PAST EVENTS
The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019
The Common Good Forum is an annual program presenting headline issues and the most important, forward-looking ideas affecting public policy and our lives. This year we built a remarkable roster for our annual event, with 30+ participants from government, media, business, foreign affairs and tech, as well as public policy activists…
The Common Good Forum is an annual program presenting headline issues and the most important, forward-looking ideas affecting public policy and our lives. This year we built a remarkable roster for our annual event, with 30+ participants from government, media, business, foreign affairs and tech, as well as public policy activists.
Our theme this year was
“Rethinking the Democracy Compact”
The very foundations of our nation and the global order have shifted: institutions and gatekeepers are bypassed, societal norms are reorienting and governments are being rearranged - for better or worse. What drives these changes? How do they impact our democracy’s future? Most importantly, how can we harness them?
We presented fascinating discussions on the global transformations underway – greatest international threats and changes from new geopolitical escalations and vacuums; national challenges and our inability to confront our biggest transformations from broken government to gross economic disparities and climate change; growing a vibrant economy and jobs for today and tomorrow; the high-tech and social media revolution and its dangers and opportunities; our shifting political realities, the 2020 race and the impact of activism, immigration, populism, and identity; Fake news and pressure on journalism and freedom of the press here abroad; new scientific and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and gene editing – in short, configuring anew for a society that is human-centred, inclusive and sustainable.
Agenda:
Welcome
Patricia Duff, Founder, The Common Good
Smithsonian Briefing: “The Future of the Women’s Museum”
Emily Rafferty, Karri Brady and Wendy Pangburn
Changemaker Scholarships
Jamie Margolin, age 17 and Alexandria Villaseñor, age 13. Presented by ABC’s Juju Chang and Sharon Patrick
Women & Power
Kay Koplovitz, Mia Love, Sally Quinn, and Alessandra Stanley. Moderated by Juju Chang
The Road to 2020: Leaders & Ideas
Matt Bennett, Margaret Hoover, Steve Israel, Claire McCaskill, and Rick Tyler. Moderated by Errol Louis.
Can’t We All Just Get Along? How Washington Can Best Serve the Nation”
Renewing Democracy
Max Boot, Nicole Austin-Hillery, Cohen Curtis, and Michael Waldman. Moderated by Ari Melber
Growing a Fair Economy
Alan Schwartz and Stephanie Ruhle
Artificial Intelligence & Warfare
Major General (Ret.) Dr. Robert Latiff
World View: Security Challenges & Opportunities
Ambassador Bill Burns, Ambassador Nicholas Burns and Former Congressman Jane Harman. Moderated by Edward Luce
Rule of Law, Corruption, and Abuse of Power
Bill Browder and Preet Bharara. Moderated by John Avlon
Journalism & Democracy
Tom Brokaw, Lesley Stahl, and Sir Harry Evans
Citizen Activism & TRIBUTE TO robert f. kennedy
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
American Spirit Awardees
Sir Harry Evans
Courage in Journalism
Lesley Stahl
Courage in Journalism
Preet Bharara
Distinguished Public Service
Bill Browder
Citizen Activism
Changemaker Scholarship Recipients
Jamie Margolin
Climate Change Action
Alexandria Villasenor
Climate Change Action
Interested in attending future events?
Screening and Discussion of The Panama Papers
A riveting insider account of the story hundreds of journalists risked their lives to break, The Panama Papers, will take you behind the groundbreaking revelations of one of the biggest global corruption scandals in history — a vast a coordinated scheme by the world’s elite.
The Common Good is proud to present a screening and discussion of The Panama Papers moderated by Stephanie Ruhle with Kevin Hall, Robert Friedman, and Alex Winter. A riveting insider account of the story hundreds of journalists risked their lives to break, The Panama Papers, will take you behind the groundbreaking revelations of one of the biggest global corruption scandals in history — a vast a coordinated scheme by the world’s elite.
LISTEN:
WATCH:
The Panama Papers is a feature documentary that charts the story of the massive data leak that exposed the largest global corruption scandal in history. Hundreds of journalists around the globe worked in secret, at great personal risk, to reveal a scandal involving corrupt power brokers, the uber rich, elected officials, dictators, cartel bosses, athletes and celebrities who had used the Panamanian law firm of Mossack Fonseca to hide their money for any number of illegal reasons. The reports detailed tax evasion, fraud, cronyism, bribing government officials, election meddling, and murder. The investigation proved that the system is rigged, and cracked the vault of well-kept secrets and ill-gotten wealth, revealing vast and coordinated corruption among the world’s elite. The significance for the average, tax paying, law-abiding citizen is enormous; with the leaks showing that at least $32 trillion was hiding in more than 80 tax havens in 2010 alone. But breaking the story was only the beginning. There was immediate blowback from many of the named and accused, who are using every tactic imaginable to silence the journalists.
Stephanie Ruhle authors “MSNBC Live with Stephanie Ruhle” and “MSNBC Live with Velshi & Ruhle.” Previously, Ruhle served as anchor and managing editor for Bloomberg Television and editor-at-large for Bloomberg NEws. She has interviewed industry titans such as Donald Trump, Jamie Dimon, Martha Steward, and Al Gore. Ruhle produced and hosted the documentary Haiti: Open For Business? and participated in Sharkland: A Mission Blue & Fusion Expedition. Ruhle is a member of the board of trustees for Girls Inc. NYC and was honored as one of their Women of the Year in 2016
Kevin Hall is a senior investigator and chief economics correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers. He shared the 2016 Pulitzer Price as part of the Panama Papers team, and is a 2010 Pulitzer finalist and Loeb Award winner for reporting on Wall Street and the financial crisis. From 1999 to 2005 Hall was Knight Ridder’s Brazil-based South America bureau chief, and won the Sigma Delta Chi for BEst Foreign Correspondence in 2004.
Robert Friedman is founder and CEO of Bungalow, and has held an array of senior executive positions including President of Radical Media and Entertainment, Co-Chairman of New Line Cinema, and President of New Line Television. Bungalows’ credits include Emmy Award winning GIVE. The Panama Papers adds to his extensive documentary list, most recently including Under African Skies, Spring Broke with Alex Gibney, We The People and Paradise Lost with Joe Berlinger. His industry honors include being named ADWEEK’s “Media Man of the Year.”
Alex Winter entered show business as a child actor and came to prominence starring in movies such as The Lost Boys. He has directed three narrative features (Freaked, Fever, and Smosh: The Movie) and hundreds of award-winning television commercials and music videos. His VH1 Rock Doc “Downloaded” earned worldwide critical acclaim. Winter’s latest award-winning documentary “Deep Web” premiered at SXSW and opened wide as the #1 documentary on iTunes.
Interested in attending future events?
The Common Good has been hosting events since 2006 that cover important issues of today, highlighting speakers who have worked to bolster our democracy and can provide great insight on the issues that matter.