Eisenhower Fellowships hosted its 2020 Annual Meeting on October 14 and 15, a two-day virtual event that registered more than 450 Fellows and friends of the organization from 57 countries for the first digital annual gathering in our history.
The event featured dynamic conversations with New York Times Foreign Affairs columnist Thomas L. Friedman and with our Chairman, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, Robert M. Gates, discussing his widely acclaimed new book, Exercise of Power: American Failures, Successes, and a New Path Forward in the Post-Cold War World. Capping the proceedings was a conversation with our Trustee, Susan Eisenhower, sharing her unique insights from her fascinating new book about her grandfather, How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decisions. If you weren’t able to join us, click on the video links below to watch all the sessions.
During the Chairman’s Seminar with Secretary Gates, our chairman presented Juan Jose Güemes (Spain 2011), with the 2020 Distinguished Fellow Award. View Juan Jose’s eloquent acceptance remarks here.
The Annual Meeting of our Board of Trustees coincided with our Fall 2020 Women’s Leadership Program, bringing together 25 outstanding women leaders from 23 countries for the first all-virtual program in the history of Eisenhower Fellowships. This program attracted more than 1,000 applicants for just 25 slots, by far the highest number we have ever received. Meet these formidable leaders in this, the third EF Women’s Leadership Program in the last decade.
During our Annual Meeting of the Board we introduced EF’s Global Scholars, four recent American college graduates embarked on their postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford and IE University in Madrid leading to a Master’s degree. Meet them here.
The unprecedented virtual Annual Meeting sessions marked a year filled with innovation and creativity following our dynamic global conference on the Future of Education back in February in Cartagena, Colombia, before the Covid pandemic hit and disrupted life around the world. More than 245 thought leaders from 37 countries came together for three electrifying days on the Caribbean coast of South America to explore this subject of vital importance all over the world.
Both past and prologue, Cartagena was a recent reminder of the magic that Eisenhower Fellows generate whenever they come together, and a harbinger of our future when we can gather again in person after the pandemic wanes. Come relive this with us via this video.
We couldn’t do any of this without the generous support of our big-hearted donors. If you have contributed to our work over these difficult last few months, we extend our heartfelt thanks for your generosity. If you would like to support our dynamic Fellows and their critical work around the world, please remember us in your giving this year.
In these times of division and discord, we firmly believe the mission of Eisenhower Fellowships to enhance understanding and connect and empower leaders across the globe to better our world has never been more vital and relevant. To ensure this work endures, we are launching The Fund for Peace. Prosperity. Justice. Join us by making a gift today.
Your investment in our future is indispensable to everything we do, as we work to support those leaders around the world who inspire us to do more.
Watch all the videos from the event here.