Join the Discussion!
The World Affairs Councils of America is pleased to announce the initial slate of confirmed speakers for the 2013 National Conference, Six Top Issues for 2014. Make your plans to join us in November. The following speakers have confirmed:
Peter Baker
1918 Society -- White House Correspondent, The New York Times; author of the upcoming book Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House
Senator Richard Blumenthal
Co-Chair, Senate Caucus to End Human Trafficking
Justice Stephen G. Breyer
Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court
The Honorable Michael Chertoff
Former Secretary of Homeland Security; and Chairman and Co-Founder, The Chertoff Group
Frank J. Cilluffo
Former Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security; Associate Vice President, George Washington University; Director, Homeland Security Policy Institute
Steve Clemons
Washington Editor at Large, The Atlantic; Editor, Atlantic Live; and Senior Fellow, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation
Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky
Senior Fellow, Harvard University JFK Belfer Center for Science and Internationall Affairs; former Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs; Chair, WACA National Board of Directors
John Hofmeister
Founder and Chief Executive, Citizens for Affordable Energy; and former President, Shell Oil Company
Kevin Johnson
Chief Executive Officer, Secure Ideas; and Senior Instructor, SANS Institute
Michael Levi
David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment and Director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change, Council on Foreign Relations
William F. Martin
Former Deputy Secretary of the US Treasury and former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan; Chairman, Washington Policy & Analysis, Inc.
Barbara Slavin
Senior Fellow, Atlantic Center's South Asia Center; and Washington Correspondent, Al-Monitor
Ambassador Ross Wilson
Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey; Director, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council; Lecturer, The George Washington University
Robin Wright
Joint Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; and author of Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion across the Islamic world
The World Affairs Councils of America will host its 2013 National Conference,
Six Top Issues for 2014,
November 13-15, 2013 at the
Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel.
Held annually for over two decades, the World Affairs Councils of America's National Conference engages our regional leaders and members drawn from the business, civic, and education communities with leading policy-makers and experts. The National Conference launches the National Network's year-long discussion of the Six Top Issues for 2014 selected by our network leadership across the country and helps plan our programming for the coming year.
The Six Top Issues selected by the National Network's leadership as the most important national security issues for the coming year are:
- Cybersecurity
- U.S. Energy Independence
- Global Economic Realignment
- Middle East
- Global Environment Issues
- U.S. Education
Last year's conference kicked off with an exclusive, off the record discussion with then-CIA Director General David H. Petraeus at Wednesday evening's opening dinner. Past conferences have featured distinguished panelists including Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Singaporean Ambassador to the U.S. Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, former National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley, and many more. Click here to see last year's speakers and agenda.
For more information on the WACA Annual National Conference, click here.
Please join us! Conference registration and hotel reservations are now open.
Register for 2013 National Conference
Reserve Hotel Room at The Liaison
Special Early-Bird Rate for Members
Prices:
$455 World Affairs Council Member ($495 after September 1)
$545 Non-Member
$430 World Affairs Council CEO/Staff/Board Member
Staying at The Liaison
We have secured a special group rate at The Liaison Capitol Hill of $225/night.
To book rooms at this rate, click here or call 1-866-233-4642 and reference "National Conference - World Affairs."
The Liaison is the closest hotel to the U.S. Capitol. The Smithsonian, the National Mall, Union Station, and dozens of the country's most visited museums and monuments are within walking distance.
Celebrity chef Art Smith, who creates his award-winning Southern-modern "food for the soul" for the Liaison's restaurant Art and Soul, will be the chef for the National Conference. Perhaps best known as Oprah Winfrey's personal chef, Smith is well known for his fine-tuned, artisanal farm-to-table menu. First Lady Michelle Obama is known to have dined there with friends.
Tentative Agenda
Wednesday, November 13
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM: Fall Leadership Meeting for Council CEOs and Staff/Annual Membership Meeting
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM: Opening Dinner
Thursday, November 14
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM: Main Plenaries
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM: Embassy Receptions
Friday, November 15
7:30 AM - 8:45 AM: 1918 Society Breakfast
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM: Main Plenaries
Conference concludes at 3:00 PM