FRED KEMPE:

It’s now my honor to salute this evening’s co-chairs– but before they do that I wanna salute three people who have been incredibly helpful– and one of whom has been absolutely instrumental to the Atlantic Council’s success.  So first of all, I want to thank the chairman of the Brent Scowcroft Center of International Security, former National Sec– Security Advisor General Jim Jones.  If you could stand please, and thank you for your service.  (APPLAUSE) It’s also my honor to– to introduce the two co-chairs– the honorary co-chairs of our Freedom Awards, and President Komorowski, we put our Freedom Awards in Poland because your country is about freedom, as you said.

And those two honorary co-chairs, fittingly, are our– ambassadors– Ambassador Richard Schnepf, the Polish Ambassador to the U.S., and Ambassador Steven Mull, the U.S. Ambassador to Poland.  Please stand so we can applaud you.  (APPLAUSE) And now– our co-chairs– they expressed their respect not only for the awardees, but their support of our mission by supporting us in being here.

Hold your applause until all are standing, and I will read their names.  And please, those that are here, stand.  I guess those who are not here wouldn’t know to stand.  (LAUGHTER) So, let me read their names:  Adrienne Arscht, Prime Minister Shalcot Alzeez (PH), President Jose Maria Aznar (PH), Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Victor Chu, Enriquo Kuckiani (PH), Thomas Culligan (PH), Richard Edelman (PH), Baja Hariri (PH)– that’s the Richard Edelman contingent– Baja Hariri, Brian Henderson, General James L. Jones, Dr. Kolchak (PH), Brian Moynihan (PH), Rupert Murdoch, Yoji Ohashi (PH), Pavel Olinovitch (PH), Paul Pullman (PH), James Riatti (PH), Paolo Scoroni (PH), General Brent Scowcroft, Martin Sen (PH), James C. Smith, Dr. Larry Summers, Sveten Vasolaph (PH), John Watson, and John Wren (PH).

Thank you to all of you for your contributions and for your support.  (APPLAUSE) Dr. Kissinger just said to me backstage, “I was listening to your introduction of Dr. Brzezinski, and I will listen very carefully to what you now say about me.”  (LAUGHTER)

Well, I have introduced Dr. Kissinger so many times with such flowery words that I can only recall the time when he was introduced by Lou Gersner (PH), who gave him– an introduction was, “No man needs an– an introduction– you know– Henry Kissinger needs no introduction.”  And he came to the podium, and he said, “Lou Gersner– no one needs– no needs an introduction less than I do, but no one appreciates one more.”  (LAUGHTER)

Dr. Kissinger has been introduced in a great many ways, always referring to his legendary contributions, Nobel Peace Prize, great books, the way he’s in– influenced our entire generation of foreign policy thinking.  General Scowcroft has said, “He has the world’s most brilliant strategic mind.”

Yet we only only learned last May at an Atlantic Council dinner during his introduction of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that he had failed to reach one lofty goal.  Said Dr. Kissinger– and I quote– “After I left office, I realized that at least four secretaries of state became president, and that started focusing my mind (LAUGH) even though there was a constitutional provision that prevented me from doing it.  And I thought up all sorts of schemes to get around it.”

At that point, he sort of endorsed Hillary Clinton– we’ll have to wait to see ahead of 2016– but Dr. Kissinger, in any case, you do have our vote.  Please join me in welcoming to the stage the Atlantic Council’s longest serving board member, Dr. Henry Kissinger.  (APPLAUSE)

              DR. HENRY KISSINGER:

Mr. Chairman, (CLEARS THROAT) Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, when– our chairman characterized my strategic mind, I was grateful that he quoted accurately from my autobiography.  (LAUGHTER) For over five decades, I have had the opportunity to observe, sometimes to participate, in the upheavals, peace processes, revolutions, of the Middle East.  In that period, there was one place on which as an American one could always count and that was the Kingdom of Jordan.  Not to count on it as from a purely American point of view, but their– Jordan has contributed to the peace processes.  It has provided wisdom in its analysis of the situation.

It has– its existence is a guaranty for stability in the region, and at this moment, Jordan is again under pressure from all sides and conducts itself with a dignity and far-sightedness which all of us who have had the privilege of– of participating in some of these events, and all Americans who can analyze the– world as it is will greatly respect.

