Political economist Phillip Lipscy spoke recently with Estrategia, a leading Chilean finance and business publication, about the politics of the financial crisis in the Euro Area, as well as what kind of implications it might have for the U.S. and Chinese economies. (Spanish-language interview)

The Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship hosted an international forum at Stanford University on Innovation Beyond Boundaries: Partnerships for Advancing Smart, Green Living from June 29 to 30. The forum gathered leading thinkers and practitioners to advance understanding and practice on the important topic of public-private partnerships for innovation. Dr. Kristina Johnson, former Under Secretary of Energy, and Dr. Curtis Carlson, President and CEO of SRI International provided the opening and closing keynotes respectively.

Around the world, innovation at the intersection of information technologies and clean energy is a major activity. The challenges for smart, green living require innovation across organizations, industries, disciplines, and countries. Some of the most important efforts are not those of government or industry alone but from public-private partnerships. These kinds of partnerships were actively discussed at the forum. Throughout the two-day event, experts from academia, government, and industry addressed lessons from the United States, Asia, and Europe.

Key questions probed by the speakers and the participants included roles of public-private partnerships and other forms of collaboration playing to advance innovations in smart, green industries, such as in the built environment and intelligent transportation; innovations in processes, models, and platforms that are leading the way; the results from living labs, leading cities, and other outstanding examples of public-private partnerships around the world; and the implications for business strategies and the impact of government policies to nurture advancement in these partnerships.

This forum was an invitation-only exchange in which approximately 70 participants shared experiences about multi-company collaborations, public-private partnerships, non-profit partnerships, and government-funded consortia.

PESD's Richard Morse gave a talk titled "Remaining Uncertainties in the California’s Cap and Trade Program” during the summit's "California’s Carbon Policy – Implementing a California-Specific or California and Regional Cap-and-Trade" session.

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Precourt Energy Efficiency Center hosted the 2011 Silicon Valley Energy Summit held on Friday, June 24, 2011 at Stanford University.

The Korean Studies Program (KSP) at Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) announces that Katharina Zellweger, currently the North Korea country director for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), will be the program’s 2011–2012 Pantech Fellow.

Zellweger joins KSP this November after five years of living in Pyongyang, where she works side-by-side with a large North Korean staff on aid and development projects. Through her SDC and earlier work, she has witnessed modest economic and social changes not visible to most North Korea observers. Her research at Shorenstein APARC will draw on her over fifteen years of humanitarian work in North Korea and explore how aid intervention can stimulate positive sustainable change there.

While heading SDC’s Pyongyang office, Zellweger has focused on sustainable agricultural production and income generation projects. She is well versed in observing and reporting on political, social, and economic trends and developments. As the Swiss government’s top official living in North Korea, Zellweger also represents her country at official meetings with North Korean leaders when the Swiss ambassador, who resides in Beijing, is unavailable.

Prior to joining the SDC, Zellweger worked for nearly thirty years at the Caritas Internationalis office in Hong Kong, the center of its international activities. She organized and led aid and development projects related to North Korea for ten years there. Her work included collaborating with the media to generate national and international awareness about North Korean humanitarian issues.

Zellweger holds an MA in international administration from the School of International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, and a Swiss diploma in trade, commerce, and business administration. She also apprenticed with Switzerland’s national agricultural management program.

In 2006, the Vatican named Zellweger as a Dame of St. Gregory the Great, and in 2005 South Korea’s Tji Hak-soon Justice and Peace Foundation honored her with its annual award. She is an active member of the International Women’s Forum and of the Kadoorie Charitable Trust.

“No one in the world has more experience than Director Zellweger in dealing with North Korean humanitarian and development issues,” says KSP director Gi-Wook Shin. “We are delighted that she will join us to reflect on and teach about her experiences and insights gained over a lifetime of work in that troubled country.”

Established in 2004, the Pantech Fellowship for Mid-Career Professionals, generously funded by Pantech Co., Ltd., and Curitel Communications, Inc. (known as the Pantech Group), is intended to cultivate a diverse international community of scholars and professionals committed to and capable of grappling with challenges posed by developments in Korea.

