Cronkite Global Week: Conversations Surrounding Global Challenges

At the invitation of Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, New America’s Future Frontlines Program Director Candace Rondeaux and Afghanistan Observatory Program Coordinator and Scholars Ali Adili, Summia Tora, and Fahim Abed traveled to Downtown Phoenix, Arizona to participate in the “Cronkite Global Week: Conversations Surrounding Global Challenges” organized by the School’s Global Initiatives. They held a conversation about the situation in Afghanistan at the Cronkite School on March 30, 2022.

In addition to the talk on the situation in their country, the Afghanistan Observatory Scholars met with Humphrey Fellows at Cronkite School on March 31, 2022 to exchange stories about the challenges of journalism, reporting and their personal experiences in their respective local settings. The Scholars also visited recently evacuated Afghan families resettled in Phoenix for their individual research projects focusing on experiences of displaced Afghans.

The Afghanistan Observatory program is a joint initiative launched by Future Frontlines and the Fellows programs at New America following the events of August 2021 in Afghanistan to give voice to the millions of Afghans displaced by endless war and grinding poverty.

The conversation largely centered around the restrictions on women’s rights and freedoms, minorities, media freedom and operations in Afghanistan. Watch the full conversation “Cronkite Global Week 2022: New America Afghan Scholars” below.