At this moment, when we need to come to an understanding of what is required to reduce and eliminate the human suffering in Syria, to eliminate to the greatest extent possible the non-state organizations, to draw in other countries that might share some of our common interests– some of our interests– we can do no better than ask our friends in Jordan how they see the situation.  And I have come here tonight in part to stress to all of you how important it is that this country not become a victim of the circumstances surround– surrounding it.

Now it is a great privilege to be able to give the– award to Queen Rania.  She has concentrated on so many activities that I cannot do justice to all of them, and if I attempted it, I would violate the rule that Fred has put down that I must not speak more than four minutes so that you can all say you were present at a historic occasion.  (LAUGHTER)

But Her Majesty has concentrated on education and fostering, particularly, children’s education.  In November 2000, UNICEF asked– Her Majesty to join its Global Leadership Initiative in which she has worked side-by-side with such leaders as the South African President Nelson Mandela in a global movement seeking to improve the welfare of children.  In (CLEARS THROAT) that year, together with Bishop Tutu, she formed an organization in which 67– diss– in which dedicated to the education of 67 million– children.

She has been engaged in many other activities of a similar nature.  She has been, in other words, dedicated to the proposition that stability in the region can and should be fostered by concerned governments, that security in the region does not have to be based on– on dictatorial governments, that progress in the region is compatible with friendship with the United States, that the Arab cause can be given a (CLEARS THROAT) content without religious fanaticism.  For all this, we thank her and her country.  And it is in this spirit that I give to her the– Global Leadership Award.  Thank you very much.  (APPLAUSE)

              (MUSIC NOT TRANSCRIBED)

              QUEEN RANIA:

Thank you, Secretary Kissinger, for those kind words.  You know, the last time I saw Secretary Kissinger, he was calling security on Stephen Colbert for dancing into his office to Daft Punk song.  (LAUGHTER) So, I suggest we all be on our best behavior tonight.  And thank you to the Atlantic Council for this honor.

I am touched and humbled by it.  Allow me also to offer my warm congratulations to my fellow awardees tonight.  With your permission, I’d like to dedicate the Atlantic Council’s 2013 Global Citizen Award to the people of Jordan, for it is from them who I’ve learned most about how to be a global citizen.  Their humanity and benevolence– especially to the– toward the people of Syria at this time– continue to move me.

I can’t decide whether it’s apt or ironic to be talking about global citizenship at this moment in world affairs.  Perhaps it’s both, but with ever more violent rhetoric, mounting tensions, and human suffering in my part of the world, it’s a good time to remind people of what it means to be a global citizen.  To be a global citizen, we must first be local citizens.

People who take part in the social and political life of our communities, who respect and value diversity, speak up against social injustice, and look after those most in need.  And whereas national citizenship is an accident of birth, global citizenship is an act of will.  It requires that we consciously understand the connection between the local and the global and acknowledge our interdependence.

It requires that we take time to learn about the world beyond our borders– its merits, challenges and injustice, and our role and responsibility in it.  It requires moral courage and a commitment to step up and make a difference.  For some, this is instinctive, for others it must be learned.  Either way it relies upon a strong foundation of values to inform our choices and guide our decisions.  Values such as tolerance, generosity and forgiveness, compassion and service, respect and empathy.  The ability, as J.K. Rowling once said, to think ourselves into to people’s minds and imagine ourselves in other people’s places.

I see these values in action every day in my country, Jordan.  Since the Syrian conflict started over two years ago, thousands– now millions– of refugees have fled to safety.  The Jordanian people have opened their homes and their hearts, and extended the hand of friendship to those in desperate need.

I could not be more proud of, or humbled by, their selflessness, their sacrifice, and their kindness.  Jordan has always been and will always be a country of moderation, a haven of tolerance, and a sanctuary for those fleeing insecurity and danger.  His Late Majesty, King Hussein, instilled in us all this value of human– of common humanity, and my husband, His Majesty King Abdullah, proudly honors that legacy.  But we cannot do it alone.  Jordan has neither the– wealth nor resources with which some countries in our region are blessed.

Rather, we’re burdened by poverty and unemployment.  So, with over half a million refugees in Jordan and more arriving every day, we desperately need help.  Governments have been generous, but the U.N. agencies and civil society groups on the ground are at a breaking trying to meet growing demand.  We urgently need the global community to dig deeper, help the most vulnerable, and show them what it means to belong to a global family.

We need them to think themselves into the fearful and troubled minds of Syrian children who haven’t gone to school for over two years, and imagine the agony of their parents watching their sons and daughters future slip away.  We need them to think themselves into Jordan’s border towns, besieged by desperate refugees, where rents are rising, and where there’s competition for scarcities like water and fuel and jobs.

