The Center for International Studies at MIT presents“The New Famines of the Middle East and Horn of Africa: War economies and the normalization of starvation”Alex de WaalExecutive DirectorWorld Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School, Tufts UniversityThis lecture locates the return of famines in geo-strategic, economic and normative changes that have their sharpest manifestation in a cluster of countries in the Middle East and Horn of Africa. The most severe and widespread starvation in the contemporary world has struck Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and most recently Gaza, with neighboring countries also afflicted. All these countries are located in the “Red Sea Arena,” a zone of contestation consisting of the littoral countries of the Red Sea and their immediate neighbors. The lecture posits that this cluster of calamities have a common explanatory thread, namely the lens of “new war economies”. The demise of the liberal Pax Americana and the rise of Middle Eastern middle powers and the BRICS has led to new rivalries, organized around access to dollar reserves and alternative currency arrangements backed by resources including gold, oil, land, and strategic real estate. The Gulf monarchies and Israel have strategies and instruments designed to finance current and anticipated conflicts. They seek key resources in Africa and control of strategic locations at the crossroads of maritime commerce. They wage economic warfare that render their adversaries ungovernable. Most damagingly, the new war economies are associated with illiberal norms, including reviving sovereign privileges, undermining liberal multilateral institutions, and adopting a permissive ethos of tolerating mass starvation.Tuesday, March 11, 20254:30-6:00pmE51-145Zoom Livestream availableThe Bustani Seminar series celebrates its 40th anniversary this year!Information on the Emile Bustani Middle East SeminarInformation on the Spring 2025 Bustani Seminar SeriesSponsored by the MIT Center for International StudiesFor more information or any questions, contact:Dayana Mercier | dayan379@mit.edu

Join Lillian-Yvonne Bertram and Nick Montfort for a discussion of their recent book Output: An Anthology of Computer-Generated Text 1953-2023 (MIT Press, 2024).The discussion of computer-generated text has recently reached a fever pitch but largely omits the long history of work in this area--text generation, as it happens, was not invented yesterday in Silicon Valley. Output, thoughtfully selected, introduced, and edited by Lillian-Yvonne Bertram and Nick Montfort, aims to correct that omission by gathering seven decades of English-language texts produced by generation systems and software.Lillian-Yvonne Bertram is the author of Travesty Generator, a book of computational poetry that was longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award for Poetry, and several other poetry books. They direct the MFA in Creative Writing program at the University of Maryland.Nick Montfort is a poet and artist who uses computation as his medium. His MIT Press publications range from the New Media Reader (coedited) and Twisty Little Passages to, most recently, The Future and the second edition of Exploratory Programming for the Arts and Humanities. He is Professor of Digital Media at MIT and Principal Investigator in the Center for Digital Narrative at the University of Bergen, Norway.Copies of Output will be available for purchase onsite from the MIT Press Bookstore.

Join MIT Libraries for a closer look at selections from its Distinctive Collections - including artists’ books, zines, and art, alongside treasures from the Aga Khan Documentation Center - highlighting marginalized communities' contributions to art, science, and technology.Register 5-6 pm 6-7 pmThis event is presented as part of Artfinity: A celebration of creativity and community at MIT.

Join us at MIT’s Koch Institute for a celebration of the winners of the 2025 Image Awards—and their spectacular images of life sciences and biomedical research from across the Institute.The reception will feature puzzles and a chance to mingle with the 2025 winning image creators.5:00 p.m. Doors open and Unveiling Images 5:30 p.m. Award ceremony and lightning talks with image creators in Luria Auditorium 7:00 p.m. Reception in the KI Public GalleriesRegister to join us in person (Luria Auditorium, 76-156) on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-image-awards-tickets-1237795964049?aff=SocialCan't attend in person? Register to attend the award ceremony on Zoom.

A Conversation with Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, former CEO of Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s electric grid operatorThe Russian assault on Ukraine’s electrical generating capacity and transmission grid as part of its full-scale war against Ukraine, is unprecedented in the history of warfare. Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the former CEO of Ukraine’s electric grid operator Ukrenergo, will discuss the challenges of securing Ukraine’s energy system throughout the war, lessons for mitigating grid vulnerabilities, and prospects for rebuilding a more resilient energy system in Ukraine and Europe.The event will be moderated by Dr. Mariana Budjeryn, Senior Research Associate at Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs._________________________________________________Volodymyr Kudrytskyi served as the CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of the Ukrainian Transmission System Operator Ukrenergo from February 2020 until September 2024. Under his leadership, Ukraine’s electrical grid has undergone preparations for synchronization with the power system of Continental Europe ENTSO-E and emergency synchronization with ENTSO-E in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. From February 24, 2022, Mr. Kudrytskyi and his team at Ukrenergo managed the Ukrainian power grid through unprecedented Russian attacks against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. Previously, Mr. Kudrytskyi held leadership roles in key Ukrainian energy sector companies, including Naftogaz and Ukrtransnafta. Mr. Kudrytskyi holds a degree in international finance from Kyiv National Economic University.Mariana Budjeryn is the author of Inheriting the Bomb: The Collapse of the USSR and the Nuclear Disarmament of Ukraine (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023) and a winner of the 2024 William E. Colby Military Writers’ Award, the first female in the award’s 25-year history. Dr. Budjeryn is a member of the Committee on International Security and Arms Control of the National Academies of Sciences and a senior nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution.

This yoga practice provides the opportunity to relax and de-stress as well as to stretch, strengthen, and balance your body. The practice begins with a meditative centering followed by warm-ups, a posture flow, and a restful final relaxation. We conclude with a closing and some time for connecting with your fellow yogis.The yoga postures are led at a moderate intensity. Lower intensity modifications are always offered and there is absolutely no obligation to do any posture. The goal is to make the class accessible to beginners as well as experienced practitioners. Listening to your body is the key to safety, especially in this online format.Registration is required on our wellness class website. If you do not already have an account on this website, you'll need to create one. This is fee-based class and open to the entire MIT community.