The University of Colorado Boulder's 63rd annual Conference on World Affairs returns to campus April 4-8 with over 200 events including talks, panel discussions and a plenary address by Graham Nash and David Crosby, all of which are free and open to the public.
Presenters from around the country and the globe will pay their own way to travel to Boulder to participate in what film critic Roger Ebert has dubbed the "conference on everything conceivable."
"The Conference on World Affairs has a long history of addressing nuclear power and weaponry topics, and this year will be no exception," said Bryan New, advertising and media liaison for the conference. "Among our 100 speakers will be some focused on nuclear non-proliferation, including Graham Nash, David Crosby, Harvey Wasserman and Joe Cirincione."
Joe Cirincione, Ploughshares Fund president and frequent media commentator, will deliver a talk entitled "Know Nukes" on Tuesday, April 5, at 2 p.m. in the University Memorial Center, room 235. His books include "Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear
Weapons" and "Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Threats." Cirinicione also serves on the World Economic Forum Global Council on Catastrophic Risks.
Longtime activist and author Harvey Wasserman will deliver a plenary talk
called "Dead and Deadly Nukes: From Fukushima to Solartopia" on Thursday, April 7, at 5 p.m. in the University Memorial Center's center ballroom. Wasserman is credited with coining the phrase "No Nukes" and cofounded NukeFree.org with Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Graham Nash.
Nash and Crosby are scheduled to deliver the CWA's closing plenary address entitled "Life Matters" on Friday, April 8 at 2:30 p.m. in Macky Auditorium, with introduction from KBCO's Bret Saunders.
Crosby and Nash have been performing and recording together for more than 40 years, most often as part of the iconic folk/rock group CSNY, featuring Crosby, Nash, Stephen Stills and Neil Young. The two are committed social activists, with strong ties to the
antinuclear movement. Along with Stills, they participated in the 1979 No Nukes concerts months after the Three Mile Island disaster. The CWA address will focus on social and political engagement.
As always, the CWA will offer a broad range of topics and speakers. Conference sessions encompass everything from music and literature to the environment and science, journalism, visual arts, diplomacy, technology, film, politics, business, medicine and human rights.
Highlights from the 2011 schedule include:
- The keynote address will be delivered by Liz Coleman, president of Bennington College and a leading innovator in higher education, with an introduction by ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano on Monday, April 4, at 11:30 a.m. in Macky Auditorium. The keynote address will be preceded by the CWA's annual opening procession. Led by Coleman and DiStefano, the procession will advance at 11:10 a.m. through the avenue of international flags on display in the Norlin Quadrangle and into Macky Auditorium.
- The keynote address will be followed by a staged reading of the play "Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins" with celebrated Shakespearean actress Tina Packer reading in the role of Ivins. Ivins was a long-time participant in the CWA. The co-playwright of Red Hot Patriot, Peggy Engel, also is a veteran conference presenter and she will participate in a variety of sessions at the 2011 CWA. This event also will be held in Macky Auditorium.
- Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D) will join retired Arizona sheriff Richard Mack and Austin journalist Lou Dubose for a panel called "Arizona: Coming to a State Near You" in Macky Auditorium on Thursday, April 7, at noon.
- A plenary session will feature Bill Nack, whose New York Times bestseller "Secretariat" was made into a Disney film this past year. Nack will speak about his relationship with the most famous horse in racing history in the CWA session "Secretariat" on Friday, April 8, at 12:30 p.m. in Muenzinger Auditorium. Secretariat owner Penny Chenery will introduce the session, and historic film clips of the horse will be presented.
Members of the public attending the conference are encouraged to use public transportation as there is no event parking on campus. Free parking is offered on the third level of the Macy's 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. Free parking and bus service for the CWA are sponsored by the Twenty Ninth Street and Go Boulder.
The HOP will run on its normal route arriving 7 to 10 minutes between the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. The two stops nearest the Macy's 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 .
