North American Futures: Canadian and U.S. Perspectives March 13, 2010

North America has long set the world standard for economic leadership and civic engagement. A common, often shared approach between Canada and the U.S. has proven historically a strong asset; there is a mutual exchange that takes place in the larger North American commons of ideas, practices, and resulting advances and accomplishments.

The recent economic downturn and its sharp dislocating effects stretched through all aspects of the public and private sectors. Canada and the U.S. need to pursue opportunities to strengthen cooperation and joint strategies for North American peace and prosperity.

North American Futures: Canadian – US Perspectives is a two day bi-national conference for private and public sector practitioners and scholars interested in the issues driving the North American, Canada – U.S. relationship.

The conference is being co-sponsored by the University of California at Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) and the University of British Columbia’s Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions & US Studies Program, along with the UC Berkeley Canadian Studies Program and the Institute of International Studies (IIS). This conference is the inaugural event for the Berkeley - British Columbia Symposium on Politics and Public Policy.

The conference takes place Friday and Saturday, March 12 – 13, 2010, at the new David Brower Center, located in downtown Berkeley, California. It will be webcast on webcast.berkeley.edu and televised on UC-TV. Over the course of two days the conference will hear from experts and conduct panels in the following key areas:

* 1) Culture, Identity, and the Social Contract
* 2) Managing the Economic Arena
* 3) National Security and International Affairs
* 4) Managing the Artcic
* 5) Energy, the Environment, and Climate Change
* 6) The Trilateral Perspective - Mexico, The US, Canada
* 7) North American Futures: The Challenges of the 21st Century

Conference organization is under the direction of Jack Citrin, Director of IGS and Heller Professor of Political Science at Berkeley; Tom Barnes, Co-Director of the Canadian Studies Program; Richard Johnston, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at British Columbia; and former Canadian Ambassador Jeremy Kinsman as visiting Regents’ Lecturer at UC Berkeley. The conference will be convened by UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau.

NOT REQUIRED, but appreciated

To RSVP, send your name and email address with the following info:

Subject: "Canada 2010 RSVP"

To: info.rsvp.berkeleyconf@gmail.com