Camden Conference In the News
Rise of China fitting topic for foreign policy conference
By Ron Bancroft for Portland Press Herald, March 1, 2011
Last weekend was the 39th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s historic opening of China. It was particularly fitting, then, that this year’s Camden Conference should fall on the same weekend with the theme “The Challenges of Asia,” and that the conference’s keynote speaker, Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, had cut his diplomatic teeth as Nixon’s interpreter for that memorable visit.
Camden Conference examines ‘Challenges of Asia’
By Andrew Benore for Village Soup, February 24, 2011
The 24th annual Camden Conference was titled “The Challenges of Asia.” More than 800 people attended the conference at the Camden Opera House and satellite locations. Here are three stories from the conference: Fall of the ‘rise of China’; Economic ‘red line’ could signal upheaval; Speakers address Arab-Israeli conflict.
Asia integrates through economic, financial factors
By Andrew Benore for Village Soup, February 19, 2011
The idea of Asia as an identity was imagined by the Greeks thousands of years ago and today it is becoming a reality, said Chas W. Freeman Jr. in the keynote speech of the Camden Conference on Feb. 18 at the Camden Opera House.
This integration of Asia is driven by economic and financial factors rather than politics and ideology, Freeman said. At some expense to the U.S. role, Asian countries are relying more on each other for trading, business deals, education and banking, he said.
“Asia is leaving the realm of Greek myth and becoming a reality,” Freeman said. “Asians are drawing together as they rise in wealth and power. Their economies, their companies and their influence now extend beyond their own continent.”
Camden Conference speaker says U.S. must harness Asia’s success
By Heather Steeves for The Bangor Daily News, February 19, 2011
One thing was clear from the keynote address at the 2011 Camden Conference: Asian economies are complex, growing systems that America must adapt to.
Charles W. Freeman Jr., a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told the group in his keynote address Friday night that China’s economy is predicted to bubble to twice the size of the U.S. economy.
“By 2050 the world’s center of gravity will be centered in Asia — somewhere between Beijing and Delhi,” Freeman said on the stage of the Camden Opera House. “The challenge to the U.S. is to harness Asia’s success as our own. Not to conquer it.”
Camden Conference to Be Dedicated to Matthew Simmons
The Free Press, February 14, 2011
The board of directors of the Camden Conference has announced that it will dedicate the upcoming conference, “The Challenges of Asia” (February 18 through 20), to honor the memory of Matthew R. Simmons. Simmons was the keynote speaker for the 15th Camden Conference in 2002, “The Politics of Energy and Water.” His talk was titled “Nightmares and Dreams about World Energy Crises.” He was a long-standing member of the Camden Conference Advisory Council and had always been a generous benefactor in support of the mission of the organization.
Camden Conference announces speakers for February Conference
Village Soup, December 9, 2010
The roster of speakers for February’s 24th Camden Conference is now complete — and it is as diverse and multifaceted as ”The Challenges of Asia,” the topic of the 2011 Conference. Speakers run the gamut from an expert on security issues in the Indian Ocean to a former negotiator with North Korea. Presentations will address cultural and social dimensions of Asia’s 21st Century rise, as well as the political, economic, and strategic stresses the continent faces.
Camden Conference Keynote Announced
The Free Press, November 24, 2010
Charles Freeman, Nixon’s interpreter on his breakthrough 1972 visit to China and a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, promises to set an inquiring and enlightening tone that will continue throughout next February’s Camden Conference on “The Challenges of Asia.” Tickets are already on sale to Conference members. They will go on sale to the general public on Monday, November 29, on www.camdenconference.org and by phone at 236-1034. Dates of the Conference are February 18 through 20, 2011.
Get Ready: Global Warming Hits Maine
The Free Press, November 2, 2010
More severe storms, more Lyme disease, more red tide, more damaging tree insects, more beach erosion, more school closures due to extreme heat; all of these and more are already being felt in Maine and all of them are, to some extent, a result of a warming climate.
The good news is that winters will be milder, growing seasons longer, and tourism is likely to grow in interior Maine during the winter as snow becomes less common in the lower New England states and tourists come to Maine to see the winter.
The question is not whether global climate change is happening, it’s not even how to stop it from going further, according to George Jacobson, the Maine state climatologist. The question is how do we adapt and prepare for global warming and try to slow down its progress.
Camden Conference Season Kick-Off
Village Soup, September 9, 2010
It is in many ways the defining issue of our times: The Challenges of Asia. And it’s the theme of the 2011 Camden Conference, featuring talks by opinion leaders from around the US and Asia itself on a range of economic, environmental, foreign policy and cultural topics dealing with China, India, Japan and other regional powers — as well as the US response to those challenges and opportunities.