The Program

Distinguished Speakers Series

Distinguished speakers feature frequently throughout the semester. They are drawn from inside and outside the University and include CEOs, non-profit leaders, politicians, influential journalists, diplomats, scholars, and many others. The Program also has access to many of the University’s high-profile visitors and is often able to organize private meetings for the World Fellows.

 

A small sampling of past speakers includes:

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown
World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy
Linda Rottenberg, CEO, Endeavor Initiative, Inc.
Aryeh Neier, President, Open Society Institute
John Negroponte, US Ambassador to the United Nations
Steven Heintz, President, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Tom Scholar, UK Executive Director, World Bank and International Monetary Fund
Indra Nooyi, President, PepsiCo
World Security Network Foundation President Hubertus Hoffmann
Jim Rogers, investor and financial commentator
Members of the Indian Parliament
John Varney, BBC Chief Technology Officer
Charlie MacCormack, President, Save the Children

On Friday mornings, the Program hosts a weekly international current events discussion called Hot Coffee, Hot Issues. The discussions feature World Fellows in panel discussion format, followed by a question and answer session, and are open to anyone in the Yale and New Haven communities. They offer an excellent opportunity for World Fellows to engage in discussions on international topics with the broader community.