VSU’s international forum set for Oct. 31

Virginia State University will hold its ninth international forum, "Democracy, Poverty Reduction and Social Justice: Agenda for the Next President of the United States," on Oct. 31 from 9 to 10:50 a.m. in Colson Auditorium, Harris Hall on campus.

The forum, organized by VSU Department of Economics' Center for Diplomacy and International Economics, will address some of the most important and urgent issues facing the U.S. and the international community. Concurrent sessions will follow from 11 to 11:50 a.m.

Carolyn I. Coleman, deputy director of the Office of South and Central Asian Affairs at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will be the keynote speaker. Other speakers will include distinguished professors, Fulbright and eminent scholars, and researchers from VSU and other Virginia universities.

Topics to be discussed include: "Global Income Inequality, Poverty and Terrorism: the United States Government Response;" and "Social Justice: Challenges and Priorities for the Next President of the United States."

The forum, hosted by Andrew Kanu, interim dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Education, will begin with welcome remarks by Weldon Hill, VSU vice president for academic affairs. The international forums are organized under the leadership of Ceslav Ciobanu, VSU dminent scholar, associate professor of economics and former ambassador of Moldova to the U.S., and Kwadwo Bawuah, chair of the Department of Economics.