Ditchley/US

The American Ditchley Foundation

The Ditchley Foundation was established in 1958 to advance US-UK understanding following World War II. Over time, that transatlantic purpose has expanded to a broader mission — promoting global understanding and dialogue among nations around the globe.

Today, the American Ditchley Foundation works with The Ditchley Foundation in the UK and the Canadian Ditchley Foundation to bring together experts and leaders from a variety of fields to foster a better understanding of, and solutions to, issues of global concern. Through ten to twelve conferences each year, generally hosted at Ditchley Park, a stately Oxfordshire manor, Ditchley advances dialogue on subjects of international importance. Conference participants benefit from Ditchley Park's grand beauty yet relaxed atmosphere, which fosters warmth, intimacy, and a thoughtful approach to the problems facing our complex world today.

Ditchley conferences, which are by invitation only, focus on dialogue rather than speeches. Conferees, who usually number around 40, meet together and in smaller groups to engage deeply on the topic of the conference over the course of three days. The results of these deliberations are made available to the public through summaries posted by the Director of The Ditchley Foundation.

The American Ditchley Foundation helps shape conference programs, provides financial support to conferences, and co-hosts a biennial conference in the US. In addition, American Ditchley recruits American conference participants, providing travel stipends to support their participation, when needed.[1]

Quotes

"Ditchley is one of the hidden gems of the Transatlantic relationship . . . its role as a clearing house for ideas; a forum for debate and discussion; and a magnet for policymakers gives it a unique status. It is the intellectual expression of 'soft power' and a tribute to the pre-eminence of reason and rational debate."

The Rt Hon Sir John Major, KG, CH, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Former Chairman, The Ditchley Foundation Council of Management

"Ditchley conferences seed ideas and deepen understanding. The consequences have often been significant and have engendered contacts, friendships and working relationships which have influenced events and policies in many fields."

The Honorable Cyrus R. Vance, KBE Former US Secretary of State and Former Chairman, The American Ditchley Foundation

Background

The Ditchley Foundation was created in 1958 through the beneficence of Sir David Wills, who donated Ditchley Park, the magnificent estate at which most Ditchley Conferences are held. The American Ditchley Foundation was incorporated soon after, in 1964. Building on the tradition of Winston Churchill, who visited Ditchley Park many times, the Ditchley Foundations initially focused on fostering better relations between the UK, US and Canada by addressing issues of mutual concern. Over time, that transatlantic purpose has expanded to encompass issues of global concern and participants from around the world.

Conferences

The Ditchley Foundation organizes approximately ten to twelve conferences annually, each striving to improve policy approaches and problem-solving on complex issues of international concern. Ditchley conferences facilitate more precise policy-making, better understanding of global issues and more effective operational diplomacy.

Most conferences are held at Ditchley Park, providing a unique environment in which to bring together 40 to 45 experts from a variety of professions—academics, policy-makers, practitioners and others—to consider pressing problems of global concern and explore new approaches to solving them. Conferences are by invitation only.

In addition to conferences, since 1972 The Ditchley Foundation has traditionally hosted an Annual Lecture at Ditchley Park delivered by a distinguished individual from public life.

Directors

Chairman: Ambassador R Nicholas Burns (retired). Professor, Kennedy School, Harvard University. Formerly US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

Vice-chairman: Ms Jami Miscik. Co-CEO and Vice-chairman, Kissinger Associates.

President: Mr Cary A Koplin. Managing Director, Neuberger Berman LLC.

Vice-President: Mr John Bellinger III, Partner, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP.

Vice-President: Ms Anja Manuel. Principal, Rice Hadley Gates, LLC

Treasurer: Mr Peter Bass. Chairman, Ember.ai.

Secretary: Mr George M Newcombe. Formerly Partner, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.

Members: The Honorable David Aaron. For]merly Deputy National Security Advisor and Senior Fellow, RAND.

Mr James Arroyo OBE. Director, The Ditchley Foundation.

