At the United Nations General Assembly meeting this week, President Obama made clear the imperative of concluding a comprehensive Middle East peace, including a sustainable two-state solution, not only to Israelis, Palestinians, and their neighbors, but to the international community as well. He urged all the parties to move toward final status negotiations despite the obstacles, history, and mistrust.

Please join Middle East Progress, a project of the Center for American Progress, for a discussion with Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a leading congressional voice on Middle East issues, about how to move forward.

"La Americana" is an intimate documentary following Carmen, an undocumented immigrant, on a journey from Bolivia to New York City and back as she struggles to save the life of her ailing daughter. Her unforgettable story is woven into the current immigration crisis in the United States, putting a human face on this timely and controversial issue. Through interviews and a sweeping cinema-vérité narrative, "La Americana" takes its viewers on an international journey following the personal and political tragedy of an undocumented immigrant in New York City.

The Center for American Progress and the Progressive Book Club are pleased to launch "Moving Forward: Foundations of a New Progressive Era," a new authors series that will bring together leading writers and policy experts in a unique in-person and online discussion forum for Americans to learn, connect, and debate progressive ideas.

The series will examine a range of issues emerging from the intersection of history, philosophy, political theory and public policy. Each event will feature a different topic, author, and moderator with live and online audiences ready to debate and discuss the issues raised. The first event in the series will feature historian Kevin Mattson, author of "What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?" Jimmy Carter, America's "Malaise" And the Speech That Should Have Changed the Country.

The Center for American Progress, in partnership with Maria Shriver, has broken new ground with the publication of "The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything." By taking a hard look at how women's changing roles are affecting our major societal institutions, from government and businesses to our faith communities, the report outlines how these institutions rely on outdated models of who works and who cares for our families, and examines how all these parts of the culture have responded to one of the greatest social transformations of our time.

Please join us for a conference convening policymakers, policy analysts, state and local advocates, and many others to discuss and examine the ideas that have been raised by the report.

Please join us for the next event in the Progressivism on Tap series featuring William Galston, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former domestic policy advisor to President Clinton. He will discuss the role of philosophy in shaping public policy and politics in the White House.
 

One of the major developments in the human rights field over the past decade has been the increased application of new technologies, such as satellite imaging, database and data analysis tools, medical forensics, mobile phones, and social networking software to situations in which human rights are under threat. The convergence of scientific innovation and human rights advocacy may well represent a major breakthrough in the struggle for human dignity.

Full realization of that promise will require far greater collaboration between government, business, the scientific community, and human rights NGOs than we have seen to this point. Our panel will describe ways in which new technologies are revolutionizing human rights work and make recommendations for how the U. S. government can play a leadership role in promoting the nexus between technology and human rights.

The global agenda to reduce emissions will require a cleaner, greener transportation system. In a carbon-constrained future, electric vehicles and alternative fuels will be essential. Yet the infrastructure and incentives for clean vehicles remain underdeveloped.

On October 21, join BMW Chairman and CEO Norbert Reithofer and former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer for a conversation moderated by CAP energy expert Julian L. Wong on the future of battery electric vehicles, alternative fuels, and the infrastructure and energy production changes that will be needed to reduce emissions in the transportation sector. From their perspectives as leaders in the business community and the German Green Party, our two guests will explore the challenges and opportunities for the growth of clean transportation in developed and developing economies.

On Monday, October 26, Council of Economic Advisers Chair Christina Romer will speak at the Center about the importance of health care reform in tackling our nation's deficit. President Obama has made clear that reform must be completely paid for in the short run. Even more significant, however, to our fiscal future is whether reform can genuinely and significantly slow the growth rate of health care costs in the long run. Romer, a top economic advisor to President Obama, will describe the Administration's views on how passing the right kind of health care reform will be an essential step in the path to a sound long-term fiscal policy. Specifically, she will discuss some of the proposals currently on the table from the five congressional committees for cost containment and the potential benefits that they might bring to the economy.

Eight years after the initial invasion of Afghanistan by U.S. forces, the Obama administration is still grappling with questions regarding America's strategic interests in Afghanistan and the best strategy for addressing the threat of terrorism and regional instability in South Asia. In recent weeks, the leaking of a resource-intensive counterinsurgency strategy review produced by General Stanley McChrystal, Commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has prompted a reassessment of core assumptions about Afghanistan and sparked an intense debate about the future of Afghanistan policy -- both in the White House and across the country. The prospect of a runoff in the country's disputed presidential election has further complicated policymakers' options.

Please join the Center for American Progress and the New America Foundation for the first in a series of discussions with experts on these and other issues related to Afghanistan, Pakistan and the future of U.S. policy in the region

Please join us for the next event in the Progressivism on Tap series featuring Sam Fulwood III, senior fellow at CAP and former national correspondent and race-relations reporter for the Los Angeles Times. He will discuss civil rights in the Obama era.

Schools around the country are recognizing that community partnerships can be instrumental in increasing student engagement and achievement. By providing an extended menu of social services for students and families and by extending school hours, community schools are able to better prepare students for learning. President Obama has advanced the idea of school-community partnerships through funding for the Promise Neighborhoods program, and legislation to increase federal funding for community schools has been introduced in the House and Senate. The community schools strategy is also being adopted internationally—every public school in England is slated to provide extended services by 2010.

Please join us for an insightful conversation about the community schools strategy and how federal policy can encourage the growth of community schools across the country. The Center for American Progress will release a paper explaining the community school strategy, its benefits, and initiatives in the United States and England.