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2024 Paris Olympics – The Whole World is Watching

It would be an understatement to say that the Olympics is a monumental event that touches the hearts of everyone around the world. To some, the Olympics is a sporting event that happens every 4 years. To others, the event is the moment that they have been dreaming of since they watched the Olympic Games at a young age. Nevertheless, the Olympics means something to everyone in the world. This article will explore the impact of the 2024 Paris Olympics on people around the world including event highlights, new records broken, and new Olympic sports.

Highlights:

  • Celine Dion closed the Olympic opening ceremony with a beautiful performance of L’hymne à l’amour (The Hymn to Love) on the Eiffel Tower.
  • This was the third Olympics in which a Refugee Team—which was established in 2015—competed in the Olympic Games. Twenty-five-year-old Cameroonian boxer Cindy Ngamba became the first athlete competing as a refugee to win an Olympic medal after securing a Bronze medal by advancing as far as the semifinals.
    • She told reporters: “It means a lot to me to be the first refugee to win a medal. I want to say to all refugees around the world: keep working hard, keep believing in yourself.” – Africa News
  • Four non-traditional sports were incorporated into the Paris 2024 Games after making their debut in the Tokyo 2020 Games: skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing. Additionally, breaking, also known as break dancing, is making its Olympic debut after becoming an official sport qualified for the Olympics on Dec. 7, 2021.
  • Simone Biles, a USA Gymnast who earned 3 gold medals at the Paris Olympics and holds 7 gold medals in her entire Olympic career, responded to questions about her retirement saying “Never say never. The next Olympics is on home turf. So you just never know. I’m just going to relax and see where life takes me.” – Today

Athletes from countries all around the world come together to share their unique talents and skills with the support of their homelands behind them. Here are some of the World Records broken during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Notable Records Broken

  • Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) broke his own world record after clearing a height of 6.25 meters and winning his second pole vaulting gold medal.
  • Gabriel Medina (Brazil) achieved the highest Olympic score ever given for surfing a single wave earning a 9.90 from judges.
  • Thea LaFond (Dominica) earned her country’s inaugural gold medal in triple jump by achieving a distance of 15.02 meters.
  • Adriana Ruano Oliva’s (Guatemala) won her country’s first gold medal in women’s trap shooting while also setting the new Olympic record by scoring a 45 out of 50, higher than the previous 43 out of 50 at Tokyo 2020.
  • Kaylee McKeown (Australia) broke a 12-year-old record first created by Missy Franklin (USA) in London 2012 by earning a swim of 2:03.73 in the 200 meter backstroke.
  • Julien Alfred (Saint Lucia) earned her country its first ever gold medal after beating Sha’Carri Richardson (USA) in the 100-meter race with a time of 10.72s.
  • Sheng Lihao (China) broke William Shaner’s (USA) Olympic sport shooter record, from the 2020 games, of 251.6 by earning a 252.2 in the 10-meter air rifle.
  • Oh Ye-jin (South Korea) set the record for the women’s 10-meter air pistol by earning a whopping 243.2, surpassing Vitalina Batsarashkina’s (Russia) record of 240.3 from Tokyo 2020.
  • Katie Ledecky (USA) earned her second gold medal after beating her own time in the 2020 Games with a 15:30.02 in the 1500m freestyle. Ledecky came out of the competition as the second female Olympian with the most gold medals tied alongside former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina.

Citations

AfricaNews. “Paris 2024 Olympics: Cindy Ngamba Wins First Refugee Medal.” AfricaNews, Africanews, 5 Aug. 2024, www.africanews.com/2024/08/05/paris-2024-olympics-cindy-ngamba-wins-first-refugee-medal/

Gharib, Anthony. “What Are New Sports at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games?” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 11 Aug. 2024, www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/40537496/2024-paris-olympic-games-new-sports-breaking-climbing-skateboarding

Le, Brendan. “Every Record Broken at the 2024 Summer Olympics.” People Magazine, 12 Aug. 2024, https://people.com/every-record-broken-at-the-2024-summer-olympics-8687091

TodayShow. “Is Simone Biles Going to the 2028 Olympics? What She Told Hoda Kotb.” TODAY.Com, TODAY, 6 Aug. 2024, www.today.com/news/simone-biles-olympics-2028-los-angeles-rcna165066

Written by Special Projects Intern, Amanda Nguyen

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A Safe Games for All: Deterring Terrorism at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics

As the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics are set to begin in four months’ time, taking account of the security preparations needed to deter terrorism and other acts of violent extremism that could threaten the Games’ safety is a necessary task. While international sporting events and other large public gatherings always hazard becoming potential targets for terrorists, the ongoing Israel-Hamas War substantially heightens the risks involved in the Paris 2024 Games. 

