New York City, NY - A Half-Day Conference on Nepal

The Schedule
Event: Nepal--The Himalayan Hotspot. From Shangri-la to…?
Date: March 22, 2006
Time: 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm EST
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Heights, International Affairs Building, Dag Hammarskjold Lounge (Room 1501)
Contact: Jenik Radon (jr2218@columbia.edu)
Fee: NA

The Program
This half-day conference will focus on the possibilities, as well as the problems or challenges, in the strategically located kingdom of Nepal today, and look at its prospects for the future. Nepalese and foreign experts and public figures from different professional fields will present their views and analyses of the political, economic and social situation in this landlocked South Asian country embedded between China and India. Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba will make a keynote presentation. This colloquium will be hosted by Professor Jenik Radon, Harriman Institute, SIPA, Columbia University, with the support of Khagendra Gharti-Chhetry, Esquire and Chhetry & Associates. Professor Catherine Nepomnyashchy, Director of the Harriman Institute, Columbia University, will open the conference.
2:00 - 2:15:

• Welcome: Catherine Nepomnyashchy, Director of Harriman Institute, Columbia University, and Khagendra Gharti-Chhetry, Esq. Chhetry & Associates, P.C
• Introduction: Jenik Radon, Esq., Harriman Institute, Adj. Asst., Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University

2:15 – 3:00:

Domestic and International Balance: Turmoil (Maoists) and in between China and India

• Moderator: Khagendra Gharti-Chhetry, Esq., Chhetry & Associates, P.C.
• Speakers: Murari Raj Sharma, former Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Nepal to the United Nations
  Dinesh Tripathi, Advocate at Nepal’s Supreme Court, Tripathi Law House, Kathmandu, Nepal

3:00 – 3:50:

A Governmental Structure for a Secure Future, Democracy and/or Royal Rule

• Moderator: Tara Niraula, Senior Research Scholar and Research Director at Teachers College, Columbia University
• Speakers: Amy Cohen, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, Ohio State University
  H. E. Mr. Madhu Raman Acharya, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Nepal to the United Nations

3:50 – 4:10:

• Coffee/Refreshments

4:10 – 5:10:

Nepal’s Economic Place in the Sun: From Tourism to Hydropower

• Moderator: Leon Weil, Former US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Nepal
• Speakers: Alok K. Bohara, Professor at the Department of Economics, University of New Mexico
  Surendra Devkota, Visiting Professor at the School for International Training, World Learning, Brattleboro, Vermont

5:10 – 6:10:

A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow: How Do We Get There?

• Moderator: Shiva Gautam, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Director of Biostatistics, Harvard-Thorndike General Clinical Research Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
• Speakers: Smita Narula, Assistant Professor of Clinical Law, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, New York University School of Law
  Arzu Rana-Deuba, Executive Chairperson of Samanata Institute for Social and Gender Issues, Kathmandu, Nepal
  Deepak Thapa, journalist and writer affiliated with the Center for International Conflict Resolution, Columbia University; recipient of The Asia Foundation's William P. Fuller Fellowship in Conflict Resolution
  Sam Zarifi, Research Director, Asia Department, Human Rights Watch

6:10 – 6:40:
Keynote Address: Future Perspectives, Practical Steps

• Moderator: Jenik Radon, Esq., Harriman Institute, Adj. Asst. Professor at SIPA/Columbia University
• Speaker: Hon. Sher Bahadur Deuba, Nepal’s Prime Minister from 1995 to 1997, 2001 to 2002, and from June 2, 2004 until February 1, 2005, Kathmandu, Nepal

6:40:
Closing Remarks:

• Jenik Radon Esq., Harriman Institute, Adj. Asst. Professor at SIPA/Columbia University

This conference is sponsored by the Southern Asian Institute (SAI) with the assistance of The South Asian Graduate Students Association (SAGA).

Post-Program Links
For discussion and pictures, please click here.
For discussion on gbnc.org, please click here.