ABSTRACT

While the phenomenon of Egyptians leaving their homeland in search for work abroad has been ongoing for decades, a new trend has emerged since 2011, namely thousands have expatriated for political reasons. Some have left based on a general sense that the political climate has become hazardous for them, while others left because of specific fears due to court convictions, lawsuits, loss of employment, attacks in the media, or direct physical threats related to their political, journalistic, or civil society activities. In contrast to waves of politically motivated Egyptian migration into exile in the 1950s–1970s, migrants now have highly diverse identities, motives, destinations, and experiences in exile. While specific data are hard to locate, post-2011 Egyptian exiles generally appear to be greater in numbers, younger, and enjoying higher educational attainment than those of the past. One reason for this diversity is that far more groups are at serious risk in Egypt—Islamists as well as Christians, liberals as well as leftists, artists as well as businesspeople, prominent intellectuals as well as underground activists—compared to the past, when fewer groups faced political or social persecution at any given time.

SPEAKER BIO

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His research and teaching interests as well as his academic publications focus on democratization processes in Egypt, tensions between freedom and repression in the Egyptian public space, political movements and civil society in Egypt, contemporary debates in Arab political thought, and human rights and governance in the Arab world. He is currently writing a new book on contemporary Egyptian politics, titled Egypt’s New Authoritarianism.

Hamzawy is a former member of the People’s Assembly after being elected in the first Parliamentary elections in Egypt after the January 25, 2011 revolution. He is also a former member of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. Hamzawy contributes a weekly op-ed to the Egyptian independent newspaper al-Shorouk and a weekly op-ed to the London based newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi.

Please join Larry Diamond, Senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Affairs and the Hoover Institution for the launch of his latest book, "Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency."

Featuring a Panel Conversation with:

Zin Mar Aung

Burmese MP and political activist

Vladimir Kara-Murza

Russian journalist and anti-corruption crusader

Cara McCormick

CEO, Chamberlain Project, Co-founder/Co-leader of The

Committee for Ranked Choice Voting in Maine

*Reception to follow

After the events of the Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine made a decisive historic choice in its shift towards democracy, notwithstanding current threats to security and sovereignty from Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas. Due to these circumstances, Ukraine is on the frontline of democracy between Russia and the West. In 2019, Ukrainians are facing major decisions in their country’s democratic development with the presidential and parliamentary elections. During the 2019 Presidential elections Ukrainians elected Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a former actor with no political background, with 73% of the vote. The more important Parliamentary elections are yet to come in the fall, and the resulting coalition will shape the future government.

In light of the elections the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program at the Stanford University Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law has gathered DC-based policy makers, high-level Ukrainian state officials and parliamentarians to discuss lessons that should be learned from the presidential elections, and what can we take away looking toward the October 2019 parliamentary elections.

The Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program at the Stanford University Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law has organized a conference on these political developments to discuss pertinent policy issues that will affect Ukraine’s future. This conference reflects how UELP fellows are creating an important place for conversation on global development and Ukraine at Stanford University by raising key questions about the country’s future direction. They are also providing knowledge to their own community by connecting stakeholders in Ukraine to resources at Stanford and Silicon Valley.

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Panels will include the following: 

9:15-10:45 Reforms in Ukraine

Since the Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine has been scrutinized for its record on implementing reforms. However, in the past five years there have been many more success stories than in the history of Ukrainian independence prior to 2014. This panel will explore some of the most successful reforms in post-Maidan Ukraine, such as steps taken to improve the health care system, economics, and anti-corruption efforts. Please join the discussion on Reforms Panel Moderated by former Ambassador Steven Pifer with the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Oleksandra Saenko, Acting Minister of Health of Ukraine Dr. Ulana Suprun,  Member of the Ukrainian Parliament Mustafa Nayem and the Ukrainian Emerging Leader Fellows at Stanford – Natalia Mykolska, former Trade Representative of Ukraine and Oleksandra Ustinova, former Board Member of the Anti-Corruption Action Center in Ukraine.


11:00-12:30 Church and Identity

On January 5, 2019 the tomos of autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was signed, thus granting independence for the Ukrainian church, after centuries of subjugation to Russia. This was a historic move for Ukraine on many levels, from its cultural significance to its role in fighting Russian propaganda as the churches under the Moscow Patriarchate were massively used for propaganda  Since then, at least 340 parishes that were formerly under the Moscow Patriarchate have joined with the newly independent church. The creation of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a watershed moment in the global understanding of Ukrainian identity. 


12:30-2:00 Luncheon: New Faces in Ukrainian Politics

In light of the upcoming 2019 parliamentary elections you will have the opportunity to meet representatives from major political parties and movements who are considered up and coming reformers in Ukraine. The goal is to engage parliamentarians and others in a discussion about the future of Ukrainian political development. Stanford will bring together reform-minded stakeholders from prominent political parties that will be contending in the October 2019 parliamentary elections so that a multitude of opinions can be voiced and debated.


2:15-3:45 Security and Foreign Policy

One of the largest challenges Ukraine’s next president will face is the security of the country against Russian aggression. The 2018 Kerch Strait incident not only demonstrated the relentlessness of Russia’s continued incursions on Ukrainian sovereignty, but raised questions as to how Ukraine and the West should act in light of such attacks. Whoever wins the spring 2019 presidential elections will face important strategic decisions in the war effort and cooperation with international allies.


4:00-5:30 Tech & Innovation: Shaping Ukrainian Future

IT industry is a growth engine of Ukraine’s economy. Ukraine IT outsourcing industry is a globally recognized leader. Tech ventures working with enterprise software, ML / AI, cyber security, life-science, big data management, gaming, agribusiness and e-commerce. Exports of Ukrainian ICT services is the third largest export sector showing constant growth. Foreign investments into the industry are increasing ($285 mln in 2018). Moreover, the number of SMEs tech companies is growing as well (4,000+ IT companies). Furthermore, from year to year the number of successful tech ventures with Ukrainian founding teams and R&D offices in Silicon Valley is increasing. Ukraine has the largest and fastest-growing engineering talent pool in Europe with 160,000 specialists in 2018 and 242,000 prognosis by 2025. The country’s universities and polytechnic institutes graduate over 100,000 new engineers annually incl. 23000+ IT graduates.