2008 Woodie Awards
Secretaries of State event focuses on variety of world issues
Report of the Former Secretaries of State
YASMIN YONIS
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: News
Five former secretaries of state are in Athens today to discuss issues that may affect which candidate will become the next president.
Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, Madeleine Albright, Warren Christopher and James Baker III will tackle topics such as the Middle East peace talks, al-Qaida, immigration reform and energy policy.
The event, titled the Report of the Secretaries of State: Bipartisan Advice to the Next Administration, will be at the Classic Center this morning.
The Dean Rusk Center, along with the Southern Center for International Studies in Atlanta - a non-partisan, nonprofit organization that works to inform citizens about global issues - have been preparing for the event for a year.
Until former Secretary of State Dean Rusk hosted the first event, there had never been a meeting of secretaries of state to discuss the passing of the torch during administration changes, Chris Hawkins, conference director of the Southern Center for International Studies, said Wednesday during a telephone interview.
This year's organizers invited all living former secretaries of state to the event, C. Donald Johnson, director of the Dean Rusk Center, said Wednesday during a phone interview. Deliberation about who would participate in the roundtable discussions began during the summer of 2007, and the logistics planning of the event began in the fall.
"With high-profile people like this, it is very difficult to get a date that works for all five people," Johnson said.
Due to the number of high-profile participants, security will be provided by Athens-Clarke County Police, University Police and Classic Center security. Personal police escorts for each former secretary of state from the airport also will come to Athens.
"In this day and age you can never tell of security issues, so you take necessary precautions," Hawkins said.
"We are thrilled that not only we have these high policy makers coming to Athens, but we are also thrilled that there is such a great interest in the University community and the community at large," Johnson said. Organizers chose the Classic Center as the site for the event because of the facility's ability to comfortably hold a large audience.
The 2,100 tickets for the event were sold within days of the initial offering. The public's interest prompted event planners to create a waiting list and asked those who bought tickets but can't attend the event to return their tickets.
Hawkins called the forum a "rather unprecedented event," due to the number of high-profile leaders the center has hosted in the past.
Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, Madeleine Albright, Warren Christopher and James Baker III will tackle topics such as the Middle East peace talks, al-Qaida, immigration reform and energy policy.
The event, titled the Report of the Secretaries of State: Bipartisan Advice to the Next Administration, will be at the Classic Center this morning.
The Dean Rusk Center, along with the Southern Center for International Studies in Atlanta - a non-partisan, nonprofit organization that works to inform citizens about global issues - have been preparing for the event for a year.
Until former Secretary of State Dean Rusk hosted the first event, there had never been a meeting of secretaries of state to discuss the passing of the torch during administration changes, Chris Hawkins, conference director of the Southern Center for International Studies, said Wednesday during a telephone interview.
This year's organizers invited all living former secretaries of state to the event, C. Donald Johnson, director of the Dean Rusk Center, said Wednesday during a phone interview. Deliberation about who would participate in the roundtable discussions began during the summer of 2007, and the logistics planning of the event began in the fall.
"With high-profile people like this, it is very difficult to get a date that works for all five people," Johnson said.
Due to the number of high-profile participants, security will be provided by Athens-Clarke County Police, University Police and Classic Center security. Personal police escorts for each former secretary of state from the airport also will come to Athens.
"In this day and age you can never tell of security issues, so you take necessary precautions," Hawkins said.
"We are thrilled that not only we have these high policy makers coming to Athens, but we are also thrilled that there is such a great interest in the University community and the community at large," Johnson said. Organizers chose the Classic Center as the site for the event because of the facility's ability to comfortably hold a large audience.
The 2,100 tickets for the event were sold within days of the initial offering. The public's interest prompted event planners to create a waiting list and asked those who bought tickets but can't attend the event to return their tickets.
Hawkins called the forum a "rather unprecedented event," due to the number of high-profile leaders the center has hosted in the past.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
crybaby
posted 3/27/08 @ 8:16 AM EST
I wish i could go...waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Will J
posted 3/27/08 @ 11:51 AM EST
I bet there will be another crazy conspiracy theory idiot interrupt the speeches.....too bad police in this town dont carry tasers!
stapler
posted 3/27/08 @ 10:51 PM EST
Glad my tuition money is paying for a bunch of war criminals desperate to repair their tarnished legacies the oppurtunity to lecture me about how to solve the problems that they created in the first place. (Continued…)
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