In particular, Jewish and Israeli athletes face a greater risk of being targeted, and French authorities will need to take considerable efforts to ensure that the Games’ grounds are secure and adequately patrolled and monitored to mitigate the danger. The failure to enact sufficient security protocols hazards the occurrence of an attack reminiscent of the Munich massacre, when members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September infiltrated the Olympic Village at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, kidnapping and then killing eleven members of the Israeli team.[1] 

Security Challenges 

Paris has experienced devastating terrorist attacks before. On January 7, 2015, two gunmen stormed the Charlie Hebdo magazine office, killing twelve people. The attack was followed by a second two days later at the Hypercacher kosher supermarket, in which four more people were killed. Later that year on November 13, a series of suicide bombings and shootings took place throughout Paris, 

including an attack on the Bataclan theatre in which 90 people were killed.[2] In both attacks, the perpetrators had sworn allegiance to either al-Qaeda or the Islamic State. More recently, law enforcement agencies in Europe have reported an uptick in the number of terrorist plots that they have uncovered over the past several months, adding that these foiled plots reveal an increased involvement on the part of Iranian-backed proxy groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.[3] 

The Paris 2024 Games come with a variety of security challenges. Not only does the current unrest in Gaza raise the specter of potential attacks by pro-Palestinian terrorist organizations, but the move to conduct the Games’ opening ceremony outside of a stadium venue – a first for any Summer Olympic Games – poses a unique hurdle. The opening ceremony, set to take place on July 26, is planned to consist of a flotilla of the Olympic teams down the River Seine. Effective surveillance and crowd control over such a broad area will be extremely difficult, and French security forces will need to make a concerted effort to coordinate their communication both with one another and with Games personnel in order to carefully manage the event. 

To address this challenge, France will deploy some 40,000 police officers and 20,000 private security personnel along the River Seine during the opening ceremony to help ensure public safety.[4] In an effort to facilitate crowd control, French officials have also cut the number of permitted spectators for the opening ceremony from an initial allowance of 600,000 down to roughly half that number, and they will further require visitors and residents to use QR codes to gain entry into certain controlled areas.[5] Additionally, French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France has a variety of contingency plans in place should events leading up to the Games warrant a change in the ceremony’s format.[6] Government posters in Métro stations have also advised Parisians to work from home during the Games in order to reduce strain on public transportation, and French military forces have even prepared special anti-drone units.[7]

These actions are prudent and will likely help render the Games a more manageable event for security personnel. Nonetheless, the following recommendations are additional steps that French officials can take to reduce the risk of a terrorist attack occurring at the Games. 

Practice Targeted Strategic Communication 

First, French officials should engage in strategic communication with the public. Such strategic communication can, first and foremost, be preparatory and proactive. This includes measures such as educating the French public in the protocol for reporting suspicious activity, which might entail setting up a multilanguage hotline that the public can call or text. It also means educating the public in what constitutes suspicious activity, although this must be done carefully to avoid inadvertently promulgating stereotypes. 

Additionally, officials must inform the public in advance of what to do in the event of a terrorist attack, which response might be built off the “Hide-Run-Fight” model used in the United States during active shootings. French officials need to also coordinate with Games personnel to relay this important information to international ticket holders before their arrival in Paris. At the same time, however, French officials should reassure the public of the low probability of such an attack occurring and emphasize the efforts that security forces have taken to provide a safe environment for spectators and athletes alike. 

Strategic communication can also deal with managing active crises. French officials should have in place crisis response plans for different types of terrorist attacks including shootings, bombings, hostage crises, cyber attacks, and even pathological or radiological events. French officials must ensure that not only are all security forces – police, military, and private – aware of the proper protocols to be followed in such situations, but that public officials and Games personnel are knowledgeable of them as well. French officials must take the time to drill and coordinate their responses with one another in order to facilitate effective communication in the event of an actual terrorist attack. 

Conduct Inspections, Rehearsals, and Drills 

Second, French security forces should begin undertaking preliminary inspections of Games premises well in advance of the start of events. Doing so will increase familiarity with these grounds and reveal potential weak points that need to be hardened in order to deter their exploitation. Greater familiarity 

with patrol routes also provides security forces with the opportunity to discern these routes’ vulnerabilities and blind spots. Security forces should also conduct periodic exercises in which they perform basic crowd control management in order to gain on-the-ground insight into how these checkpoints might be avoided by those with malevolent intentions endeavoring to bypass security. 

