The Sakıp Sabancı Conference will be held in the United States on May 5th
The British statesman and the last Governor General of Hong Kong, Christopher Patten, will analyze the future of Turkey-USA-EU relationships
Organized by Sabancı University with the US-based think tank Brookings Institution, the 5th Sakıp Sabancı Conference will be held in Washington DC on May 5th. The conference will be delivered by Christopher Patten, the Chancellor to the Oxford University and a member of the Sabancı University International Board of Overseers. The title of Patten’s speech is “Transatlantic Partners - The Challenges of Multilateralism for Europe and Turkey."
Named in honor of the late Sakıp Sabancı, the Honorary Chairman of the Sabancı University Board of Trustees, the Sakıp Sabancı Conference Series is held once a year with the cooperation of the Brookings Institution and Sabancı University to emphasize the opinions of leading foreign policy experts on recent developments in international politics.
The conference in Washington DC will be hosted by Güler Sabancı, the Chairperson of the Sabancı University Board of Trustees, and Strobe Talbott, the President of the Brookings Institution. Among the audience will be many American experts and policymakers in addition to the Vice President of the Brookings Institution, Kemal Derviş. The conference will be simultaneously broadcast via video link at Sabancı University in an event hosted by the President, Professor Tosun Terzioğlu. Güler Sabancı will be accompanied by Vice-Chairperson of the Sabancı University Board of Trustees, Professor Ahmet Aykaç and Vice President Professor Nihat Berker in Washington DC. Viewers in Turkey will also have the opportunity to ask questions in the question-answer session that will follow the conference.
Held with the cooperation of Sabancı University and the Brookings Institution since 2005, the conferences featured former US Secretary of Foreign Affairs Madeleine Albright, former president of the World Bank Paul Wolfowitz, former US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke and former US Assistant Secretary of State and Ambassador Nicholas Burns as keynote speakers.
About Christopher Francis Patten
Christopher Patten is the Chancellor of Oxford University, and a prominent Conservative politician. Patten is also a Patron of the pro-European “Tory Reform Group” within the Conservative Party. Patten has been a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1992, eventually rising to a cabinet minister and party chairman. In the latter capacity, he orchestrated the Conservatives’ unexpected fourth consecutive electoral victory in 1992. In June 1992, he was appointed as the 28th and last British Governor of Hong Kong, and remained in this post until the return of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China in 1997. Patten was a remarkable governor due to the structural reforms he effected during his tenure in Hong Kong, and to his struggle for democratic rights. The handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997 is considered a success. Christopher Francis Patten has been a member of the Sabancı University International Board of Overseers since 2008.
In his speech titled “Transatlantic Partners - The Challenges of Multilateralism for Europe and Turkey", Chris Patten will answer the following questions:
How successful was President Obama’s first trip to Europe?
What is Europe today?
Where is the process of the European Union heading?
How does Europe see itself in the world?
What is European multilateralism?
If Europe is to be an effective partner with America, what should it do?
What does Washington expect of Europe?
How should the Turkish EU candidacy proceed?
What does Turkey offer Europe?
How can it help Europe?
What can Turkey do to make the accession process easier?
What role can Turkey play with Russia and in the Mediterranean?
What role can it play in addressing other global challenges?
Program
Date: Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
Time: 5.30 pm
Place: Sabancı University Campus, Orhanlı, Tuzla
