Institute of Current World Affairs
@icwa.org
We advance American understanding of international cultures and affairs by sending young professionals abroad on two-year independent writing fellowships.
Pinned
Meet our fellows! And if you're a past or current fellow who has been left off this list, please request to be added 🧭 go.bsky.app/SsnQaBf
"Riding the escalators from the Central to Mid-Levels districts & staring up at the towering office buildings & residential complexes, I was struck by the city’s vertical orientation." Former fellow @steventagle.com shares photos from a 2013 trip to Hong Kong on Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/hong-kong
January 12, 2026 at 11:22 AM
"Riding the escalators from the Central to Mid-Levels districts & staring up at the towering office buildings & residential complexes, I was struck by the city’s vertical orientation." Former fellow @steventagle.com shares photos from a 2013 trip to Hong Kong on Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/hong-kong
Reposted by Institute of Current World Affairs
January 7, 2026 at 12:48 AM
Reposted by Institute of Current World Affairs
In May 2013, I took my first trip to the vertically oriented city of Hong Kong. Grateful for the opportunity to revisit some of the photos I took then for @icwa.org's Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/hong-kong
January 9, 2026 at 3:59 PM
In May 2013, I took my first trip to the vertically oriented city of Hong Kong. Grateful for the opportunity to revisit some of the photos I took then for @icwa.org's Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/hong-kong
After Brazil’s largest & deadliest police raid in modern history, political points seem more important to the authorities than truth or public safety, ICWA fellow Rowland Robinson reports from Rio de Janeiro: www.icwa.org/brazil-polic...
Killing for votes - ICWA
After the deadliest law enforcement raid in Brazil's history, political points seem more important than the truth, Rowland Robinson writes.
www.icwa.org
January 9, 2026 at 1:02 PM
After Brazil’s largest & deadliest police raid in modern history, political points seem more important to the authorities than truth or public safety, ICWA fellow Rowland Robinson reports from Rio de Janeiro: www.icwa.org/brazil-polic...
ICWA@100: In 1941, six years before Indian independence & shortly before his deployment in World War II, former fellow Phillips Talbot visited Mahatma Gandhi’s farm in the central village of Sevagram, where Gandhi was surrounded by a community of disciples: compass.icwa.org/p/icwa100-vi...
ICWA@100: Visiting Mahatma Gandhi in colonial India
Phillips Talbot spends time with the visionary leader and his community of disciples in 1941.
compass.icwa.org
January 8, 2026 at 9:53 AM
ICWA@100: In 1941, six years before Indian independence & shortly before his deployment in World War II, former fellow Phillips Talbot visited Mahatma Gandhi’s farm in the central village of Sevagram, where Gandhi was surrounded by a community of disciples: compass.icwa.org/p/icwa100-vi...
After the US Senate voted to end sanctions on Syria, the new state’s future is still far from certain, Andrew Tabler tells Compass's Robert Coalson: compass.icwa.org/p/end-of-us-...
End of US sanctions only a first step for new Syria
A conversation with Andrew Tabler
compass.icwa.org
January 7, 2026 at 11:35 AM
After the US Senate voted to end sanctions on Syria, the new state’s future is still far from certain, Andrew Tabler tells Compass's Robert Coalson: compass.icwa.org/p/end-of-us-...
If AI takes over, what would the future of humanity without work look like? Kuwait may be a good example, artist, teacher & former fellow @brynbarnard.bsky.social writes for Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/kuwait-a-m...
Kuwait: a model for a world without work?
What AI may hold for all of us in the future.
compass.icwa.org
January 6, 2026 at 3:08 PM
If AI takes over, what would the future of humanity without work look like? Kuwait may be a good example, artist, teacher & former fellow @brynbarnard.bsky.social writes for Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/kuwait-a-m...
Museums all over Paris are celebrating the centennial of the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative & Industrial Arts that broadcast French style around the world & helped usher in the modern age, Elizabeth Wise writes for Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/art-deco-m...
Art Deco mania spreads through Paris
The movement first swept the world a century ago.
compass.icwa.org
January 5, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Museums all over Paris are celebrating the centennial of the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative & Industrial Arts that broadcast French style around the world & helped usher in the modern age, Elizabeth Wise writes for Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/art-deco-m...
ICWA@100: Former fellow Smith Hempstone narrates an adventurous 1957 road trip from Ethiopia to Nairobi with tantalizing mentions of an interview with Emperor Haile Selassie & Vice President Richard Nixon’s visit to Ethiopia: compass.icwa.org/p/icwa100-ou...
ICWA@100: Out of Ethiopia
Smith Hempstone takes an adventurous road trip from Addis Ababa to Nairobi in 1957.
compass.icwa.org
December 30, 2025 at 12:45 PM
ICWA@100: Former fellow Smith Hempstone narrates an adventurous 1957 road trip from Ethiopia to Nairobi with tantalizing mentions of an interview with Emperor Haile Selassie & Vice President Richard Nixon’s visit to Ethiopia: compass.icwa.org/p/icwa100-ou...
