CONVENING
GLOBAL VOICES
INFLUENCING
THE DISCOURSE
ENGAGING
THE PUBLIC
YEAR IN
NUMBERS
SUPPORT
LOOKING
FORWARD
Throughout the course of 2015-16, the Council convened leading global voices, influenced the discourse on critical global issues, and engaged the public to explore ideas that will shape our global future.
Highlighting the accelerating expansion and quality of our work, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs was ranked the #1 “Think Tank to Watch” worldwide by the prestigious 2015 Global Go To Think Tank Index. The Council appeared in 10 categories overall – many for the first time in the institution’s history. View other awards by clicking on the ribbons below.
We spent much of 2015-16 preparing for the move to Prudential Plaza and updating our brand identity. Both convey the Council’s shift to a dynamic, influential global affairs organization that offers a unique perspective from Chicago, a top global city in America’s heartland.
Over the past year, the Council drove critical dialogue and offered policy-relevant analysis and solutions on a range of global issues by bringing together leaders in business, government, education, and the arts for international forums and task forces.
The forum convened not only government leaders but also CEOs, artists, and scholars – including Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, Ambassador Chan Heng Chee, Dan Doctoroff, Tessa Jowell, Henry M. Paulson, and Arne Quinze – for a cross-sector dialogue about the power and limitations of cities to shape global economic, political, and social policies.
In its second year, we extended the forum’s international reach and engagement by partnering with leading organizations from across the globe such as C40 cities collation on climate change, the London School of Economics Cities Programme, Emirates Policy Center, the Hague Institute for Global Justice, Japan's Mori Memorial Foundation, and Fundação Getulio Vargas in Brazil.
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More than 500 multidisciplinary stakeholders explored ideas to facilitate business investments and economic opportunities that can benefit small-scale farmers and urban consumers alike. At the symposium, the Council on Global Affairs also released a major report, Growing Food for Growing Cities: Transforming Food Systems in an Urbanizing World, recommending specific actions that the US government can take to advance food security in an urban world.
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In his remarks, which were later adapted for a Crain’s Chicago Business op-ed, Scott urged Chicago’s business, civic, and educational institutions to work together to tackle pressing challenges facing Chicago’s African-American community. Following the event, the Council and its board worked with Scott to convene a group of Chicago civic leaders to turn his call to action into a coordinated effort to address some of the intractable issues facing and limiting the progress of African-American women, children, and men across Chicago. The Council continues to provide support for the development of this critical initiative and emerging organization – which is focused on coordinated and comprehensive solutions to tackle violence, education, economic development, family development, community development, and health challenges afflicting Chicago’s African American community.
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The 2016 International Women’s Day Global Health Symposium in March explored the health of the next generation. Public health professionals, athletes, activists, and educators such as Katayoun Khosrowyar, former captain of the Iranian Women’s National Soccer Team; Caryl M. Stern, president and CEO of US Fund for UNICEF; and Alexis Glick, CEO of the GENYOUth Foundation, convened at the half-day event.
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Through a series of keynotes and breakout sessions, participants explored crucial and timely topics including gender based violence, women and girls in crisis zones, and health and childhood education. We partnered with 30 regional, national, and international partners such as the American Red Cross, CARE, Rotary, and USAID to increase the reach of the symposium, and more than 350 attended, including more than 150 students.
This past year has been wrought with complex and intractable global challenges. In an increasingly complex world, a commitment to conducting independent analysis and research to bring clarity and offer solutions to global challenges and policies is central to the Council’s mission. Twenty-four new nonresident fellows joined our team of experts who go beyond traditional thinking on international affairs to make new connections for policymakers and the public on issues such as global food and agriculture, global cities, the global economy, energy, immigration, and global security. The report we published on Ukraine in collaboration with the Brookings Institution and Atlantic Council was named the #1 US policy study-report by the Global Go To Think Tank Index. Throughout 2015-16, the Council on Global Affairs provided insight and influenced the public discourse on the following topics.
