Beginning next week, delegates from across the United States will gather in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to nominate the Democratic Party’s nominees for President and Vice President. The culmination of a series of presidential primaries and caucuses, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and the Republican Convention, which is held the week prior, are important institutions of U.S. democracy because of the critical role they play in selecting the next President of the United States. Every four years, NDI has the honor of hosting the International Leaders Forum (ILF) -- a week-long series of non-partisan events for international leaders organized around the DNC. The forum carries on NDI’s tradition of bringing together international leaders to experience the convention and to learn about the U.S. political system.

American politics is not just about Americans; it’s also about world politics. The international community has a keen interest in U.S. politics and policies. U.S. political conventions are, therefore,  global events that are closely observed by international political leaders. Since 1984, at the request of the Democratic National Committee, NDI has hosted these international leaders through the International Leaders Forum.

This year, the Forum, hosted by NDI Chairman Madeleine Albright, will run from the evening of Monday, July 25, to the closing of the convention on Thursday, July 28.  Guests will include current and former heads of government, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, parliamentarians, and leaders of political parties from over 100 countries who are eager to learn about and observe the U.S. political process. They will hear from a bipartisan group of experts, including members of Congress, journalists, pollsters, scholars and political party leaders.

Madeleine Albright will welcome and host the ILF for the international guests. The list of bipartisan speakers who will provide insights and commentary about this most unusual political year in America include:

• Frank Fahrenkopf, Co-Chair, Presidential Debates Commission; former GOP Chair
• Howard Dean, 2004 Presidential Candidate; former DNC Chair
• Representative Barbara Lee, Member of Congress, DNC Platform Committee
• Kathleen Parker, Nationally syndicated columnist featured in The Washington Post
• Vin Weber, former Member of Congress, Co-Chair of Romney, Dole, and Bush campaigns
• Van Jones, CNN Political Contributor
• Susan Page, Washington Bureau Chief, USA Today
• Danny Diaz, Jeb Bush 2016 Campaign Manager
• Thomas Mann, Brookings Institution
• Norm Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute
• Alex Wagner, Senior Editor, The Atlantic and former MSNBC anchor
• Cornell Belcher, President, Brilliant Corners Research
• Peter Hart and Jim Hobart, Pollsters, NBC News/Wall Street Journal
• Kristen Soltis Anderson, Co-founder Echelon Insights, a leading Republican polling firm
• Cokie Roberts, Political Commentator, ABC News and NPR
• William Burns, President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Wendy Sherman, former Under-secretary of State for Political Affairs
• Senator Chris Coons, keynote speaker at Closing Luncheon

Panel discussions will cover a broad array of topics, including questions like:

• What happened at the Republican Convention?
• What is it like to run a presidential campaign?
• How will social media impact the presidential campaign?
• What does the political divide and partisan dysfunction mean for the 2016 campaign?
• What are some of the most effective political ads that have been run in this cycle?
• Who will turn out from key voting blocs, including millennials (who have now replaced baby boomers as the largest U.S. generation), Hispanics, and non-college educated voters?
• What foreign policy challenges will the next administration face?

Another special event will be the Geraldine Ferraro Women's Luncheon on Wednesday, July 27, which brings together U.S. and international women leaders to discuss the importance of women's participation in politics. Geraldine Ferraro, a long-time member of NDI’s board of directors, was the first woman nominated as a vice presidential candidate for a major U.S. political party. This milestone takes on new significance this year, as Hillary Clinton is expected to be nominated as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate -- another historic first for women's political participation in the U.S.

For those who are unable to attend the Forum in person, NDI will be live-tweeting from the event using the hashtag: #ILF2016. NDI will also be posting photos and videos from the event on Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr. Learn how you can join the online conversation by taking a look at our handy #ILF2016 Social Media Guide.

Published on July 20, 2016