economics professor. The author attributes the cause of the immigration in Spain over the past 10 years to the labour demand not covered by Spaniards, and he foresees a second influx of immigration of 4 million to 7 million people around 2020 in order to maintain current economic growth. The event features contributions by the author and interventions by Oriol Amorós, Secretary for Immigration within the Generalitat of Catalonia and by the President of the CIDOB Foundation, Narcís Serra.

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The second edition of a joint initiative between the Migrations Programme of the CIDOB Foundation and the Research Group on Immigration and Political Innovation at Pompeu Fabra University. During the seminar, selected works are presented, focusing on the analysis of the stakeholders involved in the processes of immigration management. The studies selected focus their attention on governmental actors (administrations in general) as well as non-governmental ones: immigrant associations, non-governmental organisations and the media, among others.

Working language: Spanish. Registration is essential in order to attend the seminar.

10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.

In celebration of World Refugee Day (20 June), this event aims to provide elements of reflection and debate on the current challenges of international protection, taking the different responses that refugees and asylum seekers receive from Europe, Spain and Catalonia as its starting point.

from 9.00 a.m. until 5.30 p.m.

This is the first phase of a series which, over the course of a year, will bring together experts and political authorities in the Spanish central government and the governments of the country’s autonomous regions to list possible ways of improving co-ordination and collaboration in the area of foreign affairs. On this occasion, the participants will discuss (in closed-door sessions) co-ordination and collaboration in general aspects of foreign policy, such as bilateral and multilateral summits, plans of action, international agreements and negotiations, and networks of offices and the diplomatic service. Soon other sessions will take place, dedicated to co-ordination and collaboration in participation in the European Union and to co-operation for development.

Silvia Simonit, an economist and international consultant in the areas of public finance and tax systems, with various publications in her speciality, will present the study, Armonización fiscal para la integración en MERCOSUR [Fiscal Harmonisation for Integration in MERCOSUR], orienting reflection and debate toward the identification of the main criteria of convergence within the framework of Latin American fiscal policies in order to advance in the processes of regional integration.