Reposted by Institute of Current World Affairs
Some news: I’m moving to Beirut in May! Incredibly honored and humbled for the opportunity to return to this country & region to research grassroots solutions under difficult economic & political conditions. I’ll be writing monthly dispatches for the ICWA website, so make sure to follow along!
A @nyu.edu graduate and recent Fulbright research fellow in Kyrgyzstan, journalist Diana Kruzman @dkruzman.bsky.social will investigate how communities in Lebanon adapt & even thrive after breakdown, & she’ll report on wider developments in the Middle East.
December 23, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Some news: I’m moving to Beirut in May! Incredibly honored and humbled for the opportunity to return to this country & region to research grassroots solutions under difficult economic & political conditions. I’ll be writing monthly dispatches for the ICWA website, so make sure to follow along!
Reposted by Institute of Current World Affairs
Congratulations to the new @icwa.org fellows!!
We’re delighted to announce the appointment of three outstanding new fellows who will begin their fellowships next year: Mahli Knutson, Diana Kruzman @dkruzman.bsky.social and Sabrina Ochoa www.icwa.org/icwa-2026-fe...
December 23, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Congratulations to the new @icwa.org fellows!!
Despite a new homeless welcome center, the 10,000+ Fortaleza residents without housing are often stuck between disorganized public services, violent gangs that limit their movement & constant petty violence between one another, Andrew Weil Fellow Rowland Robinson reports www.icwa.org/brazil-homes...
In Brazil, a homeless center offers sanctuary with mixed results - ICWA
ICWA fellow Rowland reports from Fortaleza on a homeless welcome center that provides daily care and community.
www.icwa.org
December 29, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Despite a new homeless welcome center, the 10,000+ Fortaleza residents without housing are often stuck between disorganized public services, violent gangs that limit their movement & constant petty violence between one another, Andrew Weil Fellow Rowland Robinson reports www.icwa.org/brazil-homes...
ICWA@100: Former fellow Barbara Bright Novovitch took the pulse of young people in Czechoslovakia in early 1969, shortly after the Soviet invasion ended the Prague Spring in August 1968: compass.icwa.org/p/icwa100-th...
ICWA@100: The Students of Prague
Barbara Bright Novovitch takes the pulse of young people in Czechoslovakia in 1969 following the Soviet invasion.
compass.icwa.org
December 24, 2025 at 1:20 PM
ICWA@100: Former fellow Barbara Bright Novovitch took the pulse of young people in Czechoslovakia in early 1969, shortly after the Soviet invasion ended the Prague Spring in August 1968: compass.icwa.org/p/icwa100-th...
We’re delighted to announce the appointment of three outstanding new fellows who will begin their fellowships next year: Mahli Knutson, Diana Kruzman @dkruzman.bsky.social and Sabrina Ochoa www.icwa.org/icwa-2026-fe...
December 23, 2025 at 6:58 AM
We’re delighted to announce the appointment of three outstanding new fellows who will begin their fellowships next year: Mahli Knutson, Diana Kruzman @dkruzman.bsky.social and Sabrina Ochoa www.icwa.org/icwa-2026-fe...
Last days of the Soviet Union - photography by Jennifer Katzka on Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/last-days-...
December 19, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Last days of the Soviet Union - photography by Jennifer Katzka on Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/last-days-...
Getting things wrong in Botswana: In a 1992 dispatch, former ICWA fellow Casey Kelso describes what can happen when you don't follow good local advice: compass.icwa.org/p/icwa100-bo...
ICWA@100: Botswana experience
Casey Kelso on a press officer's guidance in 1992 and what can happen when you don't follow good local advice.
compass.icwa.org
December 17, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Getting things wrong in Botswana: In a 1992 dispatch, former ICWA fellow Casey Kelso describes what can happen when you don't follow good local advice: compass.icwa.org/p/icwa100-bo...
In Fortaleza, overwhelmed outpatient clinics attempt to provide addiction & mental health care services. The city’s 16 clinics facilitate 55,000 meetings a month w deteriorating buildings, lack of medications & delays in scheduling appointments, Rowland Robinson reports: www.icwa.org/brazil-homes...
In Brazil, a homeless center offers sanctuary with mixed results - ICWA
ICWA fellow Rowland reports from Fortaleza on a homeless welcome center that provides daily care and community.
www.icwa.org
December 16, 2025 at 11:15 AM
In Fortaleza, overwhelmed outpatient clinics attempt to provide addiction & mental health care services. The city’s 16 clinics facilitate 55,000 meetings a month w deteriorating buildings, lack of medications & delays in scheduling appointments, Rowland Robinson reports: www.icwa.org/brazil-homes...
