CHANTILLY, Va.--(Business Wire)--
The 56th Bilderberg Meeting will be held in Chantilly, Virginia,
USA 5 - 8 June 2008. The Conference will deal mainly with a nuclear
free world, cyber terrorism, Africa, Russia, finance, protectionism,
US-EU relations, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Islam and Iran.
Approximately 140 participants will attend, of whom about two-thirds
come from Europe and the balance from North America. About one-third
is from government and politics, and two-thirds are from finance,
industry, labor, education and communications. The meeting is private
in order to encourage frank and open discussion.
Bilderberg takes its name from the hotel in Holland, where the
first meeting took place in May 1954. That pioneering meeting grew out
of the concern expressed by leading citizens on both sides of the
Atlantic that Western Europe and North America were not working
together as closely as they should on common problems of critical
importance. It was felt that regular, off-the-record discussions would
help create a better understanding of the complex forces and major
trends affecting Western nations in the difficult post-war period. The
Cold War has now ended. But in practically all respects, there are
more, not fewer, common problems - from trade to jobs, from monetary
policy to investment, from ecological challenges to the task of
promoting international security. It is hard to think of any major
issue in either Europe or North America whose unilateral solution
would not have repercussions for the other. Thus the concept of a
European-American forum has not been overtaken by time. The dialogue
between these two regions is still - even increasingly - critical.
What is unique about Bilderberg as a forum, is the broad
cross-section of leading citizens that are assembled for nearly three
days of informal and off-the-record discussion about topics of current
concern especially in the fields of foreign affairs and the
international economy; the strong feeling among participants that in
view of the differing attitudes and experiences of the Western
nations, there remains a clear need to further develop an
understanding in which these concerns can be accommodated; the privacy
of the meetings, which has no purpose other than to allow participants
to speak their minds openly and freely. In short, Bilderberg is a
small, flexible, informal and off-the-record international forum in
which different viewpoints can be expressed and mutual understanding
enhanced.
Bilderberg's only activity is its annual Conference. At the
meetings, no resolutions are proposed, no votes taken, and no policy
statements issued. Since 1954, fifty-five conferences have been held.
The names of the participants are made available to the press.
Participants are chosen for their experience, their knowledge, and
their standing; all participants attend Bilderberg in a private and
not an official capacity.
There will be no press conference. A list of participants is
available by phone request at 703-818-3647 between 9am-5pm EDT June
6-7, 2008.
American Friends of Bilderberg
Steven Lee, 703-818-3647
Copyright Business Wire 2008
