11:12 a.m., Feb. 3, 2009----“Tinderbox: Understanding the Middle East” is the theme of the Global Agenda 2009 series to run from late February through May with presentations in Mitchell Hall on the University of Delaware campus in Newark.

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The series, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, is sponsored by the University of Delaware and the World Affairs Council of Wilmington and is moderated by Ralph Begleiter, Edward and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg Professor of Communication and Distinguished Journalist in Residence at UD.

Global Agenda will open Feb. 25 with Mona Eltahawy, an award-winning columnist and international public speaker on Arab and Muslim issues whose topic will be “Understanding the Arabs.”

Other presentations are scheduled:

March 11 - Rami G. Khouri, director of the Issam Fares Institute of Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, “Understanding the Conflict.”

March25 - Dana Shell Smith, U.S. Foreign Service officer who has served in public diplomacy positions in the Middle East, “Dousing the Flames: Public Diplomacy in Action.”

April 8 - John Fisher Burns, London Bureau chief for The New York Times and winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, “Understanding Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

April 22 - Tom Segev, historian and weekly columnist for Ha'aretz, Israel's leading newspaper, “Understanding Israel.”

May 6 - Speaker to be announced at a later date.

May 20 - Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, global environment and energy correspondent for The Economist, “Fueling the Flames: The Politics of Oil.”

The series is free and open to the public. For details, see the Global Agenda Web site.