News

Inaugural Conference

4 December 2013
Cercle Royal Gaulois, Brussels, Belgium
Wednesday, December 4, 2013 - 10:00 to 19:00
Sustainable Freedom: The Conversation between Christians and Secularists in the Post-Secular Age.

Program

10:00
Opening Remarks
Todd Huizinga, Executive Director, Transatlantic Christian Council, United States

10:05

Welcoming Address
Anna Zaborska, Member of European Parliament, Co-Host

10:15

Welcoming Address
John O’Sullivan, Editor-at-Large, National Review and author of The President, the Pope and the Prime Minister, Co-Host

10:25

Keynote Speaker, Sustainable Freedom
Os Guinness

10:55

Discussion: moderated by TCC Board Member Miriam Lexmann, Head of the Brussels office of the International Republican Institute

11:15

Panel discussion
Human Rights and Human Nature
Moderator: Sophia Kuby, Executive Director, European Dignity Watch, Germany
First Panelist: Individual Rights and Group Rights
Thierry Baudet, Academic, Journalist and Writer, The Netherlands
Second Panelist: Human Rights and the Right to Life
Marie Smith, Director, Parliamentary Network For Critical Issues, USA
Third Panelist: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Global Governance
John Fonte, Senior Fellow Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C., and author of Sovereignty or Submission: Will Americans Rule Themselves or be Ruled by Others?, USA
Discussion, Q&A with audience (30 minutes)

12:15

Lunch

13:30

Keynote Speaker, Post-Secular Age
Frits Bolkestein

14:00

Discussion: moderated by Dr. Stefan Gehrold, head of European Office, Konrad Adenauer Foundation

14:20

Break

14:30

Panel discussion
Religious Freedom: The Most Foundational Freedom under Threat
Moderator: Eric Teetsel, Executive Director Manhattan Declaration, USA
First Panelist: Religious Freedom and Freedom of Education
Jennifer Marshall, Director, Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation, USA
Second Panelist: Religious Freedom and Anti-Discrimination Law
Rocco Buttiglione, philosopher and politician, former member of the European Parliament and nominee for European Commissioner, Italy
Third Panelist: Growing Threats against Freedom of Religion in Europe
Martin Kugler, Co-Founder of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians, Austria
Discussion Q&A with audience (30 minutes)

15:30

Coffee Break

16:00

Panel discussion
The Moral Case for Free Markets
Moderator: Rev. Robert A. Sirico, President, Acton Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan
First Panelist: State Responsibility and Personal Responsibility
Bruno Roche, Special Advisor, Social Justice & Globalization, G20 French Presidency, Chief Economist, Mars, Incorporated
Second Panelist: The Free Market and Social Justice: Is There a European Social Model?
Jan Schippers, Economist, and Director Guido de Bres Foundation, research Department SGP political party, The Netherlands
Third Panelist: The Free Market and the Global Financial Crisis
Theodore Malloch, CEO, Global Fiduciary Governance LLC, USA
Discussion Q&A with audience (30 minutes)

17:00

Closing Remarks
Henk Jan van Schothorst, Executive Director, Transatlantic Christian Council, Europe

17:05

Reception with cocktails

19:00

End of Conference

Find here the playlist of all speeches and discussions held on the inaugural conference