Two kinds of state solution: After the Gaza ceasefire, is there a different path to peace, toward the coexistence of a sovereign Jewish state & two Palestinian statelets with limited sovereignty? Steven Maly looks at the precedent of Native American tribes in the US: compass.icwa.org/p/the-two-ki...
The two kinds of state solution
After the Gaza war ceasefire, might there be a creative way to ensure peace?
compass.icwa.org
December 15, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Two kinds of state solution: After the Gaza ceasefire, is there a different path to peace, toward the coexistence of a sovereign Jewish state & two Palestinian statelets with limited sovereignty? Steven Maly looks at the precedent of Native American tribes in the US: compass.icwa.org/p/the-two-ki...
Portugal - photography by Jennifer Katzka on Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/portugal
December 12, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Portugal - photography by Jennifer Katzka on Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/portugal
When democracy doesn’t work: In a 1983 dispatch from Honduras, former ICWA fellow Kim Conroy reports about a village’s torturous ordeal opening its first health clinic, which elders blame on the end of military rule. compass.icwa.org/p/icwa100-wh...
ICWA@100: When Democracy Doesn’t Work
Kim Conroy on a Honduran village's struggles to open its first health clinic in 1983
compass.icwa.org
December 11, 2025 at 6:18 AM
When democracy doesn’t work: In a 1983 dispatch from Honduras, former ICWA fellow Kim Conroy reports about a village’s torturous ordeal opening its first health clinic, which elders blame on the end of military rule. compass.icwa.org/p/icwa100-wh...
Biking through the Republic of Georgia from the edge of Russian-occupied South Ossetia to Gori, Josef Stalin’s childhood home, Matthew Stevenson reflects on how Russia's 2008 invasion of Georgia marked a decisive break with the West: compass.icwa.org/p/here-begin...
‘Here begins the Great Game’
The scars of Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia
compass.icwa.org
December 10, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Biking through the Republic of Georgia from the edge of Russian-occupied South Ossetia to Gori, Josef Stalin’s childhood home, Matthew Stevenson reflects on how Russia's 2008 invasion of Georgia marked a decisive break with the West: compass.icwa.org/p/here-begin...
The institute is thrilled to announce the 2026-2028 Rydell-Frisa Disarmament Fellowship, which will examine the state of global nuclear disarmament education, with immersion in a country or region to be determined next year. We are very grateful to Randy Rydell and Beth Frisa for making it possible.
December 9, 2025 at 1:15 PM
The institute is thrilled to announce the 2026-2028 Rydell-Frisa Disarmament Fellowship, which will examine the state of global nuclear disarmament education, with immersion in a country or region to be determined next year. We are very grateful to Randy Rydell and Beth Frisa for making it possible.
While Fortaleza’s new homeless center provides exceptional basic health assistance, legal counsel & psychosocial support, it doesn't seem to be a launching pad to housing, employment or societal reintegration, Andrew Weil Fellow Rowland Robinson reports from Brazil: www.icwa.org/brazil-homes...
In Brazil, a homeless center offers sanctuary with mixed results - ICWA
ICWA fellow Rowland reports from Fortaleza on a homeless welcome center that provides daily care and community.
www.icwa.org
December 8, 2025 at 3:15 PM
While Fortaleza’s new homeless center provides exceptional basic health assistance, legal counsel & psychosocial support, it doesn't seem to be a launching pad to housing, employment or societal reintegration, Andrew Weil Fellow Rowland Robinson reports from Brazil: www.icwa.org/brazil-homes...
Russia's invasion of Ukraine & concerns about Chinese mineral dependence have revived the Nussir copper mine project. It was listed as an EU Critical Raw Minerals Act “strategic project,” & construction restarted in July, @brettvsimpson.bsky.social reports from Norway: www.icwa.org/norway-sami-...
The Norwegian paradox - ICWA
Indigenous Sami activists protest the Norwegian government's "green colonialism" at the Nussir copper mine, Brett Simpson reports from Norway.
www.icwa.org
December 6, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Russia's invasion of Ukraine & concerns about Chinese mineral dependence have revived the Nussir copper mine project. It was listed as an EU Critical Raw Minerals Act “strategic project,” & construction restarted in July, @brettvsimpson.bsky.social reports from Norway: www.icwa.org/norway-sami-...
Since Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, The Center for International Theatre Development's Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings has organized 800 events involving Ukrainian dramatic texts in 34 countries and 19 languages, John Freedman writes for Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/opposing-m...
Opposing might with write
Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings expand the power of theater.
compass.icwa.org
December 3, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Since Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, The Center for International Theatre Development's Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings has organized 800 events involving Ukrainian dramatic texts in 34 countries and 19 languages, John Freedman writes for Compass: compass.icwa.org/p/opposing-m...