US Foreign Policy
and the 2016 Elections
On the same day as the second Republican debate in September, we released the findings of our 2015 Chicago Council Survey of public opinion on US foreign policy, which highlighted sharp partisan divides on issues such as immigration, climate change, and Middle East peace. POLITICO editor Susan Glasser and senior foreign correspondent Michael Crowley joined Council president Ivo H. Daalder and senior fellow Dina Smeltz in a discussion of the findings. Political strategists David Axelrod and Alex Castellanos discussed the findings at a Chicago event in October. Events throughout the year covered topics relevant to the elections, including the impact of millennials, election funding, and the Obama-Clinton relationship. During the primaries, nonresident fellow Richard Longworth wrote a series of op-eds for the Chicago Tribune, and Daalder coauthored a World Economic Forum whitepaper, Strengthening the Liberal World Order, about US leadership in the world that was released in June.
“Ninety percent of Americans effectively haven’t had a raise in decades and this has created tremendous anxiety among large numbers of people and a great deal of anger among many. And Trump has tapped into that and Bernie Sanders has tapped into it on the Democratic side.” - David Axelrod 2/16/16
“The challenge for American policymakers is that the temptation to go it alone is now larger than ever – and in fact the politics is helping that. Yet the need for engagement is also greater than ever because the system is showing signs of aging.” – Ivo H. Daalder, 6/24/16
At the height of debates on the Iran nuclear deal, findings from our 2015 survey showed that six in ten Americans favored the framework of the agreement with Iran. Following consecutive terror attacks in France, Tunisia, and Kuwait, Phil Gordon joined us in July 2015 to discuss unrest in the Middle East, US-Israel relations, and the Iran nuclear deal. We also hosted a private roundtable discussion with US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, the nuclear physicist who was a key player at the negotiating table. In October, Ambassador Dennis Ross discussed the impact of the deal on the US-Israel relationship. Our fellows also provided expert commentary on the deal, including visiting fellow Saied Golkar who questioned whether President Obama is losing sight of internal political developments in Iran due to his focus on ISIS. In June, career ambassadors Thomas Pickering and James F. Jeffrey discussed the success and implications of the Iran nuclear deal a year on.
“Neither normalization nor democratization in Iran are likely to occur soon, and those suggesting otherwise are victims of wishful thinking.” – Saeid Golkar, The National Interest, 02/21/16
“The agreement does open up channels of communication and they’ve been helpful and they’ve generally been useful despite the fact that Iran will constantly take advantage of them.” – Thomas Pickering, 06/27/16
In October 2015, much of the news focused on Russian President Vladimir Putin, who flexed his muscles at the UN General Assembly, deploying military forces to Syria and announcing an agreement with Iraq, Iran, and Syria to share intelligence about ISIS, and calling for an international coalition to stop the jihadist organization. Russian airstrikes in Syria followed soon after, and Council President Ivo H. Daalder wrote an op-ed for the Financial Times analyzing Putin’s brazen move. Nonresident senior fellow Richard C. Longworth also wrote a piece on what he called Putin’s “quagmire” for the Chicago Tribune. We hosted a series of programs – with The New York Times’ Steven Lee Myers, the American Foreign Policy Council’s Ilan Berman, and former world chess champion and Putin critic Garry Kasparov – exploring what drives Russian policy and how Putin’s grand strategy affects Western interests.
“As every dictator who is reaching this point of his power, he (Putin) believes that he is the country and all of the resources of the country could be used to promote his own agenda, which is very simple – to stay in power” – Garry Kasparov, 11/12/15
“A final consequence of Mr. Putin’s intervention [in Syria] was the return of Russia as a main player in the global diplomatic game. The intervention left US Secretary of State John Kerry no choice but to deal directly with the Russian leadership.” – Ivo H. Daalder, Financial Times, 3/14/16
After the tragic November terrorist attacks in Paris left 130 people dead and more than 300 wounded, Council president Ivo H. Daalder wrote a piece for the Financial Times explaining NATO has the legal right to invoke the collective defense provision contained in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. Our survey team also took a closer look at 2015 survey data on American concerns about terrorism. We found – even before the Paris attacks – American public concern about Islamic fundamentalism had increased 15 percentage points since 2014 (to 55% viewing it as a critical threat). As challenges to security around the globe intensified, the Council welcomed former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for a members-only event in January. Commander of US Strategic Command Admiral Cecil D. Haney discussed the latest national security developments in February. Peter Bergen, CNN’s national security analyst discussed the rise of jihadism in the United States in March. And most recently, General Michael V. Hayden, former director of the CIA and NSA, analyzed intelligence strategies being employed in the war on terror.
