2010 Awards Dinner Celebrates Technology, Social Innovation

On Thursday, October 7 the World Affairs Council and Global Philanthropy Forum hosted the 2010 Awards Dinner. The event celebrated technology and social innovation for the public good and honored individuals and organizations who are leaders in this field. The honorees were: John Hennessey, President of Stanford University; The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; and Paul Otellini, President and Chief Executive Officer of Intel Corporation. After receiving their awards, Hennessey and Otellini, along with Hewlett Foundation President Paul Brest, spoke in conversation with Jane Wales. Watch an excerpt of their conversation here:

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Secretary of Defense Orders Budget Cuts

Just days after announcing a series of substantial budget cuts, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will be speaking at an event co-sponsored by the World Affairs Council and Marines’ Memorial Association. The program will take place Thursday evening at the Marines’ Memorial Club and Hotel. For more information, click here.

In a press conference yesterday, Secretary Gates said that he has ordered the closing of the Joint Forces Command; a 10 percent reduction in spending on defense department contractors; and a freeze on the number of employees at his office, defense agencies and combatant commands for three years. As an additional cost-reduction measure, he also proposed cutting 50 general and admiral posts and 150 senior civilian positions during the next two years. Read more about Secretary Gates’s budget cuts in this article from The New York Times.

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Turmoil and Triumph: The George Shultz Years

Starting tonight, PBS will air a new documentary about Secretary George Shultz, Turmoil & Triumph: The George Shultz Years. Shultz served in both the Nixon and Reagan administrations and now co-chairs the World Affairs Council’s Advisory Committee. In his many years of service, Secretary Shultz has taken on numerous challenges, most recently the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). He spoke at the Council last month about the Initiative before a screening of The Nuclear Tipping Point.

To learn more about the PBS series, which will air tonight on KQED at 10 PM, read this article from the San Francisco Chronicle and visit the film’s website. More information about the NTI can be found on their website here.

Watch a short segment from Turmoil & Triumph below:

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Turmoil & Triumph, posted with vodpod

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Jane Wales Blogging for Huffington Post

Jane Wales, World Affairs Council President and CEO, is now blogging for the Huffington Post. Read her most current blog, about what philanthropists can do to meet the needs of lower-income Americans, here.

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Council Speakers on Foreign Policy Top 100 List

Among the 100 Top Global Thinkers of 2009 in Foreign Policy Magazine’s Special End of the Year Issue are several guests of the World Affairs Council this past year, including Hillary Rodham Clinton (6) who addressed the Global Philanthropy Forum in the Spring, General David Petraeus (8) who spoke to the Council in July, Martin Wolf (15) who was one of the 2009 Guggenhime Speakers in February, and Bruce Bueno de Mesquita (60) a guest this Fall.  Many of the other notable thinkers in the top 100 have addressed the Council in previous years, such as Ashraf Ghani and Clare Lockhart, Thomas Friedman, Joseph Stiglitz, Paul Krugman, John Holdren, Steven Chu, and Ahmed Rashid, to name only a few whose talks can be found in our online archive.

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Register Today for World Affairs 2010

Registration is now open for World Affairs 2010, the annual community-based experience presented by the World Affairs Council. The event will be held March 11-12 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.

To learn more about and register for World Affairs 2010, visit the website here.

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World Affairs Council 2009 Year In Review

2009 has been an amazing year at the World Affairs Council. Here’s a collection of highlights from just a few of our engaging speakers, including Nicholas Kristof, Michael Pollan, and Madeleine Albright.

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Medal of Freedom Awards Ceremony Tomorrow

President Obama will present the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom to 16 recipients tomorrow, Wednesday, August 12. Three of this year’s awardees were speakers at the World Affairs Council and the Global Philanthropy Forum in 2008: former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Muhammad Yunus.

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Pipeline Politics

The construction of the Nabucco pipeline, slated for completion in 2012, is part of the effort to reduce European dependence on Russian gas amid concerns and fears that Russia, the supplier of between 30 and 40% of Europe’s natural gas, will use its economic leverage for political gains. However, recent developments in Turkmenistan, China, Iran, Turkey, and Europe itself, raise many questions and uncertainties regarding the future of the Nabucco pipeline. What are the new implications of and aims for building such a pipeline? Is continued construction necessary? What are the benefits and dangers of using the Nabucco pipeline—or rather the promise of its discontinuation—as a political bargaining chip? Steve LeVine, foreign affairs and energy correspondent for BusinessWeek and author of The Oil and the Glory and Putin’s Labyrinth, joined the Council and the Young Professionals International Forum (IF) last night to share his thoughts and insights into pipeline politics and Russia’s new energy diplomacy. Full program recordings will be available soon at our online archive. 

For more on pipeline politics, check out this article from Deutsche Welle on the recently signed agreement between Russia and Turkey to build the South Stream pipeline, a new rival to the Nabucco pipeline.

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Poland and the Changing Geopolitics of Europe

Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski joined the Council Wednesday night for our fourth Guggenhime Speaker Event of 2009 to address his nation’s role in the changing geopolitics of Europe and abroad. Minister Sikorski described Poland’s transition from the events of 1989 to a modern democratic nation, a member of NATO and of the European Union. A leader in Polish and European affairs, Minister Sikorski also provided great insights, debunking some common misconceptions about the workings of the European Union. Finally, Minister Sikorski discussed the history of warm bilateral relations and current cooperation between the United States and Poland, highlighting issues of security and democratization and emphasizing Poland’s continued support for the U.S. in Afghanistan and Iraq. For more on Polish, European, and transatlantic politics, as well as thoughts on NATO, Russia, and democratization, watch or listen to full recordings of this program with Radoslaw Sikorski at our online archive.

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Jane Wales named one of the NPT Power & Influence Top 50

Jane Wales, World Affairs Council President and CEO, is honored as one the NonProfit Times Power & Influence Top 50 in their 12th annual celebration of the sector’s top leaders. See the full article on the NonProfit Times website or download the pdf.

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The Challenges Facing Pakistan

Having returned from Islamabad only a month ago, Asia Foundation expert Jon Summers shared some of his knowledge and insights into the current situation in Pakistan with Council members last night. He laid out myriad challenges facing Pakistan, from governance and counterinsurgency to the economy and education, and he suggested potential strategies to deal with some of these issues. Despite the predominance of US media reports of violence and insurgency in the country, Summers noted that Pakistan indeed possesses many assets, from a strong human resource base to vibrant civil society.

For more on Pakistan, watch or listen to the recording of last night’s program with Jon Summers, or check out a couple of the articles and studies mentioned in the lecture (links below).

“In Refugee Aid, Pakistan’s War Has New Front”
A July 2nd New York Times article on the two million displaced people in Pakistani refugee camps and the fight between the United States and hard-line Islamist charities for their allegiance.

“Power Dynamics, Institutional Instability and Economic Growth: The Case of Pakistan”
A study, supported by The Asia Foundation, which analyzes economic development in Pakistan in the context of power and institutions in the country. It examines the causes of continuing development challenges, and it identifies seven strategic “Drivers of Change” that could address these root causes for a major impact on development in Pakistan.

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