And we need them imagine the strain on the teachers in make-shift schools in Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Lebanon, teaching double– even triple-shifts in tents and busses with scant resources just to keep children learning.  And when the world does that, when they see those children as their own children, those parents as their own parents, those teachers as their own teachers, then we can rightly call ourselves a family, a community.

But we’re not there yet.  The need for global citizenship action that accompanies empathy has never been greater.  Not only to meet today’s challenges, but the looming crises of tomorrow in my region and beyond.  To create a generation of global citizens, we must make education a priority.  We must invest in it, train more teachers, build more classrooms, and increase access for the 57 million children out of school because global citizenship isn’t an epithet.  It’s an ethos.

And it’s best learned holistically in schools.  We know that educated children growth up to be better global citizens.  Their families are healthier.  They’re more likely to contribute to their communities and countries.  Their societies will be more equitable, their nations more stable and prosperous.  That’s why on the U.N. Secretary General’s high-level panel on the post-2015 agenda, we recommend that education be at the heart of the new development targets.

But we need your voice and your influence, too.  As you continue the important work of the council, please advocate for more humanitarian help for those affected by the Syrian conflict.  Please lobby for investment in education, for it is in schools that the roots of citizenship are nurtured and where those labors blossom in voluntary work and school exchanges.  Ladies and gentlemen, it is not enough only to imagine ourselves into the world we want.

Global citizenship doesn’t happen because we want it to happen, it happens because we make it happen when we roll up our sleeves and build foundations under lofty ideals and bold aspirations.  It is an act of will, and it’s a legacy we leave for our children.  Thank you all very much.  (APPLAUSE)

              (OFF-MIC CONVERSATION)

              FRED KEMPE:

Thank you, Queen Rania, and– and thank you for challenging us and for inspiring us with that message.  Ladies and gentlemen– as I said earlier, the uni– United States Senate is also with us here tonight.  It’s now my great pleasure to welcome onto the stage a fresh wind on Capitol Hill– Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

Senator Murphy, we know how hard it is to get away from deceit– D.C. in your demanding job with the votes that are taking place now.  (LAUGH) But we also know how pleasurable it must be to escape.  (LAUGHTER) As chairman of the European Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, it honors us that you’ve come here to let– to deliver a special message.

Earlier this week at the Atlantic Council, you were there with Senator Johnson, your Republican counterpart, to launch our report TTIP (PH) in the Fifty States Jobs and Growth from Coast to Coast.  We were able to release a report that showed that all 50 states will gain in jobs and– and– and– and growth and in exports through this– through this agreement which has also geo-strategic importance.

At 40 years old, you’re not only the youngest member– or 39, 40 years old– you’re not only the youngest member of the senate, but you’re all– already one of the wisest and most effective members.  People say there are no giants left in the senate– my answer to that is, watch this space.  Senator Chris Murphy. (APPLAUSE)

              (MUSIC NOT TRANSCRIBED)

              SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY:

Well, thank you very much– Fred.  Thank you for inviting me here today.  I am sorry that I wasn’t here for my original place on the program.  We are amidst some turbulent times in Washington, although I did acquire a new skill on the way up there.

I now know how to put on a tuxedo on an Acela, which is– (LAUGHTER) hopefully going to do me well later in life.  And thank you for the acknowledgment that– of being the youngest member of the United States Senate.  That is true, but I will tell you that is a very, very low bar to be the youngest (LAUGHTER) of the United States Senate.  I– wanna extend my congratulations to Her Majesty, to Maestro Ozawa, for your awards in one of the most difficult moments in the Middle East.

Her Majesty– and the King have conducted themselves with such dignity, and her call for more humanitarian aid, I hope– goes heeded by the United States Congress.  And our partners, Maestro Ozawa, thank you for your cultural leadership, but also your leadership in bringing your craft out to the schools, to the public, to the children.

At a time when the federal government is withdrawing its resources, you do so well to extend your hand.  But my primarily thanks goes to Mr. President for being here today.  I have this very Irish last name, but I actually have much more Polish blood in me than I do Irish– and it was my great grandparents who came over to the factories of New Britain, Connecticut, that made a life that allowed me a few generations later to be a United States senator.  It’s something I remember every day, and I’ll be so looking forward to a few weeks to making my first trip to Poland as the chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe.