“Achieving consensus among all NATO member nations on taking collective action against ISIS is by no means assured,” – Ivo H. Daalder, Financial Times, 11/17/15
“As bad as it seems, most people in this room have lived in a world more dangerous than today.” – General Michael V. Hayden, 3/2/16
The Paris attacks and subsequent shooting in San Bernardino led to polarizing rhetoric that has become a cornerstone of the 2016 presidential campaign. After Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner joined more than 25 other governors trying to bar Syrian refugees from entering their states, nonresident senior fellow Richard C. Longworth argued an open door is in America’s self-interest in a Chicago Tribune op-ed. In December, Lina Sergie Attar of the Karam Foundation, Cameron Hudson of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Gregory Maniatis of the Migration Policy Institute, and University of Chicago Professor Robert Pape discussed the global policy implications of the Syrian refugee crisis. We also welcomed David Ignatius, associate editor and columnist for The Washington Post, in March to discuss the Syrian Civil War and the future of the country as jihadists, regime loyalists, and foreign powers fight for competing visions of the region’s future.
“The alternative now to an open-door policy is to leave the Syrian refugees and their children festering in Middle Eastern camps, creating the radical armies of the future.” Richard C. Longworth, Chicago Tribune, 11/16/15
“When the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, we kicked the pegs out from under, the structure that was providing stability in Syria’s dominant Sunni government, and set in motion a process that we’re still living through.” – David Ignatius, 3/23/16
At a time of increased conflict among nations, it was gratifying to see nearly 200 countries coming together at the end of 2015 to agree on a landmark climate change agreement at COP21 in Paris. Following the summit, the Council hosted an expert panel with Paul Bodnar, the White House’s senior director of energy and climate change, to discuss the implications of the agreement for the global energy system. In the Council’s 2015 survey, climate change emerged as the most polarizing issue between Democrats and Republicans, with a 41 percentage point divide on whether climate change is a critical threat to US security. Senior fellow Dina Smeltz and fellow Michael Tiboris wrote a piece for Foreign Policy arguing that an international approach to the roles and responsibilities for addressing climate change may help bridge the political gap in the United States. Senior fellow Karen Weigert offered commentary on how cities can help fight climate change, citing data on urban energy efficiency, and senior fellow Noah Toly explained how cities play a key role in climate action and suggested the UN should appoint a mayor to head its climate change secretariat.
“We are succeeding in decoupling economic growth from carbon emissions, which we understand have negative impacts. We should feel confident as a nation that this is a good path to be on.” – Paul Bodnar, 2/1/16
"In the city of Chicago, per-capita carbon emissions are actually lower than in the suburbs of Chicago. That comes from transportation — you can hop on the train, you can walk or you can bike." – Karen Weigert, 4/26/16
Brexit and Transatlantic Relations
Brexit shocked the world and left more questions than answers in its wake. In the immediate aftermath, Council experts provided insight and influenced the public discourse on what Britain’s impending exit from the European Union means for the United States and the world. Senior fellow Phil Levy provided economic analysis on the implications of Brexit in pieces for Foreign Policy, Crain’s Chicago Business, and the Chicago Tribune and in talking with WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. Speaking as part of the Council’s Global Economy Series, Jerome H. Powell, a governor of the Federal Reserve, discussed the implications of Brexit on the global economy and the United States in the short- and long-term. During the NATO summit that followed, Council experts continued to provide insight regarding the changing world and rising threats to European unity and world stability. Council president Ivo H. Daalder wrote on the implications of Brexit for the future of the European Union, US security, and NATO in pieces for the Financial Times, Defense One, and Carnegie Europe. He also appeared on Bloomberg TV and PBS News Hour, and provided comments for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and Bloomberg.
