The Future of the U.N. is
Topic of Milwaukee Forum
MILWAUKEE, WI (March 18, 2005) - The 2005 George F. Kennan Forum on International Issues, hosted by the Institute of World Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), will be held Tuesday, April 26, at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. The topic will be “The Future of the United Nations.”
The forum is named for the Milwaukee-born statesman George F. Kennan, who died March 17, 2005 at his Princeton, N.J. home. Best known for his philosophy for dealing with Communism called “containment,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian was 101.
A short memorial to Kennan will be added to the forum, which will feature two experts: Gillian Sorensen, senior adviser at the United Nations Foundation, and former Australian Foreign Minister and Attorney General Gareth Evans. The pair will analyze the future of the U.N. from different perspectives.
The forum is held from 4 to 6 p.m. Ben Merens, talk-show host with Wisconsin Public Radio, will moderate.
Since 2000, Gareth Evans has been president and chief executive of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG), an independent multinational nongovernmental organization which works to prevent and resolve deadly conflict. He was one of Australia’s longest-serving foreign ministers, serving from 1988 to 1996, and was named Australian Humanist of the Year in 1990. Evans is best known internationally for his roles in helping to develop the U.N. peace plan for Cambodia, and for bringing to a conclusion the international Chemical Weapons Convention.
Gillian Sorensen was appointed to her current post at the United Nations Foundation by Kofi Anan in 1997, and was previously assistant secretary-general for external relations. She also is a current member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Before joining the U.N., Sorensen was the New York City relations commissioner to the international diplomatic community, and the past president of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
Tickets are $10 general public, $5 IWA Basic and WPR members, and complimentary admission for Premium members and students. They are available from the Pabst Theater Box Office, 414-286-3663.
Between 1927 and 1953, Kennan played a significant role in the formulation of U.S. foreign policy in general and U.S.-Soviet relations in particular. In 1989, he received the Medal of Freedom, one of this nation’s highest awards.
Formed in 1960, the Institute of World Affairs at UWM is dedicated to keeping the people of Wisconsin informed about and engaged with the critical global issues of our time. The Kennan Forum on International Affairs was established in the late 1980s.
The Kennan Forum is co-sponsored by Ideas 90.7 Wisconsin Public Radio. Additional support is provided by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Midwest Airlines, Wisconsin Division-United Nations Association, Wisconsin Governor’s Commission on the United Nations, and the Annette J. Roberts Fund for World Peace, World Law and Peace Education.
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