U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney headline McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum May 3 and 45 min read

By
Christopher Fox Graham
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The McCain Institute is hosting the 2024 Sedona Forum taking Friday and Saturday, May 3 and 4, at Enchantment Resort outside Sedona, starting at 2:30 p.m. The organization was initiated by the late U.S. Sen. John McCain [R-Ariz.].

With the theme “Securing Our Insecure World,” panel topics will cover challenges posed by autocracies, the impact of technology on democracy, the global hunger crisis, human security and more.

Speakers include U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaking with U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney [R-Utah]; U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema [I-Ariz.], Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbes; late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s daughter Dasha Navalnaya, a student at Standford University; United States Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman; U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema [I-Ariz.]; U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly [D-Ariz.]; U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin [D-W.Va.]; and U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle [D-Penn.].

The event is not open to the general public, however, it is livestreamed. To register and watch, visit mccaininstitute.org by clicking here.

Speakers on Friday, May 3

2:30 PM – 2:40 PM Welcome Remarks

  • Dr. Evelyn Farkas, Executive Director of the McCain Institute
  • Dr. Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University

2:40 PM – 2:50 PM A View from Arizona, introduction by Rick Davis, Partner, Stonecourt Capital & Chairman, Board of Trustees, McCain Institute

  • Gov. Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s 24th Governor

3:00 PM – 3:45 PM Democracy Delivers: An Economic Case for an Uncertain Era, in Conversation

  • Janet Yellen, United States Secretary of the Treasury
  • Moderator: Dr. Michael Crow, President, Arizona State University

3:50 PM – 4:30 PM Weapons of War: Combating Sexual Violence

Introduction by Kristen Abrams, Chief Program Officer, McCain Institute

  • Dr. Denis Mukwege, President & Founder, Panzi Hospital and Foundation
  • Sheryl Sandberg, Founder, Lean In

4:30 PM – 5:00 PM Democracy in the Balance

  • Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, United States Senator, Arizona
  • Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, The Washington Post’s democracy reporter based in Arizona

5:00 PM – 5:15 PM Presentation of the In The Arena Award

  • Presentation by Gov. Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s 24th Governor to Hans Vestberg, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Verizon

7:05 PM The Sedona Leadership Dinner

Welcome Remarks by Dr. Evelyn Farkas, Executive Director, McCain Institute

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Presentation of the Courage & Leadership Award and remarks by Jack McCain, Board Member, McCain Institute

Presentation by David Axelrod, Founding Director, University of Chicago Institute of Politics, CNN Senior Political Commentator, & Professor of Practice, Arizona State University

  • Remarks: Dasha Navalnaya
U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney [R-Utah], left, will have a conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken,

7:30 PM Keynote Conversation:

Introduction by Dr. Michael Crow, President, Arizona State University

  • Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State
  • Mitt Romney, United States Senator, Utah

Remarks and Video Introduction:

  • Dr. Evelyn Farkas, Executive Director, The McCain Institute, with a tribute video to late U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger

Conclusion:

Rick Davis, Partner, Stonecourt Capital & Chairman, Board of Trustees, McCain Institute

Speakers on Saturday, May 4

8:40 AM – 8:45 AM Opening Remarks

  • Rick Davis, Partner, Stonecourt Capital & Chair, Board of Trustees, McCain Institute
  • Scott Jablow, Mayor of Sedona

8:45 AM – 9:00 AM An Update from Ukraine,

  • Virtual Remarks from Dmytro Kuleba, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ukraine
  • Dr. Evelyn Farkas, Executive Director, McCain Institute

9:05 AM – 9:45 AM Democracy and the Digital Revolution

Introduction by Lev Gonick, Chief Information Officer, Arizona State University

  • Sen. Joe Manchin, United States Senator, West Virginia
  • Damon Wilson, President & CEO, National Endowment for Democracy

Moderator:

  • Sarah Margon, Director, Foreign Policy, Open Society Foundations

9:45 AM – 10:30 AM Global Hot Spots: Russia & Middle East

Introduction: “Support Ukraine” video

  • Garry Kasparov, Chairman, Renew Democracy Initiative
  • Vali Nasr, Professor of International Affairs & Middle East Studies, SAIS
  • David Pressman, United States Ambassador to Hungary

Moderator:

  • Dr. Evelyn Farkas, Executive Director, McCain Institute

10:45 AM – 11:30 AM Tools of Statecraft: Wrongful Detainees and Hostage Affairs

  • Amb. Roger D. Carstens, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, U.S. State Department
  • Sen. Peter Welch, United States Senator, Vermont

Moderator:

  • Seung Min Kim, White House Reporter, The Associated Press

11:30 AM – 12:15 PM US Deterrence Strategy in Asia

  • Rep. Brendan Boyle, United States Congressman, Pennsylvania’s 2nd District
  • Jon Finer, Deputy National Security Advisor of the United States
  • Sen. Mark Kelly, United States Senator, Arizona

Moderator:

  • Courtney Kube, Correspondent, NBC News

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM “A Cause Greater Than” Lunch: Political Courage

Introduction by Steve Duprey, Former Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party

  • Gov. Chris Sununu, New Hampshire’s 82nd Governor

In Conversation With:

  • Heidi Heitkamp, Director, University of Chicago Institute of Politics & Board Member, McCain Institute


1:45 PM – 2:30 PM Surviving “America First”

  • Rep. Jason Crow, United States Congressman, Colorado’s 6th District
  • Amb. Alexandra Hall Hall, Former Ambassador to Georgia, Writer, Byline Times, & Co-host, “Disorder” Podcast
  • Amb. Martin Kimani, Kenyan Ambassador to the United Nations

Moderator:

  • Josh Rogin, Columnist, The Washington Post

2:30 PM – 3:15 PM Law of the Sea Versus China’s Maritime Adventurism

  • Adm. Linda Fagan, Commandant, United States Coast Guard
  • Sen. Todd Young, United States Senator, Indiana

Moderator:

  • Paul Kane, Senior Congressional Correspondent, The Washington Post

3:30 PM – 4:15 PM Can Transparency Curb Corruption?

  • Sen. Bill Cassidy, United States Senator, Louisiana
  • Gen. Laura Richardson, Commander, United States Southern Command
  • Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, United States Senator, Rhode Island

Moderator:

  • Roberto Patiño, Founder, Mi Convive and Director, Institute 2100

4:15 PM – 5:00 PM Analysis of US Elections: 2024 and Beyond

  • David Axelrod, Founding Director, University of Chicago Institute of Politics, CNN Senior Political Commentator, & Professor of Practice, ASU
  • Rick Davis, Partner, Stonecourt Capital & Chair, Board of Trustees, McCain Institute

Moderator:

  • Kelly O’Donnell, Senior White House Correspondent, NBC News

5:00 PM – 5:15 PM Closing Remarks

  • Dr. Evelyn Farkas, Executive Director, McCain Institute
Christopher Fox Graham

Christopher Fox Graham is the managing editor of the Sedona Rock Rock News, The Camp Verde Journal and the Cottonwood Journal Extra. Hired by Larson Newspapers as a copy editor in 2004, he became assistant manager editor in October 2009 and managing editor in August 2013. Graham has won awards for editorials, investigative news reporting, headline writing, page design and community service from the Arizona Newspapers Association. Graham has also been a guest contributor in Editor & Publisher magazine and featured in the LA Times, New York Post and San Francisco Chronicle. He lectures on journalism and First Amendment law and is a nationally recognized performance aka slam poet. Retired U.S. Army Col. John Mills, former director of Cybersecurity Policy, Strategy, and International Affairs referred to him as "Mr. Slam Poet."

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