I simply wanna make this one point to you this evening as– a matter of giving you welcoming remarks from the United States senate.  I know as people have watched the conduct of Washington with respect to the debate in Syria, there has been a worry that I’ve heard loud and clear from many of America’s partners that are represented in this room that there is a new creeping isolationism that’s happening in Washington today.

That this strange coalition that formed around skepticism to military intervention in Syria between Republicans and Democrats might suggest that the United States, or at least the Congress of the United States, desires a retreat or a withdrawal from the world.  Well, I speak to you as one of the leaders of that skeptical movement with regard to the President’s plan to engage militarily in Syria.

I was the first Democrat to come out and announce my opposite, but I would caution you in equating the skepticism with regard to that issue with a desire to retreat from the world.  In fact, there are so many of us who came to Congress in the wake of the Iraq war who desire to see a much more robust presence around the world from a new America that realizes that in this day and age, the brute force of military intervention just doesn’t get the return on investment around the world that it once did.

And my hope is is that on the subcommittee on Europe, which I have just been chairman of for a mere seven months, we can help to lead this new path.  We’ll be doing hearings– later– this fall on what America can do to reach out to countries like Ukraine and Georgia and Moldova and Azerbaijan to make it clear to them that if they make a turn to the West, if they create a strong association with Europe, that America will be there to help them grow their economies.

We wanna tell the world about the benefits of a new economic partnership between the United States and Europe that offers a new window into economic salvation for so many countries around the world and around the region.  And we wanna talk in the United States Congress about the fact that we still can be a leader as a nation with regard to human rights, but only if we look inward, only if we make decisions here in the United States to make tough choices to uphold civil liberties that actually do not come at the expense of national security.

My last point is this.  The Foreign Relations Committee on which I serve has undergone a transformation.  The greats, the legends, the Kerrys, the Bidens, my mentor, Chris Dodd, have left, and you’re seeing names that you may not be familiar with.  That’s where the Atlantic Council comes in.

Your ability to help educate those of us who want to chart this new middle ground for America, that does involve a robust presence in the world, even with a new stinginess about military intervention.  That’s the real benefit that the Atlantic Council and all of your work to support it will lend to those of us who, though new on the committee, hope to make our mark as well.  Thank you to the Atlantic Council for hosting me.  Thank you for giving me a few moments to think about something else other than Ted Cruz.  And I look forward (LAUGHTER) to spending many, many days with you in the future.  Thank you very much. (APPLAUSE)

              (OFF-MIC CONVERSATION)

              ANNOUNCER:

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Chairman First Eastern Investment Group and member Atlantic Council International Advisory Board, Mr. Victor Chu.

              VICTOR CHU:

Thank you.  (APPLAUSE) Ladies and gentlemen, Seiji Ozawa is a Japanese national treasure as well as an international treasure.  His life actually embodies the characteristics of global citizenship.  Born on the first of September, 1935, in Manchuria, now part of Liaoning Province of China, he began taking private lesson in piano at very early stage.

At the age of about 16 at a game of rugby, he broke two fingers and that shorten his career in piano.  His wonderful teacher, Hideo Saito, brought him to– what happened to be a life-changing performance of Beethoven’s Fifth avenue– Fifth Symphony, which ultimately shift his focus from piano playing to conducting.  About a decade after the sports injury, a first prize at the international competition of orchestra conductors in France led him to invitation by the famous Charles Münch, then the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, to study at the Backshire Music Center (PH), now the well-known Tanglewood Music Center.

Receiving a scholarship to study conducting with Herbert von Karajan led him to Berlin.  There he caught the attention of Leonard Bernstein, who appointed him as the assistant conductor at New York Philharmonic.  Then a most successful and legendary career followed.

He was over the years the musical director or principle conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, the Japan Philharmonic (SLURS) Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Philharmonic Orchestra, and finally became musical director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1973, a post which he held for 29 years– the longest tenure of any musical director at the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

In 1992, he created the Saito Kinen Orchestra and Music Festival, which encourages the cross-fertilization of Japanese musicians and artists with global and international artists.  In 1992, he also debuted with the Metropolitan Opera in New York and began conducting the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic on a regular basis.