Security forces would also benefit from running off-site drills rehearsing their response to various types of potential terrorist attacks at mockups laid out according to key Games premises. Running such drills would provide security forces with increased familiarity with timing and terrain, enabling more facile responses in the event of an actual attack. At the very least, commanding officers should simulate their crisis communication responses to improve timing and clarity. Additionally, commanding officers of security forces must see to it that security personnel – especially private contractors – undergo rigorous background screenings. While such screenings should be routine, conducting them before the Games begin may help detect, for instance, social media posts that express hateful sentiments toward Jews and Israelis or any other anti-Western beliefs.

Leverage Technology 

Finally, security forces are advised to take advantage of a wide range of technological capabilities in order to simplify and bolster their safeguarding of the Games. In addition to visual feeds from cameras, drones provide an exceptional tool for monitoring crowds and quickly surveying large areas. Security forces should also take advantage of the expertise that defense specialists in cyber and information operations can provide. An often overlooked but crucial component of ensuring the safety of the Games is the effective monitoring of social media and discussion forums. This monitoring not only allows security forces to gauge public opinion and perceptions of security forces’ conduct and actions, but it also facilitates the detection of any plans by malevolent actors to engage in violent acts. In the months leading up to the Games, French security services would benefit from monitoring online chatter about the Games on discussion forums and social media sites known to host extremist sentiments. As a final point of consideration, French security forces must also liaise with their counterparts in the energy and transportation sectors to help deter the risk of cyber attacks against roadways, waterways, utilities, and other infrastructure. 

Concluding Thoughts 

Securing the safety of the Paris 2024 Games will require careful coordination among a number of different government ministries and private entities. French officials and security forces should wisely use these remaining four months to improve their interagency communication. They must also foster an environment that values integrity and transparency about the challenges present in providing spectators and the French public with a safe experience in order to ensure that problems are addressed before they can be exploited. Despite these challenges, by engaging in proactive strategic communication with the public, undertaking preliminary inspections and drills, and utilizing the wide range of technologies at their disposal, French officials and security forces can take significant and substantial steps toward deterring terrorism at the Paris 2024 Games. 

Author Bio: Mason W. Krusch is a master’s candidate in the Global Studies and International Relations program at Northeastern University (Boston, MA). His research interests include Eurasian security, unconventional warfare, information warfare, and strategic communication. He holds a BA in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Notes 

[1] James Doubek, “50 Years Ago, The Munich Olympics Massacre Changed How We Think about Terrorism,” NPR, September 4, 2022, 

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/04/1116641214/munich-olympics-massacre-hostage-terrorism-israel-ger many. 

[2] “What Happened at the Bataclan?” BBC News, December 9, 2014, 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34827497. [3] Bojan Pancevski and Bertrand Benoit, “A New Terror Threat Is Emerging in Europe Linked to Iran, Gaza War,” The Wall Street Journal, March 12, 2024,

https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/a-new-terror-threat-is-emerging-in-europe-linked-to-iran-gaza-war -fb297119. 

[4] Jens Krepela, “Olympics a ‘Huge Challenge’ for France’s Security Agencies,” Deutsche Welle, December 22, 2023, 

https://www.dw.com/en/olympics-a-huge-challenge-for-frances-security-agencies/a-67801883. [5] Victor Goury-Laffont, “France Slashes Olympics Opening Ceremony Crowd Size amid Terror Attack Fears,” Politico, March 5, 2024,

https://www.politico.eu/article/france-slash-olympics-opening-ceremony-crowd-size-terror-attack-fear -emmanuel-macron/. 

[6] “Macron Says Paris Ready to Deal with Olympic Terror Threat,” Deutsche Welle, December 21, 2023, 

https://www.dw.com/en/macron-says-paris-ready-to-deal-with-olympic-terror-threat/a-67789496.

[7] Angelique Chrisafis, “‘It’s Like Covid All Over Again’: Olympic-sized Trepidation Strikes Paris,” The Guardian, March 9, 2024, 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/mar/09/its-like-covid-all-over-again-olympic-sized-trepidati on-strikes-paris; Julien Pretot, “Anti-drone Units a New Tool to Keep Paris 2024 Safe,” Reuters, March 14, 2024, 

https://www.reuters.com/sports/anti-drone-units-new-tool-keep-paris-2024-safe-2024-03-14/.

