Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, actor Sean Penn, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are among the scheduled participants at this week’s Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills.
Blair and Kagame will be part of a panel discussion titled “Where Does Growth Come From,” along with Sony Corp. Chairman Osamu Nagayama. They will discuss the best investment opportunities “amid the changing global dynamics,” according to organizers.
Blair, now the Quartet representative to the Middle East, representing the United States, United Nations, Russia and the European Union, will also be part of a panel today entitled “Progress vs. Pessimism in the Middle East.”
Kagame will provide the introduction to a panel discussion today on Africa’s energy landscape.
Jackson and Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey will be on a panel titled “Social Justice, Incarceration and Re-Entry,” on prison reform, inmate education and incentives.
CBS News State Department correspondent Margaret Brennan about Haiti will interview actor Sean Penn and Digicel Group Chairman Denis O’Brien.
Penn is the founder and CEO of the J/P Haitian Relief Organization and O’Brien is among the leaders in the global effort to provide assistance to Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake that hit the nation.
Villaraigosa will be on a panel titled “Big City Education: We Know What Works, So Why Don’t We Do It?”
Although the mayor of Los Angeles has no formal role in education, Villaraigosa made education one of his priorities as mayor. As mayor, he operated the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, an independent education nonprofit group that works in concert with the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Other panelists include former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.
Walt Disney Co. Chairman and CEO Robert Iger and former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson will be on a panel titled “China in Transition: Still a Land of Opportunity,” examining whether the obstacles to expansion in China are too steep for global businesses.
Retired U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark, the one-time military commander of NATO forces, will be on a panel examining “Global Risk,” joined by former World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, an advocate of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States.
The conference runs today through Wednesday.
Milken Institute is a non-profit think tank based in Santa Monica.
