The March 14 th Allen Prize Symposium brought to the Georgia Tech community a distinguished roster of current and former policy and decision-makers who shared perspectives on “Global Challenges, Courage, Leadership.” The symposium keynote address was made by Admiral James G. Stavridis, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and head of NATO forces.

Shaped by Senator Nunn and Dean Jacqueline Royster the presentations focused on opportunities and risks, tools, policies and actions needed to transform the status quo on a broad array of issues, but with particular focus on national defense, security and nuclear non-proliferation, which have been the heart of Senator Nunn’s work for nearly 40 years. The symposium, as well as the awards luncheon, was punctuated by a taped special message to Senator Nunn from President Barack Obama.

Keynote speaker, Admiral James G. Stavridis, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (NATO) highlighted 13 global security threats and some of the strategies used in those arenas, many of them “soft power” approaches such as teaching Afghani troops to read. Stavridis credited former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn with leading the U.S. to an interagency approach to today’s security threats that is unfolding under a new Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review.

“Today, in Afghanistan, there are almost 2000 [groups such as the United Nations, the World Bank, AID, NGOs, troops from 49 nations] working together, so this international-interagency-private-public nexus as practiced in a place like Afghanistan, I think, is the future of security in the 21 st century.”

“If I were to boil it all down, it’s about connections, it’s about how we can connect, how we can use our organizations, our ideas, our innovations, to connect seemingly disparate entities. That’s what happens right here at this center [GT/Ivan Allen College] where we see social sciences and the areas of ethics and responsibility harnessed to the technology and the ideas that Georgia Tech is a global leader in.”

Stavridis closed by emphasizing that the U.S. military’s “bedrock” is “lethal force in defense of this nation.” “It’s about the ability to perform important tasks that contribute to security in a range that goes from soft power kinds of things all the way over to hard power…. that’s smart power.”

Global perspectives were further expanded by a presentation, “Seven Revolutions ” made by Johanna Nesseth and Erik Peterson of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. The presentation identified and analyzed seven key trends that will define world challenges over the next 25 years, with the goal of prompting policy and decision leaders to think beyond pressing and short term priorities to long-range strategic thinking on trends and global perspectives.

Three of Nunn’s fellow Cold War era statesmen joined the symposium via video conference. Former U.S. Secretaries of State George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry are allied with Senator Nunn in efforts to advance policy and actions toward a nuclear free world as a priority on the American agenda. Their fourth op-ed on the subject “Deterrence in the Age of Nuclear Proliferation” appeared in the Wall Street Journal March 7. The symposium dialog between the four “Cold Warriors,” graduate students in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, and the audience was moderated by Adam Stulberg, Associate Professor in the Nunn School.

Other sessions included an entertaining and compelling discussion among a group of panelists who have worked with Senator Nunn over the years and a one-on-one interview with the senator conducted by CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent, Bob Schieffer.

Closing the symposium, Senator Nunn recognized four “Unsung Heroes” who are doing courageous volunteer work: high school student Mackenzie Bearup who founded the non-profit Sheltering Books to provide libraries to homeless shelters in six states; Atlanta attorney Anthony Webb who founded Boys Speak Out to confront issues faced by adolescents; financier and investor Bob Pattillo who founded Grey Ghost Ventures and provides microfinancing to local entrepreneurs in Hyderabad India; and his father, philanthropist Pat Pattillo whose foundation, Fundacion Progreso, has helped transform the Guanacaste region in Costa Rica by improving housing, integrated health services, and access to quality education. Senator Nunn announced that he will share with each of the four “Unsung Heroes” a portion of the monetary stipend which accompanies the Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage. More than 250 people attended the symposium.

All sessions of the Allen Prize Symposium, the Founder’s Day Research Roundtable and awards luncheon were videotaped except for the Seven Revolutions presentation which was embargoed. The videos are being posted to the Ivan Allen College website. If the segment you are interested in has not yet been posted, please check back. http://www.iac.gatech.edu/news-and-events/annual-founders-day/videos .