The purpose was twofold: 1) to articulate the challenges facing small states in today's complex world, and 2) to involve conference participants in plenary events and panel sessions that formulate possible resolutions to these challenges.

Participatory Format 

Panel sessions facilitated by scholars, practitioners and creative artists allowed students to view the world from the perspectives of small states, to examine varied expressions of culture and identity, and to explore alternative arrangements for bottom-up globalization. The conference was organized around four threads:

• Small States and Global Forces

• Sources of War/Cultures of Peace in Small States

• Trade and Equity Markets in Small States

• Globalization and Local Cultures

  Featured Highlights

• Essay Competition for nationals of small states (brought 5 winners to Tufts) 

• Student Papers on small states and global forces

• Panel Sessions on trade, the Hague Agenda for Peace & Justice, and more.

• Film Festival and Symposium on globalization and local cultures

• Photojournalist Exhibition of works lent by the Saba Press of New York 

• International Relations Career Fair organized by Tufts Alumni Advisory Group

Tufts University took this opportunity to invite undergraduate and graduate students from around the world to join us in directing greater attention to the issues affecting small states in this current era of globalization.  We hosted this event on our campus in Medford, Massachusetts, USA.

The Conference was sponsored by Tufts University's Program in International Relations with the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the Interdisciplinary Program in International Letters and Visual Studies.