Ambassador William J. Burns, President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Formerly U.S. Deputy Secretary of State.

The Honorable Joseph A Califano, Jr. Founder and Chair Emeritus, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Mr Robert Conway. Senior Director, Goldman Sachs.

Mr Edward Cox. Chairman, The New York Republican State Committee.

Mr Francis Finlay, CMG, OBE. Chairman Emeritus, EastWest Institute

Mr James Hoge, Jr. Senior Advisor, Teneo Intelligence. Formerly Chair, Human Rights Watch.

Sir John Holmes, GCVO, KBE, CMG. Chair, International Rescue Committee UK. Formerly Director of The Ditchley Foundation. Formerly Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations, New York.

Professor A E Dick Howard. White Burkett Miller Professor of Law and Public Affairs, University of Virginia School of Law.

Mr Reuben Jefferey III, Chief Executive Officer and a Director, Rockefeller & Co. and Rockefeller, Financial Services, Inc.

Mr Robert G Kaiser. Former Managing Editor, The Washington Post.

Ambassador Philip Lader, Partner, Nelson Mullins. Formerly US Ambassador to the Court of St James's.

Professor Theodore R Marmor. Formerly Yale School of Management

The Honorable Donald F McHenry. Distinguished Professor in Practice of Diplomacy, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.

Professor Joseph Nye. Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor, John F Kennedy School of Government. Director, Council on Foreign Relations, Washington.

Ambassador Thomas Pickering. Vice-Chairman, Hills and Company.

Dr John Rielly. Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science, Northwestern University.

Mr David Schwimmer. CEO, London Stock Exchange Group.

The Honorable Strobe Talbott. Distinguished Fellow in Residence, the Brookings Institution

Ambassador David Thorne. Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State 2013-2017. U.S. Ambassador to Italy and the Republic of San Marino, 2009-2013.

Dr Catherine Wills.

Mr Casimir Yost. Senior Fellow, Institute for Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University; Formerly Director, Strategic Futures Group, National Intelligence Council.

Advisory Council

Chairman: Mr James F Hoge, Jr. Senior Advisor, Teneo Intelligence. Formerly Chair, Human Rights Watch.

Members: Mr H Brandt Ayers. Chairman of the Board, Consolidated Publishing Company. Ms Jessica Brandt. Fellow, Foreign Policy, the Brookings Institution.

Vice Admiral John Craine, Jr, USN (Ret.). Senior Advisor to the Chancellor, State University of New York.

The Honorable Charles B DeWitt. Co-Founder, Lafayette Group, Inc., Washington.

Mr Michael DiNiscia. Associate Director, John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress, New York University.

Mr Don Howarth. Partner, Howarth & Smith, Attorneys at Law, Los Angeles.

Mr Sarwar Kashmeri. Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Norwich University; Fellow, Foreign Policy Association.

Mrs Wendy Luers. President, The Foundation for a Civil Society.

Mrs Margaret Osmer McQuade. President, Qualitas International.

Dr Jessica Tuchman Mathews. Former President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Mr Charles Muller, OBE. President, Murden and Company.

Mr Norman Ornstein. Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute.

Ms Harriet Pearson. Partner, Privacy and Information Management Practice, Hogan Lovells.

Ms Nancy Pelz-Paget. Director Emerita, Education and Society Program, The Aspen Institute.

Mr Philip H Power. Founder and Chairman, The Center for Michigan.

Mr David Riemer. Senior Fellow, Community Advocates Public Policy Institute.

The Hon Nicholas Rostow. Visiting Professor, Colgate University.

General Brent Scowcroft, KBE. President, The Scowcroft Group.

Ms Suzelle M Smith. Partner, Howarth & Smith, Attorneys at Law, Los Angeles.

Dr Ashley J Tellis. Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Professor Seymour Topping. San Paolo Professor of International Journalism Emeritus, Columbia University.

The Honorable John Warner. Formerly United States Senator, Virginia.