America at 250 Global Forum
Convene Willis Tower
As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, the international order it championed for nearly eight decades has come under extraordinary pressure. All aspects of the US global role are under review, both at home and abroad. The choices this generation of global leaders make will be more consequential than ever, for businesses, workers, and leaders across the US, and for US partners and allies in Europe, Asia, and beyond.
The Council's America at 250 Global Forum will convene high-level policymakers, world-class scholars and experts, business leaders, and influential thought leaders to reflect on America’s past and inform its future. There is no more fitting place to convene as we examine global and geopolitical shifts, economic disruption, technological advances, and societal change. At this pivotal moment in America’s 250-year history, this forum will assess these forces to help inform the choices the next generation of leaders must make.
Event Agenda
Click to expand each session to see speakers and descriptions. More details to be announced soon. This agenda is subject to change.
Attendees are invited to join us for breakfast at Convene Willis Tower.
Location: Franklin Gallery
Speaker: Leslie Vinjamuri, President & Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Location: Forum Main Stage
More details to come.
More details to come.
Panelists: John Ikenberry, Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University; David Sanger, White House and National Security Correspondent, The New York Times; Julianne Smith, Former US Permanent Representative to NATO; Distinguished Nonresident Fellow, Defense and Security, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
At a moment when America’s global commitments are being reassessed, how should the United States define its grand strategy? John Ikenberry, David Sanger, and Julianne Smith assess the sources of American power and the choices that will shape the next chapter of US leadership.
Location: Forum Main Stage
Panelists: Sohrab Ahmari, US Editor, UnHerd; Moynihan Public Scholar, City University of New York; Jamelle Bouie, Columnist, The New York Times; In conversation with David Cole, Hon. George J. Michell Professor in Law and Public Policy, Georgetown University Law Center; Former National Legal Director, American Civil Liberties Union
At 250 years, the question of what American democracy is—and who it is for—remains contested. Jamelle Bouie, Sohrab Ahmari, and David Cole deliberate what the democratic project has delivered, where it falls short, and what it demands of us.
Location: Forum Main Stage
Attendees are invited to a 15-minute break. Light refreshments will be served.
Panelists: Agnès Callamard, Secretary General, Amnesty International; Jack Snyder, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Relations, Political Science Department, Columbia University; In conversation with Priyanka Motaparthy, Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Center for International Human Rights, Pritzker School of Law, Northwestern University
The US helped build the global human rights framework, though its record as its defender has always been contested. As American engagement recedes and international norms come under pressure, Agnès Callamard, Jack Snyder, and Priyanka Motaparthy examine what accountability means today.
Location: Forum Main Stage
Panelists: Nicole Hallett, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, University of Chicago Law School; Karthick Ramakrishnan, Founder, Bolder Futures; Research Director, UC Berkeley; Katie Tobin, Senior Advisor, WestExec Advisors LLC; Former Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Transborder, National Security Council
Moderator: Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, Dean and Sydney Stein Professor, Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago
Few issues sit at the intersection of economic necessity and political controversy like immigration. Nicole Hallett, Karthick Ramakrishnan, Katie Tobin, and Ethan Bueno de Mesquita examine the political tensions, economic pressures, and human realities at the heart of the issue.
Location: Forum Main Stage
Presenting awards to the winners of the America at 250 High School Essay Competition.
Location: Forum Main Stage
Attendees are invited to join us for lunch.
Location: Franklin Gallery
More information to come.
Panelists: Phil Levy, Lead Trade Economist, World Bank; Raghuram Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago; Julián Ventura, Former Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico; Distinguished Nonresident Fellow, Latin America and the Global Economy, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Tariffs, trade wars, and fracturing alliances are rewriting the rules of the global economy—but what comes next? Raghuram Rajan, Phil Levy, and Julián Ventura examine the forces reshaping global trade, financial stability, and America's economic leadership.
Location: Forum Main Stage
Panelists: Dan Glickman, Chair, International Advisory Council, APCO Worldwide; Former US Secretary of Agriculture; Tjada McKenna, Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Corps; In conversation with Catherine Bertini, Distinguished Fellow, Global Food and Agriculture, Chicago Council on Global Affairs; World Food Prize Laureate (2003)
The world produces enough food to feed everyone, and yet hunger remains one of humanity's most persistent challenges. Dan Glickman, Tjada McKenna, and Catherine Bertini examine how conflict, climate, and geopolitical forces drive that paradox, and what a more resilient global food system would require.
Location: Forum Main Stage
Panelists: Lisa Anderson, Special Lecturer and James T. Shotwell Professor Emerita of International Relations, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University; Former President, American University in Cairo; Francisco Rodríguez, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Economic and Policy Research; Faculty Affiliate, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver; In conversation with Alex Cooley, Claire Tow Professor of Political Science, Barnard College; Senior Nonresident Fellow, Eurasia Affairs, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
From the Monroe Doctrine to the postwar liberal order, the US has gone from carving out spheres of influence to promising a world beyond them. Is that pendulum swinging back? Lisa Anderson, Francisco Rodríguez, and Alex Cooley examine what a more fragmented world might mean for American power and global stability.
Location: Forum Main Stage
Attendees are invited to a 15-minute break. Light refreshments will be served.
Ben Rhodes, Former Deputy National Security Advisor; Author; and Co-Host, "Pod Save the World;" In conversation with Leslie Vinjamuri, President & Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
For 250 years, notable speeches have helped define America’s national identity. Drawing on his new book and years in the White House, Ben Rhodes joins Leslie Vinjamuri for a live taping of the Deep Dish podcast to explore what that tradition reveals about America today.
Note: Copies of Ben Rhodes’ book, All We Say: The Battle for American Identity, will be available for sale.
Location: Forum Main Stage
Speaker: Dean Ball, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation; Former Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Artificial intelligence is reshaping economies, militaries, and democracies, and the race to lead it is only intensifying. Dean Ball examines where America stands in that competition and how the choices being made today will shape the future.
Location: Forum Main Stage
Panelists: Charles Kupchan, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs, National Security Council; Evan Medeiros, Penner Family Chair in Asia Studies, Georgetown University; Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Asia, National Security Council; Distinguished Nonresident Fellow, China, Chicago Council on Global Affairs; Robert Pape, Professor of Political Science and Director, Chicago Project on Security & Threats, University of Chicago; Constanze Stelzenmüller, Director and Fritz Stern Chair, Center on the United States and Europe, The Brookings Institution
Across Europe, Asia, and beyond, the alliances, deterrence relationships, and balance of power that defined the postwar world are fracturing. Charles Kupchan, Evan Medeiros, Robert Pape, and Constanze Stelzenmüller examine what is giving way, and what might take shape in its wake.
Location: Forum Main Stage
Speaker: Leslie Vinjamuri, President & Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Location: Forum Main Stage
More details to come.
Location
Convene Willis Tower
233 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606
Attire
Business casual
Ticket Price
Council Members: Free
Nonmembers: $199 (includes a one-year Council membership)
Breakfast, lunch, refreshments, and a networking reception are included.
Contact
For general inquiries or if you are a student interested in attending for a reduced rate, reach out to US250@globalaffairs.org.
To request a press pass, please contact communications@globalaffairs.org.
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America at 250: The Arc of Global Influence
This content is part of the Council’s America at 250 initiative, a series of high-level dialogues, expert perspectives, public and private programs, and a signature conference focused on the critical questions that will define America’s future.