The Folks Center for International Business will host a virtual forum with Eleanor Beardsley, an NPR Paris correspondent, about the political aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the European Union.

For the Politics of COVID-19 in the European Union: Notes from the Front Line event, USC alumna Beardsley, a 1991 graduate of the Moore School’s Master of International Business Studies program, will share her perspective on the pandemic as a top international journalist. Discussion topics include:

• How Europe dealt with and is still dealing with the pandemic — its successes and failures;
• How different countries approached the pandemic;
• How life in Europe might change after COVID-19.

Beardsley reports on all aspects of French society, politics, economics, culture and gastronomy for National Public Radio as part of the NPR Europe reporting team. Before residing in Paris, the South Carolina native traveled throughout Europe, North Africa, Ukraine and Scandinavia to cover breaking news. She previously worked with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and as a staff assistant to late South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond.

The event is sponsored by The Rachel and Jim Hodges Fund in partnership with the USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications and The Walker Institute. The Folks Center forum will be held virtually on Zoom from 4-5:15 p.m. March 10 and will include time for audience questions. The event is free and open to the public.