For nearly a century, the world’s most influential political leaders have come to The New School to share their candid assessments of international affairs, global economic policy, and the path toward peace and stability. This tradition is embodied by the series World Leaders at The New School, which has over the past year welcomed heads of state including President Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso of Peru, UNASUR Secretary-General Nestor Kirchner and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The series continued in 2011 when New School president David E. Van Zandt welcomed two of the most dynamic leaders in international politics: President Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai of Nepal who visited our campus on Friday, September 23.

President Correa spoke about Ecuador's historic decision to permanently forgo the extraction of the YasunÍ Itt oil fields as a contribution to better management of natural resources and reduction of climate change.

Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, the recently elected Prime Minister of Nepal, discussed how Marxism is relevant not only to Nepal, but to current global affairs.