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Sweden’s Right of Passage: A Game Changer In Global Politics 

Sweden’s NATO Process 

Sweden’s official entrance marks a historic step as it became the 32nd member of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on March 7, 2024. The country’s flag will be raised alongside those of the other 31 Allies in a ceremony at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on March 11 and at NATO commands across Europe and North America.  

The ratification process was finally completed in Washington D.C. as Sweden and Hungary, the only two countries left to ratify Sweden’s membership, submitted the necessary documents after an 18-month  process. Turkey was reportedly withholding in approving Sweden’s bid, accusing the country of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara regarded as security threats as well as a series of demonstrations by supporters of the outlaws Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), located in Sweden. During the official vote, the ruling party emphasized that Sweden’s “tougher stance” on Kurdish militants will play a pivotal role in securing voting approval. Senior legislator of the Turkish ruling party, Fuat Oktay, highlighted that Sweden’s modification to its anti-terrorism legislation curbed the PKK’s financial activities, convicted a terrorist suspect and extradited another, and lifted restrictions on arms sales to Turkey. As Turkey finalizes its approval, Hungary remains the last hurdle on Sweden’s road toward NATO.

 Following Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kirstersson’s reluctant visit to Budapest, Hungary back on Feb 20, and a deal through which Hungary is set to acquire four more Gripen C fighter aircraft and another 10 years of support and logistics for its existing fleet, Hungary’s parliament ratified Sweden’s membership status after a 2-year process last month. 

At a press conference in Stockholm on Thursday, Sweden’s Minister for Employment and Integration Johan Pehrson labeled the accession “ a new security policy era for Sweden”, adding that he had personally been waiting for such a decision for 20 years.”

Its History of Neutrality

When the battle against Norway fell silent, the once-battled power would not take up arms again as its last war ended in 1814. For the next two centuries, Sweden embraced a policy of neutrality, refusing to take sides in wars or join any military alliance. It was a stance that contributed to the country’s ability to become a prosperous welfare state and humanitarian superpower. 

Speculation follows that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, pushed Sweden along with Finland to abandon its traditional position of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATO’s security umbrella. Finland joined the alliance in April, becoming NATO’s 31st member after Turkey’s parliament ratified the Nordic country’s bid.

The invasion “had a shock effect on Swedish political life,” said Henrik Ekengren Oscarsson, a political scientist at the University of Gothenburg. He analyzed polling data showing that support for NATO membership surged from 35% in 2021 to 64% after the invasion.

Global Political Implications

Sweden’s membership is a monumental geopolitical boost for NATO as alliance members now encircle the Baltic Sea (with the exception of the narrow entry to St. Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland and Russian exclave of Kaliningrad). Not only does this allow the alliance to monitor physical pipelines and cables beneath the surface, but it also gives the alliance access to a pocket of military power. Despite having a population of a little more than 10 million and an annual 1.54 percent of its GDP gross on defense last year, the country’s centuries of neutrality have forced it to develop a world-class military-industrial complex.

When selected equipment stocks are compared across NATO countries, Sweden’s supply numbers tend to place them in the upper middle of the inference graph. In some cases, the country punches well above its weight as Sweden possesses the fifth most armored personnel carriers in NATO, more than much larger countries such as Germany, Spain, and the U.K.

The Russian reaction to Sweden’s decision to join NATO has focused more on its implications for the Arctic region. The Arctic North is an area of deep strategic concern for Russia as it is where the Russian nuclear-armed submarine fleet is based. While Sweden and Finland do not directly touch the Arctic Ocean, their membership in NATO does potentially significantly strengthen the military power of the alliance in that vital region.

The Future of Sweden

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Sweden’s 2023 defense budget amounted to $9.2 billion and 1.54 percent of GDP. In anticipation of NATO membership, last year Sweden announced investments in military defense and estimated that this increased spending, combined with additional budget items that fall under NATO’s definition of defense expenditures, will ensure Sweden meets the 2% target in 2024. Beyond the defense equipment that Sweden currently has at its disposal, its export defense industry can meet most domestic equipment needs.

 Additionally, “In NATO, they will have access to far more conversations/tenders/info sharing particularly with regards to very sensitive tech that they previously weren’t admitted to, even if their study was NATO standard in design,” says Tom Waldwyn, Research Associate for Defense Procurement at IISS. 

