The Whole World's Watching

Founded in 1948 by Howard Higman at the University of Colorado, the Conference on World Affairs is an opportunity for professionals working in the arts, media, technology, environment, politics, spirituality, human rights and countless other fields to get together and discuss just about anything under the sun. Over the past six decades, participants have included such notable figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, Studs Terkel, Ted Turner, Henry Kissinger and Patch Adams, all of whom paid their own way and received no reimbursement. “The whole goal is to create interesting dialogue from people who were not from Colorado, not from Boulder,” says Ilina Datkhaeva, the conference’s media liaison. “It’s not to create ideology; it’s to create ideas.”

This year’s theme is Perspective 360º. “We’re playing with the idea of getting ideas from different angles, completing the circle and getting different points of view,” explains Datkhaeva. Starting at 8:30 a.m. April 6 and continuing through April 10, the discussions will take place all over the CU-Boulder campus, with participants ranging from Roger Ebert (a perennial favorite), Senator Chuck Hagel, Lillian Boutté and John Prendergast discussing such topics as “Afghanistan: Where Empires Go to Die,” “If the Newspaper Dies, Who Will Print the Obituary?” and “E=mc2: Big Ideas in Science.” And at 8 p.m. Tuesday, a free jazz concert featuring thirteen well-known performers will take place in Mackey Auditorium.

The conference is free and open to the public. For a complete schedule, go to www.colorado.edu/cwa or call 303-492-2525.
April 6-10, 2009