In 2002, he follow von Karajan’s footsteps to become the principle conductor of the Vienna State Opera.  He is one of the few musical legends whose influence spread throughout the world, in Asia, in Europe, as well as here in New York– in America.  Tonight, we salute him for his tireless contribution to educate young musicians, Tanglewood as well as Saito Kinen Music Festival, and also his efforts in integrating modern classical music into the global classical music community.  Unfortunately,  his doctor has prevented him to travel to United States to receive the award personally, but we’re delighted that his daughter, Seira Ozawa is here to receive the award on his behalf.  May I ask Mrs. Ozawa to come on stage to receive the award?  (APPLAUSE)

              (MUSIC NOT TRANSCRIBED)

              SEIRA OZAWA:

Hello, my name is Seira.  I have brought you my father’s message tonight from Tokyo.  Here it is.  Yes.

               SEIJI OZAWA BY VIDEO:

Before I thanking you– you– to all of you, I must apologize that– I thought I could come to New York this time.  I was– a bit tired, to I took– my doctor’s– suggestion that– I shouldn’t take– I should not take a long flight, so I stay now my home here in Japan.

You know, this a big world, like this.  I really like to be with you, especially in New York.  I tell you– New York for me is a very special city.  When I was a very young– I think I was 24 or 25 years old– after Boston Symphony Summer Festival at Tanglewood, I was student, and they gave me (UNINTEL PHRASE), I was invited by (UNINTEL PHRASE) and New York Philharmonic as– one of the three assistant conductor.

And my colleague was John Carolina and Morris Press (PH) and I became– Lenny’s (PH) assistant.  We all call Mr. Bernstein “Lenny.”  And also a wonderful thing happened that– Lenny but– int– introduce me to Mr. Ronald Wilford.  He’s head of– Columbia Artists’ Management, Inc.– and then he became my manager for all my life.

He– I– I think he’s– he and his wife– Sarah– is here.  Thank you, (UNINTEL).  And– so he’s– all my life, now, still, he’s manager, which is very rare, though.  All those long time– one manager.  And– so– this is why– one of the reason also New York– I wanted to come back this time, but I miss– to be with you now.

And– actually– I did not know about why I received this– award, but– (UNINTEL), who received– this prize last year told me by letter how wonderful prize it is, and then I studied.  It’s really wonderful.  So I am very honored, and– I– I really– thank you– all of you– that you choose me– for that is very nice– good, not only for me, but– for music– classical music, orchestra music or opera.

For those things– wonderful, though.  And especially I come from Japan, Asia– you choose for the– worldwide thing, which is a very meaningful for me and for my colleague. Because I couldn’t come I ask my daughter, Seira, and her husband to be here, so– this is why.  Then I will listen when they come back what kind of party it was and all this.  (LAUGHTER) Yes.  So, I don’t want to take your time too much, but again, I thank you very, very much.  And– I’m sorry I’m not here, but I– my spirit is with you.  And– so, thank you very much.  Thank you all.  (APPLAUSE)

              SEIRA OZAWA:

Thank you so much for giving my father such an honor tonight.  It means so much to him that– to receive this from America, because to him, America is his home.  And actually today– here, his American families are here.  Mr. Ronald Wilford and Sarah– I don’t know where– Owen Young, David Niece (PH), and Karen Leopardy (PH) and Yosh Goshiga (PH).

My father is very sorry that he couldn’t come to New York this time.  Recovering from his illness, he has had to cancel or– postpone events.  But the very good news this summer is that he was able to finish all the Saito Kinen Festival concerts, including all four operas and a concert.

He hasn’t canceled this trip due to his illness, but as he said, little– he’s little too (LAUGH) tired.  We– family, and we are also happy that he made his summer such a success, and he’s finally back to music that– which he really loves.  So, thank you so much.  (RUSTLING) thank you.  (APPLAUSE)

              (MUSIC NOT TRANSCRIBED)

              ANNOUNCER:

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome a protégé of Maestro Ozawa, cellist Owen Young.  (APPLAUSE)

              (MUSIC NOT TRANSCRIBED)

              FRED KEMPE:

Thank you, Owen Young.  This is something we’ve always had at this dinner is– the musical accompaniment, and that was absolutely magnificent.  Seiji Ozawa would be so proud of you– one of the people– who he mentored.  President Komorowski, Queen Rania, Seiji Ozawa, congratulations.  Thank you all for coming.

As is traditional at this event, because you’re all here to talk to each other, network, and I actually noticed during the intermission– some of you navigating some very narrow spaces in order to (LAUGH) do that, there’s– the reception will continue upstairs for any of you who would like to stay on and have a chance to speak with each other, but at this point, I’m concluding the Fourth Annual– Global Citizen Awards of the Atlantic Council.  We hope to see you all next year again in conjunction with the U.N. General Assembly.  Thank you for coming.  (APPLAUSE)

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