We began on Thursday morning with breakfast at the Red Lion Hotel once again, but today was different than the prior morning because we had already become acquainted with the delegates and communication was becoming friendlier and less formal than the first day. Had an amazing conversation with Dr. Silva and some laughs with Zandra. Then, we headed to the university for the panel discussions.
There were several panel discussions held this day, including Healthcare and the State of Human Rights, Global Military and Security, Transitioning Democracies and Challenges, and the IAC Careers panels. It's always interesting to see how Thursdays play out, because they are by far the longest days of the symposium and require you to be on your game the entire day before you crash and burn before the banquet. :) Today we had the pleasure of Dr. Roger Kangas joining us from the National Defense University, him having arrived in Pocatello the night before. We were treated to a fascinating discussion on the Cuban healthcare system and how it is structured differently than the American model - this was presented by Dr. Luis Fernandez, a local physician from right here in Pocatello. We also learned about the idea that many illnesses and diseases are socially constructed and that not many individuals agree on a set of definitions that spell out what human rights entail. We were also presented with some interesting information from Dr. Kristina Lybecker on the pharmaceutical industry and the role it plays in the healthcare debates.
We then moved into discussions concerning global military, security policy, and transitioning democracies. Drs. Roger Kangas and Thomas E. Doyle spoke about challenges that currently face the United States in terms of dealing with threats of terrorism, nuclear abolition/deterrence, and shifting strategic policies from the United States Central Command. Dr. Kangas in particular spoke about the deadline set by the Obama administration for pulling troops from Afghanistan, called "Afghanistan 2014." Dr. Doyle touched on the subject of nuclear war, deterrence, and the idea that countries around the world, including Iran, are in the midst of developing these technologies and we must be concerned for the foreseeable future regarding them.
Our final panel discussion of the day was titled the "IAC Careers" panel discussion, which is a fancy term for us gathering all of the delegates together to hear their stories - how they got where they are today, what classes they took, what jobs they had, what international and study-abroad experiences they had that made them the amazing individuals they were today. Every single one of the delegates stressed the fact that they ended up where they were because of someone who inspired them (thanks again Dr. Lybecker!).
We headed back to the hotel room to hang out before the banquet, where I got to spend a lovely time becoming better acquainted with Sam and chatting with Zandra, two truly wonderful individuals. Then, we headed downstairs for the banquet dinner, which was simply amazing. The food was fantastic, the set-up was wonderful, and the conversations were spectacular. Zandra and I had the privilege of being seated at the same table as Drs. Silva and Higley, where we had an eye-opening experience to the ideas of social change and how they truly begin with the people. Below is a picture of me with Dr. Silva:
I also got to take a picture with our 2013 Joseph Hearst Memorial Lecturer, Dr. Ron Scapp:
After we had dinner and dessert, it came time for Zandra to embarrass us all by thanking everyone for their attendance, help, and contributions to the symposium. Meghan and I helped her present each of the delegates with their take-home souvenirs from Idaho, as well as having the chance to honor our friend, advisor, and professor: Dr. Donna Lybecker. Zandra then proceeded to place all of the executive in tears by thanking us for all of our hard work. Luckily, Meghan, Keenan, and I had plotted to do the same for her :)
We concluded the evening by thanking the delegates once again for all of their hard work and then headed off to the lounge for a drink. A perfect way to end the evening!
Stay tuned for the final posting about the 2013 Frank Church Symposium!!!
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