World Affairs Council’s International Speakers Series: Nobel Economist Paul Krugman Launches 2009 Series

Portland, OR, December 07, 2008 --(PR.com)-- With the economy at the forefront of national thinking, the World Affairs Council of Oregon has invited Paul Krugman, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Economics, to launch its 2009 International Speakers Series on January 29, 2009. Other presenters in the Series are CNN Anchor and Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria, environmental scientist David Suzuki, and global health expert Laurie Garrett.

“The International Speakers Series this year is focused on the theme, The World in 2020,” said Thomas Hochstettler, Chair of the World Affairs Council Board of Trustees and President of Lewis and Clark College. “Given the enormous challenges of the present, what can we expect for the world economy, politics, environment, and health in the near future? We are fortunate to be able to bring the world’s leading experts on these subjects to Portland to share their thoughts.”

Paul Krugman is Professor of Economics at Princeton University and an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times. He won the Nobel Prize in October 2008 for his ground-breaking theory of international trade. In a book published ten years ago, The Return of Depression Economics, Krugman warned about the financial crisis we are facing today. Krugman will speak on The Global Economy in 2020.

Fareed Zakaria will speak on Power and Politics in 2020 on March 9, 2009. Zakaria is host of CNN’s international affairs program aired weekly worldwide and Editor of Newsweek International. Author of three books on world affairs, including the recent best-seller, The Post-American World, he was named "one of the 21 most important people of the 21st Century" by Esquire magazine.

David Suzuki will speak on The Climate Crisis on April 8, 2009. Host of The Nature of Things, a CBC television series aired in 50 countries and the critically acclaimed PBS series, The Secret of Life, Dr. Suzuki is a practicing scientist and author of forty-three books. A world leader in sustainable ecology, Dr. Suzuki has received 22 honorary degrees for his work in popularizing science and environmental issues.

Laurie Garrett will speak on Global Health and Food Security on May 13, 2009. A scientist and writer, Garrett is the only person ever to be awarded all three of the Big "Ps" of journalism: The Peabody, The Polk (twice), and The Pulitzer prizes. She is author of The Coming Pandemic and Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health and is currently Gates Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The International Speaker Series began in 2000 in celebration of the World Affairs Council’s 50th anniversary. Speakers have included Mikhail Gorbachev, Bill Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Wangari Maathai, Vicente Fox, the Dalai Lama, Madeleine Albright, Desmond Tutu, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Bono, among others. All lectures in 2009 will be held at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and will begin at 7 pm.

Tickets for the 4-event Series can be purchased online at or by calling the World Affairs Council at 503-274-7488. Prices start at $125 for members for all four presentations; students with membership $75 (some scholarships are available).

The World Affairs Council is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to broadening public understanding of international affairs and connecting Oregonians to the world.

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