The Sixty-second Annual
Conference on World Affairs
University of Colorado at Boulder
April 5 –9, 2010
The Conference on World Affairs, originally founded in 1948 as a forum on international affairs,
expanded rapidly in its early years to encompass the arts, media, science, diplomacy, technology,
environment, spirituality, politics, business, medicine, human rights, and so on. Roger Ebert, who
has participated in the CWA for thirty-eight consecutive years, refers to the CWA as
“the Conference on Everything Conceivable.”
Each April 110 participants representing a wide range of backgrounds gather in Boulder for what
The New York Times calls “a week-long extravaganza of discussion and debate” on over 200 panels,
plenaries and performances. Conference participants discuss issues on an impromptu basis—a refreshing
alternative to the specialized gatherings of academia and the business world. Molly Ivins, a frequent
participant over 25 years, wrote that CWA offers “whole new ways of looking at old questions and information
that can transform the way you look at things.”
Ebert says, “Why is this week like lifeblood for me? Once we settle
into our life’s careers, most of us charge the line with our heads
down. I have a tendency, for example, to think the world revolves around
movies. Once a year at the Conference, I am forced to think on subjects
not of my own choosing. I get to talk to people from other worlds.”
The CWA owes its existence to a vast network of volunteers. Although many
of the panelists ordinarily command large speaking or performance fees,
CWA participants attend at their own expense, finding reward in a fascinating
and diverse group of people from around the globe. University faculty,
staff and students work alongside Boulder community members to plan and
host the week’s public events, as well as the participants’
meals and social events. Students provide local transportation, greeting
participants at Denver International Airport when they arrive. Gracious
Boulder community members open their homes to house participants during
the week.
All events are free and open to the public—and attended
by students, faculty, staff, alumni, townsfolk, journalists and visitors
from around the nation. Audiences range in size from an intimate 75 to
well over 2,000 at individual sessions, with a combined total of approximately
80,000 over the course of five days.
Past participants include:
Patch Adams
Richard Adams
Margot Adler
Steve Allen
George B. N. Ayittey
Russell Baker
Jello Biafra
Joseph Biden
Lillian Boutté
Eugene Carroll
Douglass Cater
Andrei Codrescu
Henry Steele Commager
Norman Cousins
Malcolm Bradbury
Betty Dodson
Bernardine Dohrn
Abba Eban
Roger Ebert
Michael Elliott
Mike Farrell
Michael Franc
R. Buckminster Fuller
Annette Goodheart
Dave Grusin
Don Grusin
Jeremy Harris
Gary Hart
J. Bryan Hehir
Jim Hightower
Adam Hochschild
Arlie Hochschild
Simon Hoggart
Richard Holbrooke
Jean Houston
Arianna Huffington
Samuel Huntington
Molly Ivins
Robert Kaplan
Kenneth Kaunda
Henry Kissinger
Rita Klimova
Charles Krauthammer
Harold Kroto
Paul Krugman
Jonathan Kwitny
Gene LaRocque
Eric Lax
Annie Leibovitz
Nicholas Lemann
Susan Love
Rachel Maddow
Johnny Mandel
Marya Mannes
B. P. McCoy
George McGovern
Marshall McLuhan
Terry McNally
Arthur Miller
Steve Miller
Ralph Nader
Andrew Neil
Howard Nemerov
Louise Nevelson
Huey Newton
Mel Powell
Yitzhak Rabin
Richard Rodriguez
Eleanor Roosevelt
Paolo Soleri
I. F. Stone
Studs Terkel
Norman Thomas
Sanho Tree
Ted Turner
Brian Urquhart
Jann Wenner
Mitzi Wertheim
Dennis Wilson
Joe Wilson
Tim Wirth
Jim Woolsey
Robert Wright
Adam Yarmolinsky