January 13, 2000
Jimmy Carter to address human rights and global progress
Jimmy Carter will address a Seattle audience on Wednesday (Jan. 19) using an unconventional format in which a University of Washington professor engages the former president in a conversation about global progress.
Carter’s “conversation” is sponsored by the 4-month-old Progress Project, which already has enlisted such thinkers as historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and scientist Jane Goodall in exploring how to define, measure and enhance progress in the new millennium.
The Progress Project is an initiative of the UW’s Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs and The Glaser Family Foundation, founded by Rob Glaser, president and CEO of RealNetworks Inc.
Project leaders have invited Carter to discuss progress and human rights at downtown Seattle’s Town Hall, Eighth and Seneca. The 1,000 free public tickets were snapped up within a few hours, but the 7 p.m. event also will be webcast live at www.progressproject.org.
Interviewing Carter will be Hubert Locke, professor and dean emeritus at the Evans School and author of books and articles on topics ranging from justice to race to religion. The format, Locke said, reflects the Progress Project’s interest in focusing and deepening the conversation.
“We plan to exchange ideas in much the same way that Seattleites might do in their cafes and living rooms,” Locke said. “This is a part of ongoing exchange with some of the most amazing, provocative people.”
Carter plans to leave Seattle immediately after the evening event.
Earlier that afternoon, however, the former president is scheduled to deliver brief remarks at an informal hourlong reception on the UW campus with students and faculty of the Evans School, where The Progress Project is based. Reporters and photographers are invited to attend the 3 p.m. reception in the Commons, Room 328 Parrington Hall (just north of Red Square), where The Progress Project participants also will be available to discuss the project and answer questions.
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For more information or to attend either event, contact the Progress Project’s Janet Looney, (206) 616-1642, jlooney@u.washington.edu, or David Messerschmidt, (206) 221-7642, davidlm@u.washington.edu.
WHAT IS THE PROGRESS PROJECT?
Despite 20th century advances in science and technology, humanity’s success in using this knowledge and spreading its benefits broadly – “progress” – remains uneven.
The Progress Project seeks to draw scholars, policymakers, business leaders and citizens into a vigorous new discussion. Though scholars and activists have been developing indicators to gauge societal health and welfare, the next step is to learn how to use these measures to design effective programs and policies.
In its four months of existence, The Progress Project has engaged eminent leaders and thinkers in this discussion, including historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, scientist and environmentalist Jane Goodall, and economic journalists Robert Kuttner and James Fallows. Participants this spring will include former Sen. George Mitchell and technology gurus Doug Engelbart and Alan Kay.
Each of The Progress Project events is webcast live and then archived at the project Web site, www.progressproject.org. The webcasts are intended to extend access and participation in The Progress Project’s discussion on defining and encouraging progress in the 21st century. In addition to the Web site and speaker series, a conference and scholarly book on progress will further expand the conversation.
The Progress Project is an initiative of the University of Washington’s Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs and The Glaser Family Foundation. Rob Glaser, the president and CEO of Seattle-based Internet streaming company RealNetworks Inc., created the foundation in 1994 to support philanthropic initiatives.
Local events are co-sponsored by the University Book Store, The Seattle Times and Town Hall, with additional support from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation.
JIMMY CARTER
Jimmy Carter’s diplomatic and humanitarian activities have spanned the globe since the 39th president left the White House in 1980.
Carter’s recent participation in the turnover of the Panama Canal was merely the latest example of his leadership as a peacemaker in places such as Haiti and the Balkans, disease fighter in the developing world and homebuilder for America’s poor. The Atlanta-based Carter Center, which he actively guides, conducts a wide range of humanitarian work.
The former president also has been an influential voice on issues concerning faith and human rights. His latest book, “Always a Reckoning and Other Poems,” is his 15th.
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Information on the Carter Center is available at (404) 420-5108, www.cartercenter.org.
