Washington, DC | February 20, 2008 | www.adc.org | The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is happy to announce details for the 2008 Annual National Convention, “Securing the Principles of Liberty,” which will be held June 12-15 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC. The Annual National Convention is the largest annual gathering of Arab Americans in our nation’s capital and ADC invites you to be part of this annual tradition. This year, the ADC Convention program of panels is built on three tracks: foreign policy, domestic policy, and cultural affairs. A detailed updated program with confirmed and invited panelists and speakers can be viewed at https://www.adc.org/PDF/convsched08.pdf
The Premium Early Bird registration of $295 for the Convention expires March 1, to register for the Convention see: https://www.adc.org/PDF/2008registration.pdf
Also, ADC has secured a rate of $129/night at the Grand Hyatt Hotel for the Convention; this is a $30/night savings from last year‘s price. Please call the hotel directly at (202) 582-1234 and mention the ADC Convention to make your room reservations.
For sponsorship and advertisement opportunities please visit:
https://www.adc.org/PDF/sponsor.pdf
For exhibit table opportunities, please visit (available on a first-come first-serve basis):
https://www.adc.org/PDF/exhibit.pdf
Some of this year‘s highlights include:
● A special luncheon with invited keynote speaker Mustapha Barghouthi commemorating 60 years of Palestinian dispossession
● The Arab-American Leadership Seminar with Dr. Hussein Ibish
● A luncheon on Capitol Hill with members of Congress and their staff
● A unique 90-minute musical performance by renowned Egyptian-Canadian artist Chantal Chamandy entitled “Beladi”
Some of this year’s panel discussions include:
● Darfur: The Myths and Realities of a Human Tragedy. Confirmed speakers include: Alex de Waal, Professor, Social Science Research Council; Amjad Atallah of the Strategic Assessments Initiative; Samer Abdelnour of the Foundation for Sustainable Enterprise and Development; and Francis Deng, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities (invited)
● Rights, Refugees and Return: The Palestinian Diaspora
● Human Development in the Arab World: Setbacks and Prospects. Confirmed speakers include: Omar Kader, Chairman & Owner, Pal-Tech. Inc; Atif Kubursi, Professor of Economics, McMaster University; Amat Al Alim Alsoswa, Ambassador, Regional Director for Arab States, UNDP; James Kunder, Acting Deputy Administrator, USAID (invited)
● Unity and Disunity in the Arab World; Confirmed speakers include: Bassam Haddad, Director, Middle East Studies Program, George Mason University; Michael Hudson, Professor of International Relations, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University; and Juan Cole, Professor of History, University of Michigan (invited)
● A discussion on the role of the police in immigration enforcement; Confirmed speakers include: Cecilia Munoz, Vice President, the National Council of La Raza; Hubert Williams, President, the Police Foundation; Vincent Eng, Deputy Director, Asian American Justice Center; and Farhana Khera, Executive Director, Muslim Advocates/National Association of Muslim Lawyers
● Invited award recipients Sean Penn and Oprah Winfrey
● The annual Civil Rights Awards Lunch themed, “The Legacy of MLK and RFK: 40 Years Later,” with invited keynote speaker Sen. Ted Kennedy