From 27 – 29 October, 2017, Academics Stand Against Poverty co-organized a four day conference covering topics related to global justice in partnership with Yale University and Global Financial Integrity. The title of this year’s conference was Onslaughts on the Poor: Corruption, Emissions, Violence.
The conference focused on three themes:
- Illicit Financial Flows (27 October)
- Climate Justice and the new Enterprise Principles (28 October)
- Poverty, Humanitarian Crises, War and Preemption (29 October)
Highlights of the first day included the awarding of the 2017 Amartya Sen Prize, a video address and discussion with Jeffrey Sachs, and a rousing address by special guest speaker Ralph Nader in the afternoon, titled “A Corporate Crime Wave Without Punishment: Can Democracy and Law Fight Back?”. The ever-optimistic Mr. Nader drew attention to the power small organized groups still have to make positive changes in society and encouraged the audience to deepen its involvement in activist activities. After his speech Mr. Nader signed copies of his book Breaking Through Power: It\’s Easier Than You Think
The second day of the conference featured attorneys Julia Olson and Phil Gregory from the landmark case Juliana v. United States, a constitutional climate lawsuit brought by youth against the United States government.
Members from ASAP Chapters participated throughout the conference as guest speakers, including Maykel Ponçoni and Alan Pereira of ASAP Brazil, Francisco Saffie and Nicole Selamé of ASAP Chile, Diana Velica of ASAP Romania, Mladjo Ivanovic of ASAP USA, Maria Ginevra Cattaneo of ASAP Italy, and Pahlaj Moolio of ASAP Cambodia.
The conference was preceded by a day of networking and workshops for ASAP Chapters on 26 October.