2005 Forum: America's Dialogue with the World

(co-sponsored with the Public Diplomacy Council)

October 14, 2005 8:30 AM-12:00 PM
Jack Morton Auditorium, School of Media and Public Affairs Building
805 21st Street, NW Washington, DC 20052
George Washington University, Washington DC

Keynote Speaker: Hon. Karen Hughes, newly appointed Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. A public Q & A followed her talk.

Panel 1 - The Substance of the Dialogue, Moderated by Ralph Begleiter, Rosenberg Professor of Communication and Distinguished Journalist in Residence at the University of Delaware and former CNN State Department correspondent.

Panelists: Michael Mandelbaum, Christian A. Herter Professor and Director of the American Foreign Policy Department at Johns Hopkins SAIS; John Hughes, former VOA Director, Associate Director of USIA, Editor of the Christian Science Monitor and currently Editor and Chief Operating Officer of the Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City; Amb. Anthony C.E. Quainton, Distinguished Diplomat in Residence at American University and Program Coordinator for the American Academy of Diplomacy.

Panel 2 - The Conduct of the Dialogue, Moderated by Marvin Kalb, award-winning reporter with CBS and NBC News and current Senior Fellow at the Joan Shorestein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, Faculty Chair for the Kennedy School’s Washington Programs, and host of the Kalb Report in Washington, DC.

Panelists: Dr. Alice Ilchman, former president of Sarah Lawrence College and assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs and currently president of the Watson Foundation; Joe B. Johnson, recently head of the State Department's e-diplomacy office; Daniel Sreebny, public diplomacy practitioner; former PAO London and future PAO Ankara.

*For information on the Public Diplomacy Council, visit www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org.

The Dayton Accords Conference

On February 24, 2005, the Academy, the University of Pittsburgh, and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette sponsored a conference on U.S. Policy in the Balkans titled "The Dayton Accords Ten Years Later" in Pittsburgh. Academy members Avis Bohlen, Robert Hunter and Daniel Simpson participated, as will Ambassador Richard Kauzlarich, the National Intelligence Officer for Europe. To view photos of the event, please click here and here. To view a transcript of the event, please click here.

Rising Anti-Americanism Programs

The Academy, in cooperation with the World Affairs Councils of America is implementing a speaking program at a dozen World Affairs Councils throughout the country. The programs seek to address the recent rise of anti-American sentiment throughout the world and steps by which public diplomacy can address this phenomenon.

• October 28, 2004, Academy member Anthony Quainton spoke in Iowa City, IA
• October 28, 2004 Ted Katouff spoke in Salt Lake City, UT
• November 30, 2004 Academy member Kenton Keith spoke in Santa Fe, NM
• January 11-12, 2005 John Trattner spoke in Riverside, CA
• January 17, 2005 Academy member Phyllis Oakley spoke in Riverside, CA
• January 21, 2005 Ted Katouff spoke in Hilton Head, SC
• February 2, Academy member Anthony Quainton spoke in Philadelphia, PA
• February 15, 2005 Susan Cowall spoke in St. Louis, MO
• March 1, 2005 McKinney Russell spoke in Kansas City, MO
• March 10, 2005 John Trattner spoke in Louisville, KT
• April 5, 2005 Academy member Phyllis Oakley will spoke in Western Massachusetts
• May 3, 2005 Anthony Quainton spoke in Milwaukee, WI
• May 19, 2005 Academy member Charles Gillespie spoke in San Antonio, TX

San Francisco Conference: "Changing Minds, Winning Peace: A Luncheon Discussion of New Directions for American Public Diplomacy."

On November 30, 2004 Academy Members Phyllis Oakley and Edward P. Djerejian spoke to members of the World Affairs Council of Northern California in San Francisco at a luncheon discussion of New Directions for American Public Diplomacy on the topic "Changing Minds, Winning Peace." The program, moderated by Jane Wales, President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Northern California, was also broadcast on local public television. To view a transcript of the event, please click here.

University of Oklahoma Conference

On November 9, 2004, the Academy and the University of Oklahoma sponsored a day-long conference entitled "Looking Ahead: U.S. Diplomacy and Leadership." Academy member James Jones was the luncheon's keynote speaker. Other Academy members participated, such as Ambassadors Edward Perkins, Anthony Quainton, and Nicholas Platt. Over 200 students and faculty from seven regional universities attended the conference.

Town Halls in partnership with the World Affairs Council of DC

On October 13, 2004 and November 10, 2004 the Academy, in partnership with the World Affairs Council of D.C. sponsored two Town Hall meetings. The first, held at the Round House Theater in Bethesda, was titled "Beginning the Dialogue: America's Troubled Relationship with the Islamic World." Academy member Edward Gnehm took part. (To view a flyer, click here). The second, at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center, was titled: "American Foreign Policy after the Elections: Where do we go from here?" Among the panel members was Academy member Robert Kimmit, who addressed a group of 450 area residents.

New Horizons in American Diplomacy Student Lecture Series

This fall, the Academy invited students attending local universities to participate in four discussions with U.S. Diplomats and foreign policy practitioners about emerging issues for U.S. diplomacy. On September 21, Academy member Richard Benedick, Senior Advisor at the Joint Global Change Research Institute and former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment, Health and Natural Resources, spoke about diplomacy and science. On October 5, three former Coordinators for Counter Terrorism, Academy members Robert Oakley and Anthony Quainton, and Philip Wilcox, spoke on terrorism and the future of diplomacy.

On October 26, Ambassadors Howard and Teresita Schaffer spoke on the role of diplomacy in conflict resolution.

On November 16, Academy member Charles A. Gillespie, former Ambassador to Colombia, Chile and Grenada, discussed: "Public Diplomacy: How to Make Them Stop Hating Us.”

Dialogues Series

In February of 2004, the Academy began a series of Dialogues in Washington, D.C. intended to enhance understanding of U.S. foreign policy objectives, and the tools available to implement it, with emphasis on the opportunities provided by diplomacy. The first took place on February 12, entitled "Dialogue on Two Perspectives of US Foreign Policy." Following presentations by Richard Holbrooke and Richard Perle, there was a luncheon discussion with Dr. Henry Kissinger.

The second event, held on on May 27, was titled "Policy Choices in Iran and North Korea." It featured presentations by Ellen Laipson and Don Oberdorfer, followed by a luncheon discussion with Zbigniew Brzezinski. Out of this discussion, the Academy published an Issues Brief containing the presentations of the two speakers.