ACADEMIC SEMINARS

On February 13, 2006 the CTP and ICCAS hosted speaker Lech Walesa, former president of Poland and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. President Walesa’s address was the culmination of a roundtable discussion, The Polish Transition: Lessons for Cuba.The program included a video, From Solidarity to Freedom by Krystyna Mokrosinska and an address by Adolfo A. Franco, Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on the The Role of USAID in a Cuba in Transition. Panelists include Dr. Barbara Kudrycka, Professor of Politics, Rector of the Bialystok School of Public Administration and member of the European Parliament; Janusz Bugajski, director, New European Democracies Project and Senior Fellow Europe Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C.; and Dr. Marek Chodakiewicz, Professor of History, The Institute of World Politics, Washington, D.C.

On October 26, 2005 the CTP, in association with Fundación Diálogos, People in Need, and the Asociación Ibero-Americana por la Libertad, hosted a very successful seminar, Cuba: ¿Sucesión o Transición?, in Madrid, Spain.

On October 18, 2005 the CTP hosted a roundtable discussion, The Czech Republic's Transition Experiences at the University of Miami which highlighted important lessons learned by the Czech Republic that could prove useful to a Cuba in transition. Speakers included Professor Emeritus Vojtech Cepl, Mr. Petr Mares, Dr. Petr Greger, Mr. Vaclav Bartuska, and Dr. Klicperova-Baker.

On June 4, 2005 ICCAS hosted an “International Forum on Cuba's Transition to Democracy” on the eve of the XXXV Regular Session of the Organization of American States General Assembly at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

On April 7, 2005 the CTP co-sponsored with the University of Belgrano, el Centro para la Apertura y el Desarrollo de América Latina (CADAL) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation a seminar, “The Current Situation in Cuba and Challenges for the International Democratic Community” in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The seminar was held at the University of Belgrano.

In collaboration with the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE), ICCAS held a three-day conference titled “Cuba: Ten Years After the Announcement of Economic Reforms” at the Wyndham Grand Bay Hotel, Miami, Florida, on August 7-9, 2004.

On January 16, 2004 the CTP hosted a seminar in Washington DC at the Ronald Regan Building and International Trade Center. The Seminar “Humanitarian Aid for a Democratic Transition in Cuba” focused on public health and food security issues.

“Khrushchev and Castro: Two That Almost Destroyed the World.” A luncheon/discussion about the Missile Crisis with guests Timothy J. Naftali, Director of the Presidential Recordings Project at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia and co-author of “One Hell of a Gamble, The Secret History of the Cuban Missile Crisis,” and Brian Latell, Director of the Caribbean Project, the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.

“Business Opportunities and Challenges in a Post-Castro Cuba.” A luncheon/discussion with guests Susan Kaufman Purcell, Vice President of the Americas Society; Antonio Jorge, Professor of Political Economy and International Relations at Florida International University and Senior Research Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies; and Juan Tamayo,
Chief of Correspondents at the Miami Herald.

“The Challenges Facing U.S. Immigration Policies.” A luncheon/discussion with guest speaker Eduardo Aguirre, Director of the
Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security.

“The U.S. Agency for International Development and Cuba” a luncheon/discussion with the Hon. Andrew S. Natsios, Administrator,
U. S. Agency for International Development.

“The Ambassadors in Conference: U.S. and Cuba.” A luncheon/seminar with Dennis K. Hays, former U.S. Ambassador to Suriname; Luis Lauredo, former U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States; Manuel Rocha, former U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia; and Jeane Kirkpatrick, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

On October 31, 2003 ICCAS hosted the “Conferencia anual del Colegio de Economistas de Cuba: La Transición en Cuba.”

“U.S./Cuba Seminar.” On October 4, 2003, ICCAS hosted a daylong seminar on U.S.-Cuba relations held at the Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel.