2009 Program Tracks

The Festival is designed around a series of ?program tracks," each of which offers discussions relevant to a certain topic area. These tracks offer participants the opportunity to focus on a particular area of interest during their time with us, but most attendees choose to sample from many tracks over the course of the Festival. Click a track name on the left to see a description of that track on the right. You can also download a complete listing of the tracks and descriptions in PDF format.

June 29-July 5
World Affairs and the Global Economy
Arts and Culture
Life in America
Managing Planet Earth

June 29-July 2
The Media Crack-Up
Justice and Society
Rebuilding the American Economy
Darwin's Legacy

July 2-July 5
The Science of Being Human
Innovations in Education
Living Digitally
The Middle East

World Affairs and the Global Economy



In today's globalizing and interdependent world, the responsibilities of protecting and advancing America's key economic and national security interests are more numerous, and more intertwined, than ever before. Among them are combating a constant threat of terrorism both at home and abroad; restoring America's reputation across the globe; resolving the nation's ongoing military commitments, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan; and contending with depleting energy resources and the portent of global warming. And if these problems weren't formidable enough, we have been confronted with a global financial meltdown of unprecedented scale and complexity. This track will examine how the new Administration is tackling these daunting challenges, and how our leaders might make progress in the years to come.