Population | Wilson Center

Population

World Population Day 2015: Demographic Resilience

As events and discussions centered around World Population Day 2015 begin and continue, we spoke with the Wilson Center’s Roger-Mark De Souza about the concept of “demographic resilience.” Is a younger population more prone to conflict and instability? And what other contextual factors weigh in to the equation? He explains the meaning of “demographic resilience, and offers thoughts on its usefulness as a lens through which to view and assess the overall health of a community. That’s the focus of this edition of  Wilson Center NOW.

The Sahel Beyond the Headlines: Population, Environment, and Security Dynamics

Between the Sahara to the north and savanna to the south lies the semi-arid Sahel, a region stretching from Senegal to Sudan that has experienced desperate poverty, climate change, malnutrition, and violence. While every context is different, the Sahelian countries share some common challenges, including a pattern of recurring crises and fluid borders. Boko Haram’s reign of terror in northern Nigeria and Mali’s coup have both had cross-border components.

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Mist of the Earth: Art and Sustainability

 “Mist of the Earth,” an exhibition of photographs and photo-collages by renewed Brazilian artist Denise Milan, joins memory and history and invites viewers on a journey of imagination and reflection about the environmental challenges of development. On May 20, a panel of experts will join the artist to discuss the roles of art in sustainability as the Brazil Institute welcomes “Mist of the Earth” to Washington. A viewing of the artwork with Milan and exhibit Curator Simon Watson will follow.

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Telling Tales of Complex Connections

Policy wonks and academics produce voluminous tomes on sustainability issues, but how to get these before a larger audience? One wonkish think tank hard at work on this problem, the Environmental Change and Security Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center, is producing a series of short films to tell the stories that move these concerns toward a wider audience. The idea is to take complex, interacting factors and show how they affect real people.

Event Summary: Climate Change Adaptation, Urban Planning, and the Private Sector in Colombia

On February 25, 2015, the Wilson Center's Latin American Program and USAID/Colombia convened a full day seminar with leaders from Colombian govenment ministries and private sector firms to discuss climate change adaptation, urban planning, and the role of the role of the private sector. National and international experts and policymakers presented case studies, delivered expert presentations, and engaged with representitives of naitonal, regional, and municipal government from across Colombia, as well as private sector representatives.

Hafu: The Mixed-Race Experience in Japan

With nearly 98 percent of the population believed to be nationals of the country, Japan can seem to be a racially homogenous society. Yet as the country grapples with a rapidly graying population on the one hand and a steady decline in birthrate, opening its doors to more foreigners may be a question of when rather than if.

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Global Trends, Local Stories: New Films on India and Ethiopia

On March 24, the DC Environmental Film Festival comes to the Wilson Center for the Washington, DC, premieres of two new short documentaries from ECSP, “Broken Landscape” and “Paving the Way.” Filmmaker and ECSP Multimedia Producer Sean Peoples will describe his journey from the eroded gullies of Ethiopia to the rat-hole mines of northeastern India during a panel discussion led by the Wilson Center’s Roger-Mark De Souza, with observations from Sierra Club's Kim Lovell and World Resources Institute's Ferzina Banaji.
 
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We Want What's Ours: Learning from South Africa's Land Restitution Process

We Want What's Ours: Learning from South Africa's Land Restitution Process

On June 30, 2014, President Zuma announced the re-opening of the land claims process. In the next round, South Africa must build on the successes and learn from the mistakes of the first round of restitution.

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