Agora Events

Gwen Millius

Named after the marketplace — the center of civic life — in ancient Athens, Agora's events are designed to meet the changing interests and varied schedules of City Club members.

Agora offers dynamic and informal small-group programs on an extremely diverse array of issues. Lectures, discussions, tours and more explore topics ranging from agriculture to urban planning, from economics to social dynamics. Agora offer topic-specific programs around themes such as heath care. The Citizens Read's book group reads and discusses books written by Portland or Northwest authors - who often join the group for discussion - or that focus on topics relevant to the city or region. Whatever your interest, Agora can address it.

If you would like to propose an idea, develop a program or join the committee, click here.

The Corporate Citizen and Campaign Finance

Agora

Date:

September 7, 2010 - 6:30pm - 8:00pm

The Bipartisan Café, 7901 SE Stark St., Portland OR 97215

In January 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in the Citizen’s United v. the Federal Election Commission case that seems certain to intensify corporate influence in our democracy to an unprecedented degree. The Court struck down restraints on how corporations may spend money on political ads, reasoning that corporations can exercise first amendment rights like any natural person. Oregon will likely feel a greater effect from this ruling than many other states because of its initiative process.

Committee:

Agora Steering Committee

Human Trafficking: The Pimp and His Game

Agora

Date:

September 13, 2010 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Kell's Irish Pub, 112 SW 2nd Ave.

City Club's Agora committee invites you to join Portland Police Sergeant Doug Justus and Detective Meghan Burkeen, who will discuss the role of the pimp in human trafficking. Sergeant Justus was featured on Dan Rather's television special Pornland; Detective Burkeen was interviewed in the movie Playground: The Child Sex Trade in America. Both are very involved in anti-human trafficking efforts.

Free and open to the public.
RSVP requested, 503-228-7231 x110 or amy@pdxcityclub.org

Committee:

Agora Steering Committee

The Mending Wall: Immigration and Human Rights in Perspective

Agora

Banksy

Date:

September 17, 2010 - 5:30pm - 7:30pm

Portland City Hall, City Council Chambers, 1221 SW 4th Ave

What does good immigration policy look like? How do we reconcile the prerogatives of states to control immigration without infringing on the rights of immigrant and refugee communities? Can we establish immigration laws that are in line with international human rights standards and that ensure a people’s continued access to their cultural heritage?

Committee:

Agora Steering Committee

Beyond Bars: Re-envisioning the Prison System

Agora

Date:

September 19, 2010 - 1:00pm - 2:30pm

Central Library, 801 S.W. 10th Ave., U.S. Bank Room

What role do prisons serve in our country? Is it possible to have a country where people are safe, secure and accountable to the laws without relying primarily on a prison system? Walidah Imarisha, author and adjunct professor in Portland State University’s Black Studies Department will present a brief multimedia history of prisons and alternative justice systems. She will then lead a conversation in which program participants will explore what they know about prisons and discuss alternatives to incarceration.

Committee:

Agora Steering Committee