Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer will talk about Russia’s current war in that country at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 9, at CSUMB’s World Theater. The event is part of the 2023 Festival of Languages, Cultures hosted by CSUMB's School of World Languages and Cultures.

Pifer is the keynote speaker for the fifth annual festival, a two-day event features a Cuban music group, local authors, T-shirt screen printing, taiko drummers, a Japanese tea ceremony, panel discussions and more.

Pifer served as Ukrainian ambassador from 1998 to 2000. He is a nonresident senior fellow in the Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative, and the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. According to the Brookings Institution, he spent his 25 years with the State Department focused on U.S. relations with the former Soviet Union and Europe, and on arms control and security.

Below is a schedule of festival events:

Thursday

• Fábrika T-shirt Screen Printing Workshop (VPA, Bldg. 70) - 9:00 am-11:00 am
• Keynote: Steven Pifer, Russia's War on Ukraine (World Theater) - 11:00 am-12:00 pm
• Cultural Tabling & Performances (Main Quad) - 12:00 pm-2:00 pm
• Ana Luengo, The Spanish Civil War (World Theater) - 3:00 pm-4:00 pm
• Literary Readings with Local Authors (World Theater) - 4:00 pm-5:00 pm
• Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Panel Discussion (World Theater) - 5:30 pm-6:30 pm

Friday

• Japanese Tea Ceremony (Student Center B12, West Lounge) - 1:30 pm-3:30 pm
• Reception (World Theater) - 4:00 pm-4:30 pm
• Shorinryu Karate Kata with Daniela Setka (World Theater) - 4:30 pm-4:45 pm
• MPA and WLC Music Sessions (World Theater) - 5:00 pm-6:00 pm
• Cuarteto León (Cuban Music Group) (World Theater) - 6:00 pm-7:00 pm
• Watsonville Taiko & Shinsho-Mugen Daiko (World Theater) - 7:00 pm-8:00 pm