Since news of the March 11 Great Tohoku Earthquake broke, the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center, which has deep, longstanding ties to Japan, has closely followed and responded to this ongoing situation.

“We are still trying to absorb the magnitude and meaning of an earthquake that dwarfed anything seen in Japan—a country that is known for seismic activity—for probably more than a millennium,” said Daniel C. Sneider, associate director for research at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC), while moderating an April 26 seminar co-sponsored by the School of Earth Sciences and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI).

It is too soon to know the full domestic and global impact of the March 11 Great Tohoku Earthquake and its ensuing tsunami and nuclear accident. Japan is grappling to aid victims, to resolve the danger at the Fukushima nuclear complex, and to move forward with rebuilding amidst political debates and disrupted systems. The global supply chain suffered setbacks of unknown scale, and the disaster-readiness of the world’s other earthquake-prone coastal areas have come under scrutiny. Since news of the earthquake broke, Shorenstein APARC, which has deep, longstanding ties to Japan, has closely followed and responded to this ongoing situation.

During a March 21 CISAC event about the nuclear crisis, Shorenstein APARC director emeritus Daniel I. Okimoto predicted that Japan would weather the blow to its economy and emerge with a “new sense of national mission.” The next week, Michio Harada, Deputy Counsel General at San Francisco’s Consulate General of Japan, joined a Shorenstein APARC discussion before an overflowing audience of concerned students and interested public on the future of Japan’s energy, economy, and politics. Participants agreed that the disaster could have long-term government and policy impacts and that resolving the nuclear situation was the most immediate concern. Despite the challenges, they predicted that Japan would ultimately recover.

The Nuclear Crisis in Japan Seminar (video)
March 21, 2011

During an April 22–23 conference organized by the center’s Stanford Project on Japanese Entrepreneurship (STAJE), a panel of Japan scholars discussed the implications of the disaster for business and research trends. Takeo Hoshi of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) suggested that the post-disaster redistribution of human capital could potentially accelerate Japan's long-term growth. UCSD scholar and STAJE Academic Advisory Group member Ulrike Schaede offered a detailed analysis of the sometimes hidden but vital place of Japanese firms in the global supply chain and the impact of the earthquake on that role.

Masahiko Aoki, an FSI senior fellow affiliated with Shorenstein APARC, presented at the April 26 seminar moderated by Sneider, the second in a two-day series about the domestic and global impacts of the earthquake. He offered insights into social, economic, and institutional aspects of the March events, noting the element of human error involved in the Fukushima accident. Aoki suggested that the situation presented an opportunity for significant institutional reform in Japan, including a reorganization of the country’s nuclear energy system.

Great Tohoku, Japan Disaster Symposium (video)
April 26, 2011

Above all, Shorenstein APARC believes that Japan will recover, and its connection to its friends, colleagues, and affiliates there remains an important center priority. In addition to frequent telephone and e-mail communication, the center will reconnect in person with a large number of its Japan affiliates in September during the annual Stanford Kyoto Trans-Asian Dialogue (DISCONTINUED).

Media commentary

“Japan earthquake update” (audio)
March 14, 2011
KQED Forum discussion featuring Daniel I. Okimoto

“Quake in Japan shouldn’t hurt U.S. economy” (video)
March 14, 2011
KTVU interview with Robert Eberhart

“Are Japanese news media asking tough questions about nuclear crisis?” (text)
March 16, 2011
About.com article featuring commentary by Daniel C. Sneider

“After the quake: Implications for Japan's political future” (text)
March 18, 2011
National Bureau for Asian Research interview with Daniel C. Sneider

“Ambassador from Silicon Valley negotiates the storm in Japan”
(text no longer available)
March 20, 2011
San Jose Mercury News article with commentary by Daniel C. Sneider

“Japan will rebound, nuclear energy won't diminish, Stanford specialists say” (text)
March 22, 2011
Stanford Report article featuring Daniel I. Okimoto