Baylor Libraries Continue Conversation on Afghanistan's Next Chapter

Contact: Carl Flynn, Baylor Libraries and ITS
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WACO, Texas (Sept. 15, 2022) – The Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society at Baylor University and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame will present a panel discussion on “Afghanistan: The Next Chapter” at 3 p.m. CT on Friday, Sept. 16.

A distinguished panel will join the discussion virtually. The event can be viewed either in-person on the Baylor campus in the Jesse H. Jones Library Room 200 or online via Zoom. Those wishing to watch online should register at baylor.edu/library/nextchapter to be sent credentials prior to the event.

As a sequel to “Facing Forward: Afghanistan After America” hosted immediately after the regime change, panelists will discuss the status of Afghanistan one year after the Taliban regained power. Speakers will address the impact of the changes that have occurred and how they believe the new government will continue to shape the country, its people, and foreign relations.

Each expert panelist will offer unique perspectives and insights on some of the most pressing issues facing Afghanistan today. Participants include:

• Palwasha Kakar serves as interim director for religion and inclusive societies at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). Prior to the Taliban returning to power in 2021, Kakar headed The Gender Studies Institute at Kabul University.
• Aref Dostyar, senior advisor at the University of Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, works with a team of practitioner-scholars on a new initiative, the Afghanistan Peace and Development Research Program. From 2020-2022, he was Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Los Angeles and earlier worked in Afghanistan’s Office of the National Security Council.
• Mohammed Qasim Wafayezada is the former minister of information and culture for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and serves as professor of International Relations at Kanazawa University in Japan.
• Panel moderator Charles Ramsey is a senior fellow, South and Southeast Asia and Middle East action teams, with the Religious Freedom Institute, and associate chaplain and lecturer in the Department of History at Baylor University, where he teaches Introduction to Islam and World Religions among other courses.

For more information, visit baylor.edu/library/nextchapter or contact Kathy Hillman by email at Kathy_Hillman@baylor.edu.

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