Kathleen Sebelius,听secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will deliver the keynote address at the University of Colorado Boulder鈥檚 annual Conference on World Affairs to be held April 7-11.
Sebelius鈥� address, 鈥淭he Globalization of Health,鈥� will be presented on Monday, April 7, at 11:30 a.m. in Macky Auditorium. All of the conference鈥檚 200 panel discussions, performances and plenaries are free and open to the public.
Among this year鈥檚 topics are sessions on terrorism, entrepreneurs, Iran, depression, vengeance, the military, STEM education and poverty. Unlike other conferences, which set an agenda for speakers, CWA panels are created from topics suggested by the participants.听
More than 100 participants from around the country and the globe will pay their own way to travel to Boulder for the 66th gathering of what Roger Ebert dubbed 鈥渢he Conference on Everything Conceivable.鈥�
Gordon Adams,听a distinguished fellow at Washington鈥檚 Stimson Center and a听veteran CWA participant, says the conference is the standout event of his year.听鈥淚t is the only meeting in the country where I can feed my right and left brains simultaneously. It is a cornucopia of gifts, from culture and the arts to science, politics and economics, provided by some of the most entertaining and intelligent people I know.
鈥淲here else can I read poetry in the morning, solve the federal budget crisis in the afternoon, and the next day do it all over again?鈥� he asked.
New York Post听associate editorial page editor听Robert George, who听describes the CWA as his听鈥渋ntellectual spring break,鈥� will mark his听seventh year of participation at this year鈥檚 conference.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what the Conference on World Affairs has become for me鈥攁 place to engage in lively conversation with some of the brightest people around,鈥� George said. This year he will serve on panels ranging from 鈥淧ut Your Weiner Away: Best Scandals Ever鈥� to 鈥淗eroin鈥檚 Strange Return.鈥� George says, 鈥淚鈥檝e been fortunate to be part of panels on politics, journalism, humor, improv, comic books, popular music, television, etc.鈥攖ruly everything possible.鈥�
Sebelius鈥� keynote address will be preceded by CWA鈥檚 colorful, annual opening procession. Led by Sebelius and CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano, the procession will advance at 11:10 a.m. through the avenue of international flags on display in Norlin Quad and into Macky Auditorium, where DiStefano will introduce Sebelius.
Other highlights from the 2014 schedule include:
--Massachusetts Institute of Technology international security expert Jim Walsh鈥檚听plenary address,听鈥淐risis Diplomacy,鈥� in the University Memorial Center鈥檚 Glenn Miller Ballroom on听Wednesday, April 9, at 10:30 a.m.
--Former U.S. ambassador to Israel and deputy executive director of the International Energy Agency Richard Jones will deliver a plenary address, 鈥淲hat Bitcoin, Space Tourism, 3D Printing, Stem Cells and the New Energy Renaissance Have in Common,鈥澨齩n听Wednesday, April 9, at 12:30 p.m.听in Macky Auditorium.
--Republican strategist and CNN and ABC News commentator Ana Navarro will give a plenary talk on 鈥淭he Future of the Republican Party鈥� at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 10, in Macky Auditorium.
--TIAA-CREF听CEO Roger Ferguson鈥檚 plenary address in Macky Auditorium on听鈥淎merica鈥檚 Retirement Crisis鈥� on听Thursday, April 10, at 2 p.m.听
--Gender equality activist Sandra Fluke will deliver the Molly Ivins Freedom Fightin鈥� Memorial Plenary,听鈥淢aking Our Voices Heard: The Millennial Generation,鈥澨齣n Macky Auditorium on Friday, April 11, at 2:30 p.m.
--The Ebert Cinema Interruptus, hosted by author and broadcaster David Bender, will dissect 鈥淭he Graduate鈥� from Monday through Thursday, April 7-10. The Interruptus takes place each day at 4 p.m. in Macky Auditorium, with an uninterrupted screening of the film in Muenzinger Auditorium on Sunday, April 6, at 3 p.m.
CWA attendees are encouraged to use public transportation as there is no event parking on campus. Free parking is offered on the second level of the Macy鈥檚 parking structure at the Twenty Ninth Street shopping mall in Boulder, located at the southwest corner of 30th Street and Walnut Street, from which a free HOP bus ride is available to campus during CWA week.
The HOP will run on its normal route arriving every 7 to 10 minutes between the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. The two stops nearest the Macy鈥檚 parking structure are at 29th Street and Walnut Street and 30th Street and Walnut Street.
For a complete schedule and more information visit the Conference on World Affairs website at .
Contact:
Bryan New, 303-492-2515
cwapress@colorado.edu
