Phil Donahue, journalist and television host, New York

Vladimir Pozner, journalist and television host, Moscow

David Hoffman, contributing editor, The Washington Post

Heather Hurlburt, Executive Director, National Security Network

Internews Interactive and the Woodrow Wilson Center's Kennan Institute are pleased to announce that Phil Donahue, America's famous television host and journalist; and the renowned Russian journalist and TV commentator Vladimir Pozner, will be featured speakers at the Kennan Institute in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday April 21, 2010.

While Mr. Pozner and Mr. Donahue are both multiple-award winning journalists who have achieved great fame individually, they share a unique history as key players in the US-USSR citizen diplomacy movement of the 1980s, when they co-hosted a series of televised dialogues between citizens of the United States and the Soviet Union. These "spacebridge" programs ran on national networks in both nations and were watched by hundreds of millions of people.

Despite the end of the Cold War, key elements that defined the Citizen Diplomacy era remain in play today. Therefore the Seminar will not be solely reminiscence, but a dialogue between an older generation that came of age in the shadow of the Cold War, and a new generation that is faced with the unfinished business of that era. Joining the featured speakers will be the Washington Post editor and former Moscow correspondent, David E. Hoffman, author of the recently published history of the arms race, The Dead Hand; and Heather Hurlburt, executive director of the National Security Network, and former speechwriter and special assistant to President Clinton. Graduate students in international affairs from Georgetown and George Washington Universities have been invited to attend, to ask questions and exchange ideas with the participants. The discussion will focus on these topics:

Role of Media
Playing a similar role as it did during the Cold War, media continues to affect U.S.-Russia relations, sometimes promoting stereotypes and propagandizing, and sometimes fostering dialogue and building understanding. In our transformed media landscape, can a "Citizens' Summit" happen today, and what form might it take?

National Security and Nuclear Arsenals
A core goal of the Citizen Diplomacy movement was to promote dialogue in order to avoid nuclear war between the superpowers. Despite the peaceful end of the Cold War, Russian and American nuclear arsenals remain largely intact. The START treaty limiting these weapons expired in December 2009, and a new START treaty is set to be signed by Presidents Obama and Medvedev in April 2010. How important is this new treaty in reducing the risks posed by the Cold War nuclear arsenals?

The Seminar will include video clips of the 1985 Citizens' Summit, and of recent news coverage of the START talks by Russia Today and Fox News.


This event will be held in the 6th floor Flom auditorium.

Please note that seating for this event is available on a first come, first served basis-no reservations required. Please call on the day of the event to confirm. Please bring an identification card with a photograph (e.g. driver's license, work ID, or university ID) as part of the building's security procedures.