“What you see is countries turning inwards, being nationalistic, wanting to be self-reliant, away from the European Union and as a result you get a renationalization of European politics that we saw in the ‘20s and ‘30s and we saw what the consequences of that was.” – Ivo H. Daalder, PBS News Hour, 6/24/16
“The Brexit vote has the potential to create new headwinds for economies around the world, including our own. As the global outlook evolves, it will be important to assess the implications for the US economy...” – Jerome Powell, 6/28/16
Trade and
the Global Economy
Throughout the summer and fall of 2015, Council senior fellow Phil Levy wrote extensively about the Greek debt crisis for Foreign Policy, outlining the possible direct and indirect impacts on the global economy if Greece exits the Eurozone. Levy also provided insightful commentary on the TPP negotiations and prospects for the deal’s ratification. Our Global Economy Series explored these issues and more. Ben Bernanke spoke with the Financial Times’ Martin Wolf – and an audience of nearly 2,000 – about lessons he learned as steward of the Fed during the Great Recession. Dr. C. Raja Mohan, the founding director of Carnegie India, visited the Council as its inaugural Marshall M. Bouton Asia Fellow. We also welcomed Yang Yao, a renowned expert on economic transition and development in China, as the 2015 Dr. Scholl Foundation Visiting Fellow on US-China Relations. Yao joined the Council as a nonresident senior fellow along with two previous Dr. Scholl Foundation Fellows and University of Chicago Professor Dali Yang, strengthening our China and global economic expertise.
“For China I think the most important thing now is to negotiate with the US on this Bilateral Investment Treaty. Hopefully if we can sign this BIT first, then it’s natural for China to join the TPP.” - Yang Yao, 10/08/15
“If congressional stances accurately reflected American public sentiment on trade, TPP’s journey from signing to implementation would be a mere formality. As things stand, it will be anything but.” – Phil Levy, Foreign Policy, 2/6/16
Immigration
The Council continues its sector-by-sector approach to studying the economic benefits of immigration to the Midwest and the nation. We released a series of policy briefs early this year examining the need for sensible, permanent immigration reform with perspectives from Midwestern healthcare professionals and high-growth tech entrepreneurs. A report analyzing how updates to immigration laws would address Midwest health care shortages, recommended updating visa allocations for foreign born graduates of US medical schools, removing H-1B visa quotas and caps for health care professionals, and streamlining credentialing processes for foreign born professionals. The Council also conducted a first-of-its-kind analysis of the economic benefits of retaining international students who graduate from American universities. The report recommended Congress consider immigration policies that would increase work opportunities in the US for foreign-born students to turn the current squandering of millions of dollars into local tax revenues in many states.
“These students – many graduating in science, technology, engineering, and math fields – are the fastest growing immigrant population in the United States, and our analysis shows how much cities and states stand to gain if these students had the option to work in the US after graduation.” - Giovanni Peri, coauthor of Opportunity Lost: The Economic Benefit of Retaining Foreign-Born Students in Local Economies, 4/14/16
“Congress and the new president will need to address our growing reliance on foreign-born health care professionals. The best thing they can do is update our immigration policies to prepare for the inevitable labor shortages we will face in this sector.” - Nicole Fisher, author Midwest Diagnosis: Immigration Reform and Healthcare Sector, 3/23/16
Global Food Security
The passage of the Global Food Security Act on July 6, 2016, enshrined US efforts on global food security into law and represented a major victory for worldwide efforts, including those of the Council on Global Affairs, to advance global nutrition and alleviate poverty through agricultural development. In lead up to the passage of the bill, our experts testified on food aid before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. We expanded our roster of experts on global food and agriculture this past year, welcoming former head of USAID Raj Shah as a senior advisor, and six new nonresident fellows. Alesha Black also joined the Council from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to head our Global Food and Agricultural Development Program. In April, we released a major report on feeding the world’s growing cities at our Global Food Security Symposium. The report provided a roadmap for modernizing the global food system to feed the 6.3 billion people who will inhabit urban areas by 2050. In May, Public Affairs published Council senior fellow Roger Thurow’s new book that chronicles stories of women and children in Guatemala, India, and Chicago during the first 1,000 days – from conception to two years of age.
