Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter to Launch 2007-2008 Season of Conversations at The Carter Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Deborah Hakes
Telephone: 404-420-5124
Email: dhakes@emory.edu

Atlanta…Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will discuss 25 years of humanitarian work through The Carter Center to open the upcoming season of Conversations at The Carter Center on Sept. 18, 2007. The annual speaker series features panel discussions of current world topics and Carter Center work.

This season will also include a Conversation on human rights with President Carter and Ambassador Andrew Young, a look at the effects of increased U.S. government secrecy, the rise of China, and grassroots healthcare work in Africa.

Tickets for the September 18 event are sold out.  Online RSVPs will be accepted for remaining events, with dates listed below.  All Conversations will be webcast live and archived on the Carter Center's Web site. Conversations are held at The Carter Center, Ivan Allen III Pavilion, 453 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30307.

The full Conversations schedule includes:

25 Years of The Carter Center
Tickets for this event are sold out.

Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007, 7-8:30 p.m.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady  Rosalynn Carter will discuss current initiatives at The Carter Center and reflect on past accomplishments as part of the Center's 25th anniversary celebration. Moderated by Carter Center CEO John Hardman.

Heralding Freedom: The Gulag, American Civil Rights Movement, and Human Rights
Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007, 7-8:30 p.m. Free RSVP required.  RSVPs will be accepted online only beginning Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Ambassador Andrew Young will discuss the suppression of political and religious dissent in the former Soviet Union, the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, and the current work of The Carter Center on human rights. The event coincides with Human Rights Day and the opening of a special exhibit at the Martin Luther King National Historic Site called Gulag: Soviet Prison Camps and Their Legacy. It is co-sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site and Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. Moderated by Jay Hakes, director of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.

Are We Safer with Secrecy?

Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008, 7-8:30 p.m. Free RSVP required.   RSVPs will be accepted online only beginning Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2008.  Note:  This is a new date.  The event was originally scheduled for Feb. 19.

The level of secrecy in the U.S. government is at a level not seen before. Security legislation such as the Patriot Act has eroded the right to information in the United States since 9/11. With the globalization of information and developing nations establishing ATI initiatives, what does this retreat in the U.S. mean for those around the world?

Assessing the Prospects for Political Reform in China

Wednesday, March 19, 2008, 7-8:30 p.m. Free RSVP required.  RSVPs will be accepted online only beginning Friday, Feb. 1, 2008.

Panelists Mary Brown-Bullock, president emeriti of Agnes Scott College and visiting distinguished professor of China studies at Emory University; Professor Fei-Ling Wang of Georgia Institute of Technology; and Yawei Liu, director of the China Program at The Carter Center, will address prospects of democratization in China. This Conversation will also address the work of President Carter and The Carter Center in China in the context of growing tension between Washington and Beijing, the pressure of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on the Chinese government, and the increasing concern that China will either collapse without political reform or possibly present a new development model for the world.

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The following event is available via webcast only:

Battling Disease at the Grassroots Level: A Case Study in Ethiopia

Thursday, April 24, 2008, 7-8:30 p.m. Webcast only.

There is a critical shortage of global health care workers to combat life-threatening diseases, most severely in the poor countries of sub-Saharan Africa. For more than a decade, the Carter Center's Ethiopia Public Health Training Initiative has worked to build a skilled national health care workforce through specialized curricula and enhanced learning environments. A panel will discuss the shortage of health care workers, the Carter Center's EPHTI work, and whether the EPHTI model can be applied elsewhere. Join in the event by submitting a question online! Panelists will answer as many questions as there is time for during the event.

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"Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope."

The Carter Center celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2007. A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 70 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers in developing nations to increase crop production. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. Please visit www.cartercenter.org to learn more about The Carter Center.