Written by Community Outreach Intern, Tammy Gia Han Nguyen

Photo Credentials: 

KENDALL WARNER / AP

References:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/7/sweden-officially-becomes-32nd-member-of-nato-military-alliance

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/07/sweden-joins-nato-after-ratification-hungary-drops-opposition

https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-nato-membership-military-power/

https://apnews.com/article/turkey-sweden-nato-ratification-expansion-3686af974e7f9238ee9698451e649ea9

https://globalaffairs.org/bluemarble/sweden-tells-citizens-prepare-war-russian-aggression-nato-membership#:~:text=Micael%20Byd%C3%A9n%20said%20all%20Swedes,have%20joined%20the%20military%20alliance.

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*OPEN TO WACOC TRUSTEES ONLY*Trustees Social with Special Guest Speaker – Ambassador Dimitar Abadjiev, Current Bulgarian Ambassador to Slovenia – ” A Conversation on Eastern and Central Europe”

*OPEN TO WACOC TRUSTEES ONLY*

 

SUMMER TRUSTEES SOCIAL

 

“Conversation on Eastern and Central Europe”

 

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

with 

Speaker image

Ambassador Dimitar Abadjiev

Current Bulgarian Ambassador to Slovenia

 

Dimitar Abadjiev is the current Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to Slovenia. He was also the Consul General for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria in Shanghai, China and a Board Member and Head of Corporate Affairs Department for Nabucco Gas Pipeline International. From 1997 to 2009, Abadjiev served as a Member of Parliament for the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria. As a Member of Parliament, Abadjiev worked for the Committee of Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Security, the Committee of Fight Against Corruption, the Committee of European Integration and Legal Issues, the Тemporary Committee for Changes in the Constitution, the Committee for Legal Issues, and the Committee for Internal Security and Public Order. He has also acted as a Bulgarian Observer to the European Parliament, as Chairman of the Regional Court for the city of Omurtag, as Judge at the Regional Court for the city of Omurtag, and as Officer at the Regional Court for the city of Targovishte. 

VENUE:

HOSTED BY MS. NORA VALENZUELA

TIME:

6:00 PM

TO RSVP FOR THE EVENT – PLEASE CONTACT OUR OFFICE AT (949)-253-5751 OR E-MAIL US AT ORANGECOUNTY@WORLDAFFAIRSCOUNCIL.ORG

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Annual General Membership Meeting with Ambassador Howard Gutman – “Europe: An Ambassador’s Perspective On What No One Will Tell You”

Wednesday, September 27th 2017

 

SAVE THE DATE!

 

Annual General Membership Meeting

“Europe: An Ambassador’s Perspective On What No One Will Tell You”

 

with

 

Ambassador (Rtd) Howard Gutman

 Former US Ambassador to Belgium

 

Gutman

Who is Europe and why are they saying those things about us?  Who is the second most dangerous threat to the U.S.-European relationship? Is Brexit the divorce that never happens?  How did the US snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the US-EU TTIP Trade Deal?  What none of the politicians know about climate and the Paris deal?  European terrorism and how to stop it?  The Odd Couples:  Merkel-Macron; Orban- Duda; Trump-Tillerson. An inside Washington perspective on other parts of the world as well.

Ambassador (Rtd) Howard Gutman served as the United States Ambassador to Belgium from 2009-2013.  One leading European newspaper dubbed him “the Ambassador who makes us love America again!”  while another described him as “the most popular Ambassador ever.”  A former United States Supreme Court law clerk (for Justices Stewart and O’Connor), former Special Assistant to the Director of the FBI (William Webster) for Counter-intelligence and Counter-terrorism; and former 27 year leading attorney is Washington DC (Williams & Connolly), Ambassador (Rtd) Gutman is now the Managing Director of The Gutman Group, an international consulting and investment firm.  www.gutmangroup.com  He is a regular commentator on Fox Business News and Belgian television, a frequent speaker for companies and associations in Belgium, London and the US, serves on the board of directors of a publicly-traded Belgian company and privately held U.S. ventures, and publishes often in the Washington Post, Politico, and the Huffington Post on both US politics and geopolitics.  Along with his wife Dr. Michelle Loewinger, Ambassador (Rtd) Gutman spends roughly one week/month in Belgium and the remainder in Washington DC.

 

Location: The Pacific Club ( 4110 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach, CA 92660)

Time: 5:45 PM Registration/ Reception

6:45 PM Dinner / Speaker Program

$50 Student/ $70 WACOC Member/ $85 Non-Member

Valet Complimentary

 

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EU in the US: “The European Union at a Crossroads”

Save the Date

{ July 28, 2016 }

EU in the US: “The European Union at a Crossroads”

 

EUlogoWACA logo

 

 

 

 

The Consuls General of Romania – Eugen Chivu, Poland – Mariusz Brymora, and Germany – Hans Jörg Neumann, will speak at the event and discuss the current situation in Europe, referring to issues such as TTIP, the refugee crisis, Brexit, and the Ukrainian crisis.