“In passing the Global Food Security Act, the US Congress has ensured America will continue to lead the global effort to end extreme poverty in the decades to come.” – Raj Shah, 7/6/16
“The confluence of system changes and global trends, chief among them urbanization, is transforming the structure and conduct of the entire food system from the farm to consumer.” – Dan Glickman, 4/28/16
Global Cities
With more than half the world’s people now living in cities, we continue to expand and deepen our research on how global cities increasingly drive the world’s political, social, and economic trends. Three new global cities fellows – Michael Tiboris, Noah Toly, and Karen Weigert – joined the Council along with eight nonresident fellows from across the globe. Toly examined the influence global cities can have on challenges such as terrorism and climate change; Tiboris offered thoughts on urban water issues; and Weigert provided commentary on the potential benefits cities could reap from investing in public transportation. We also spent much of the year working on a groundbreaking task force report that will provide guidance for how Chicago, as a leading global city, can better engage the world. Finally, as described above, the 2016 Chicago Forum on Global Cities convened global voices in business, civics, academics, and the arts – such as Harvard Professor Edward Glaeser, Gehl Architects founder and CEO Helle Søholt, and former EU commissioner for climate action Connie Hedegaard – together for the second year in a row.
“Global cities must systematically seek to integrate, and not marginalize, diverse religious populations. Policies that promote religious liberty, political enfranchisement, social inclusion, and economic progress for all residents will be essential to mitigating the risks of terrorism” – Noah Toly, 3/30/16
“The great challenge of the 21st century will be making the teeming cities of the developing world into livable places.” - Edward Glaeser, 6/2/16
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs is committed to broadening the public discourse on global issues and providing a platform for the public to engage directly with world leaders, policymakers, business executives, journalists, and other leading policy experts. Through more than 200 events, we reached an in-person audience of more than 29,000 and a digital audience of nearly 170,000 via live streaming and on-demand videos.
One of our top priorities is to position the next generation – from high school students and young professionals to emerging leaders – to become involved in the Council and take a global leadership role.
Through the new Koldyke Global Teachers Program, we are investing in the professional development of Chicago-area high school teachers so they can enhance and enrich the classroom experience for students by sharing the global knowledge they will acquire through the program. We selected four teachers to participate in the pilot program, which included an international travel and study experience this summer.
Our Young Professional (YP) members are increasingly engaged with our work, and our YP Ambassadors group – those who are most engaged – hosted its first fundraising event this past year. YPs purchased over 5,660 tickets for Council programs total (that is YP and Council programs of all formats) in 2015-16.
The Council selected and announced its eighth class of Emerging Leaders this summer. The cohort of leaders from around Chicago, chosen by an independent selection committee from a highly competitive pool of applicants, will spend one year examining key issues that affect the world and impact the global city of Chicago. They will hear from experts on issues such as the global economy, international diplomacy, energy and the environment, including on an intensive trip to Washington DC to meet with senior government leaders. They will meet as a class and also work on individual projects with Council experts to examine key global challenges.
We have made substantial progress in leveraging digital channels to extend our reach. We live streamed more than 42 programs this past year, which increased our total event audience by more than 30 percent. The leading-edge technology in our new conference center will further enhance our ability to reach and engage digital audiences via live streaming and on-demand video.
New digital experiences such as interactive infographics have enhanced engagement with our content from any device. We launched a new blog and created a weekly email newsletter to showcase original content from our fellows and experts. We also increased our visibility and expanded our digital reach by contributing content to online publishing platforms such as Medium, Reddit, and Newsy.
