Join us as we discuss the evolving role of foreign aid - specifically its use as a tool in conflict and crisis management. What is the role of U.S. soft power on conflict resolution and regional stability and development? What are the successes and failures of post-aid intervention strategies and the role of local actors (Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, or others)? How can the U.S. better align its foreign aid programs with sustainable peacebuilding strategies? Will the U.S. continue to play a leading role in foreign aid and conflict resolution, or alternative models will emerge in the future?
Moderated by: Dr. Hakan Özoğlu, Director of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Central Florida
In-Person Event
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
3:00 – 4:30 PM EST
UCF Global, Room 101
This event is free and open to the public.
Advanced Registration is REQUIRED. Please REGISTER HERE. For additional details download the Event Flyer.
We look forward to seeing you there!
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Speaker: Owen H. Kirby, International Republican Institute Regional Director for North Africa and Middle East (MENA), Former Director of Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), and GPII Non-Resident Fellow
Owen Kirby is the International Republican Institute (IRI) Regional Director for North Africa and Middle East (MENA). Owen joined the Institute in 1998 as an Assistant Program Officer overseeing activities in support of the Oslo Accords in the West Bank-Gaza. In 2001, he became IRI’s inaugural MENA regional director and oversaw the opening of the Institute’s first offices in the region, including in Afghanistan and Iraq. In January 2002, Owen led IRI’s initial mission to Afghanistan; the start of a 20-year IRI engagement in the country.
In 2004, after the first presidential elections in post-Taliban Afghanistan, Owen joined the Administration of George W. Bush, serving as Senior Advisor in the Office of the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) at the U.S. Department of State (DOS), managing a team and portfolio of democracy and political reform initiatives in 17 countries.
In 2009, Owen deployed to Afghanistan as DOS Senior Governance Advisor in Kandahar Province’s Spin Boldak District, embedded with U.S. elements of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), where he was responsible for relations with and support to local Afghan government institutions and officials.
In 2018, following a return to IRI as Senior Advisor, Owen joined the Admininistration of Donald J. Trump in the U.S. Agency for International Development, serving as the director of the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI). In 2021, Owen returned to IRI as a Senior Regional Advisor and then Director of MENA.
Educated at Trinity College Dublin (BA) and the University of Limerick, Ireland (MA), Owen is a recipient of the USAID’s Superior Honor Award, U.S. Department of State’s Superior Service and Expeditionary Service awards, the U.S. Army’s Commander’s Award for Civilian Service and Afghanistan’s Ghazi Mir Bach Khan Medal for Government Service.
Owen is an occasional contributor to publications including Modern Diplomacy; the Times of Israel http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/owen-kirby/; the Jerusalem Post (http://www.jpost.com/Author/Owen-Kirby); and The Hill (http://thehill.com/search/site/Owen%20Kirby). His commentaries have also appeared in the Washington Times, Baltimore Sun, Middle East Quarterly, Middle East Insight, Chicago Tribune, Providence Journal, and the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
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