National Office and branch activities.

• Position: Institute Notes - Calendar

On 23 June a panel discussion was held at Victoria University of Wellington on 'To Hell and Back--The Tragedy of the Rwandan Genocide and the Journey of Renewal'. Broadcaster Kim Hill chaired three panellists: Dr Charles Murigande (Rwanda's high commissioner to New Zealand), Colin Keating (in 1994 New Zealand's permanent representative at the United Nations) and Judge Jonathan Moses (prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and a genocide survivor).

Prime Minister John Key addressed a meeting at VUW on 'New Zealand in the World' on 2 July.

On 9 July, to mark the 23th anniversary of the death of the first supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a panel discussion on 'The Legacy of Imam Khomeini, How does His Influence Impact upon Iran's Modern Foreign Policy?' was held at VUW. The panellists were HE Seyed Majid Tafreshi Khameneh (Iran's ambassador to New Zealand and Fiji) and Seyed Taghi Derhami (former lecturer in Iran and New Zealand).

On 14 October HE Ravdan Bold, Mongolia's ambassador to New Zealand, gave a presentation at Victoria University on 'Foreign Policy of Mongolia: Opportunities and Challenges'.

Auckland

The following meetings were held:

12 Jun Rep Kil Jeong-woo (member of the South Korea National Assembly), 'Inter-Korea Relations and Great Power Dynamics in Northeast Asia'.

18 Aug Gary S. Schofield (writer, artist and producer), 'Art in the History of Conflict'.

On 5 September the branch held its traditional pre-election debate on foreign policy and trade.

Christchurch

The following meetings were held:

17 Jun Wayne Reid (refugee and migrant health manager, Pegasus Health), 'Language, Culture, International Business: Pitfalls and Pratfalls'.

24 Jul HE Park Yongkyu (Republic of Korea's ambassador in New Zealand), 'The Korean Peninsula and Korea-New Zealand Relations'.

20 Aug Yves Lafoy (official representative of New Caledonia in New Zealand), 'New Caledonia's Road to Emancipation'.

1 Oct Dr Evgeny Pavlov (associate professor in German, Russian and history, University of Canterbury), 'Putin's Russia and the Crisis in Ukraine'.

Hawke's Bay

The following meetings were held:

5 Aug HE Yosef Livne (Israeli ambassador in New Zealand), 'Israel's Foreign Policy in the 21st Century'.

4 Sep Dr David Capie (director of research, Centre for Strategic Studies, VUW), 'South-east Asia and the Changing Region: Towards Community or Towards Conflict?'

Timaru

On 21 July Prof Bill Harris (University of Otago) spoke to the...