Programme

Peter John Lavelle is a senior journalist and host of “CrossTalk”, presented by the English-language channel RT, a global multilingual television news network (formerly "Russia Today"). Lavelle, from California, is now based in Moscow. Prior to “CrossTalk”, Peter Lavelle hosted RT's programs “IMHO” (In My Humble Opinion), “In Context”, and a business program called "On the Money." Lavelle received a B.A. in International Economic Relations, an M.A. in European history, and completed Ph.D. courses in Studies in European Economic History from the University of California, Davis. He was a Fulbright Research Fellow at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland. He has been living in Eastern Europe and Russia for over 25 years, working as a lecturer at the University of Warsaw, a market researcher for Colgate-Palmolive, and an investment analyst for brokerage firms, including Russia’s Alfa Bank. Lavelle has contributed articles to a number of publications including Asia Times Online, The Moscow Times, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, United Press International, The National Interest, and Current History. Lavelle also was the author of "Untimely Thoughts", an electronic newsletter.

Romano Prodi born in Scandiano (Reggio Emilia, Italy) in 1939. Married with Flavia Franzoni. They have two sons, Giorgio and Antonio. Professor of Industrial Economics, Bologna University In 1974 he was a visiting professor at Harvard University and at the Stanford Research Institute. From November 1978 to March 1979, Romano Prodi Minister of Industry. From November 1982 to October 1989, and from 1993 to 1994, he was chairman and CEO of the Institute for Industrial Reconstruction (IRI), which was the largest Italian public holding. In February 1995 he founded the "Olive tree" centre-left coalition, which designated him as its candidate for premiership. The coalition won the 1996 election and, in May 1996, he was appointed Prime Minister. He remained in office until October 1998 enabling Italy to meet the Maastricht criteria. From 1999 to 2005 he has been President of the European Commission. In 2006 Romano Prodi elected leader of the centre-left coalition and after a victory in the 2006 elections became Prime Minister, until May 8, 2008. He is, since then, President of the Foundation for Worldwide Cooperation and in July 2008 he has been appointed as Chairman of the United Nations-African Union High-level Panel for Peacekeeping in Africa. From February 2009 to December 2013 he was Professor at-large at Brown University (USA). From 2010 he is Professor of CEIBS (China Europe International Business School) in Shanghai. From October 2012 to January 2014 he served as the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Sahel. During his academic and institutional career, Romano Prodi has been awarded a number of recognitions and he also holds various honorary degrees.