Our social media following grew significantly this past year. On Twitter alone, we generated more than 33 million impressions by encouraging audiences to interact with our content using hashtags and submitting questions for speakers during events. More than 1,300 tuned into the live stream of our 2016 Global Food Security Symposium and the hashtag was a trending item in Washington, DC, on April 26. The hashtag for our 2016 Chicago Forum on Global Cities also trended locally and earned nearly 6 million impressions over the three days of the forum in June.
Media coverage of the Council’s research, experts, and events lived up to the expectations set by its #1 "Think Tank to Watch" worldwide ranking this year. Journalists from The New York Times, Financial Times, NPR, The Guardian, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, PBS NewsHour, and The Washington Post, among others, sought our expertise throughout the year, which, along with op-eds placed by our experts, allowed us to directly impact and influence the public discourse on critical global issues.
In addition, events such as those on Syria, Iran, and the global economy that spoke clearly to the news of the day earned interest from Bloomberg, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, and the Chicago Tribune. The Council’s annual survey of American attitudes on foreign policy and our launch event were featured in POLITICO and in a series of op-eds in Foreign Policy, and our annual global food security report earned a prominent place in The Los Angeles Times.
In the coming year, we expect our presence in all multimedia platforms will continue to grow as the Council builds new in-house capabilities through its studio, allowing it to better serve and influence media around the world.
24 Nonresident Fellows
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3 Resident Fellows
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200+ Events
Generous support from our members and donors make it possible for the Council on Global Affairs to convene leading global voices for international forums and task forces, conduct independent research to influence important policy debates, and engage the public in thoughtful discussions of critical global issues.
In 2015-16, individuals provided $5.5 million in total support, corporations $5.5 million, and foundations $2.8 million. Generous supporters contributed a total of $1.4 million to the Global Leadership Awards Dinner, the Council's signature fundraising event, which this April honored Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Oscar-winning Pakistani journalist and filmmaker, and Samuel C. Scott III, Chicago civic leader and Council board member.
For nearly a century, the Council has been responsible for fostering dialogue on how and why America should remain engaged in the world. The need for this conversation is as clear and urgent as it was when the Council on Global Affairs was founded 94 years ago.
Over the next few months, the Council on Global Affairs will bring together decision makers and thought leaders with diverse viewpoints to examine some of the most critical issues confronting the United States today as it prepares to elect the 45th President of the United States: how to respond to the humanitarian disaster in Syria and the refugees that are engulfing the region; whether immigration reform can enhance national security; how trade policies can regain bipartisan support; what to do about rising extremism and terrorism; how America should address the challenges posed by Russia and China.
We also will release the results of our latest survey of public attitudes on America’s role in the world in advance of the presidential debate on foreign policy, and we are already partnering with the Washington Post to publicize the results—which show that Americans as a whole continue to support an active American role in the world. As a new administration takes office, the Council on Global Affairs will offer policy-relevant analysis and research on a range of issues the next president will face—including on trade policy, Russia and Ukraine, and ensuring global food security.
These efforts align with the Council’s overall commitment to expand the breadth and depth of our exploration of the issues that transcend borders and are transforming how people, business, and governments engage the world. Central to this work is further enhancing our independent research – from the scope of issues we examine to the expertise we bring to the discourse. This includes expanding our work on global energy and water, building on our critical work on the rising role and influence of global cities, and convening key actors, such as international business leaders and the foreign policy establishment, in dialogue to help solve global challenges.
We also are investing in and attracting the expertise that will grow our research portfolio. Our established visiting fellowship programs continue to serve as important bridges between the Council and eminent leaders from Latin America, China, and Asia. And we are expanding our burgeoning partnership with the US department of state and the US military to bring senior experts to the Council as year-long resident fellows.
Finally, leveraging leading-edge technologies in our new Conference Center, we will engage a wide and diverse digital audience – including the public, decision makers, our own experts, and other thought-leaders – in all of these activities. Content related to our events and studies, and additional new, original digital-first multimedia content will be easily accessible from anywhere at any time.