Global Infection Disease Workshop
July 19 - 21, 2009; Faculty Club, UC Berkeley
A workshop on H1N1 flu pandemic 2009, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and UC Berkeley’s European Union Center of Excellence

AIDS, SARS, H5N1, and now H1N1 have dramatized the potential for emerging infectious diseases to develop into global pandemics. Although advances in communication technology, surveillance, and organization have enhanced the global public health community's ability to effectively respond to a pandemic, many significant challenges remain. Expertise, information, and response capacity are still unevenly distributed across institutions and high levels of coordination are necessary under difficult, uncertain, and constantly shifting conditions.

Supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the University of California's European Union Center of Excellence, this project focuses on understanding the organizational and informational challenges to effective global governance of the investigation and response to infectious disease outbreaks. Download the complete program information here. (.doc)

Immigration Conference
May 21-22 , 2009; UC in DC
The Role of Immigration in the Demographic Evolution of the US and the EU

On May 21-22, 2009, Professor Philip Martin of UC Davis’ Agricultural and Resources Department and Director of the Comparative Immigration and Integration Program (CIIP) organized the first of three annual conferences gathering scholars from the US and Europe to examine migration issues in comparative perspective, asking how governments and societies can learn from each others' experiences with migration through such issues as demography, economic impacts and governance. The 2009 conference, held at UC-DC, dealt with a major migration issue facing the US and European countries – how to manage the employment of foreign workers in seasonal jobs. Among the thirty-two participants were speakers, who discussed seasonal foreign worker programs in Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Poland, as well as Christian Ligeard of the EU Commission. The conference, co-sponsored by the Giannini and Farm Foundations, also featured a presentation by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on the status of immigration reform legislation in Congress.

See http://migration.ucdavis.edu/cf for the conference agenda, papers and presentations.

Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the EU, Speaks at Berkeley

EU Vice-President Margot Wallström gave the inaugural address for UC Berkeley's EU Center of Excellence at International House in late September; She discussed the role of women in policy and politics. Beforehand she met with graduate students and faculty in EU Studies at the Institute's European Studies Seminar Room where she was eager to learn about student research and what prompted their interest in European Studies. To watch an interview of Ms. Wallström while at Berkeley by IIS Director Harry Kreisler, please follow this link to YouTube.