SEEFest Closing Night

Eugen Chivu – Consul General of Romania in Los Angeles

Mr. Eugen Chivu took office as Consul General, Head of Consulate General of Romania in Los Angeles in the month of February 2013.
Before taking over as Consul General of Romania in Los Angeles, Mr. Eugen Chivu has practiced law, serving as a Bucharest Bar member within the Romanian National Bar Association. During his career as a lawyer from June 1994 to July 2012, Mr. Eugen Chivu was Managing Partner of the Law firm Chivu & Associates SCA in Bucharest, Romania.
Since June 1990, Mr. Eugen Chivu served as a member of Romanian diplomatic corps, holding various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From July 1992 until May 1994, Mr. Eugen Chivu has held the position of Head of Private International Law Office in the International Law and Treaties Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania. Between June 1990 and June 1991, he served as adviser in the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania. At the same time, his diplomatic career included responsibilities of participating in and contributing to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).
He graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest in 1984, thereafter continuing his diplomatic studies at the Diplomatic Institute of International Studies at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom (1991), studies on European integration legislation, the legal basis of the market economy and human rights protection in Europe at the European University Institute (Academy of European Law) Florence, Italy (1993), and intellectual property at the Robert Schuman University, Strasbourg, France (1996).

Mr. Eugen Chivu is married to Floarea Chivu, and has one son, Eugen Octavian. He was born in Saliste, Sibiu, on June 10, 1959.

Neumann_Hans Joerg 1

Hans Jörg Neumann – Consul General of Germany in Los Angeles

Hans Jörg Neumann has served as German Consul General in Los Angeles since July 2015.

Prior to this, he was German Ambassador to Benin in West Africa. His extensive knowledge of the United States was acquired during his time as an exchange student with the American Field Service in Pennsylvania in 1974, and while serving as Political Advisor and Head of Consular and Legal Affairs at the German Embassy in Washington from 2001 to 2005.
Mr. Neumann joined the German Foreign Service in 1987. He has served as Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Bucharest, Head of Consular and Legal Affairs in Prague as well as in the Economic Department of the German Embassy in Cairo and as Foreign Desk Officer for the Maghreb countries.

Before starting his career in the German Foreign Service, Mr. Neumann studied law in Frankfurt and Lausanne, Switzerland. From 1984 to 1985, he spent a year at the Ecole National d’ Administration in Paris. He practiced law in Frankfurt from 1986 to 1987.

Mr. Neumann was born in Berlin and has three daughters.

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Mariusz M. Brymora – Consul General of Poland in Los Angeles

Mariusz M. Brymora was appointed the Consul General of Poland in Los Angeles on September 7, 2013.
Before coming to California, he worked as the Deputy Director of the Department of Public and Cultural Diplomacy of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he supervised the promotional activity of Polish diplomatic missions, including 23 Polish Institutes.
Earlier he had served as the Polish consul in Chicago (1999 – 2003) and as public affairs councilor of the Embassy of Poland in Washington D.C. (2005 – 2009).
Consul Brymora is a graduate of the Faculty of English of Maria Skłodowska Curie University in Lublin, Poland, and holder of postgraduate diplomas in British Culture and History from Warsaw University and Ruskin College, Oxford (England).
Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he used to work as an academic teacher and translator of English. His literary translations include two short stories by Bernard Malamud published by Wydawnictwo Literackie in Kraków in 1989. From 1994 until 1998 he served as a councilman and deputy mayor of his hometown Radom, Poland.
He is the co-author and editor of 400 Years of Polish Immigrants in America – the album published in 2008 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first Poles’ arrival at Jamestown, Virginia. He also wrote a short history of The Embassy of Poland in Washington DC, published in 2009. While working in Warsaw, he supervised the screenplay and production of Polska?Tak! – a short documentary on Poland’s image as seen through the eyes of the world’s greatest cultural celebrities.
Consul General M. Brymora is married and has two adult children.

 

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Complimentary Parking Offered

Price: Members & Student $45/ Non-members & Guests $70

5:45pm Reception/Registration | 6:45pm Dinner | 7:00pm Program Begins

Location: Orange County Mining Company – 10000 Crawford Canyon Rd Orange, CA 92705

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