Rice University Office of Media Relations
DATE: April 5, 1999 News Release
CONTACT: Mike Cinelli PHONE: (713) 831-4794 [email protected] 99-122
SHEVARDNADZE TO SPEAK AT RICE'S BAKER INSTITUTE ON APRIL 22 Georgian President, Baker to Conduct 'Town Hall' Meeting on Post-Cold War Era; Shevardnadze to Receive Baker Institute's Enron Prize for Distinguished Public Service
HOUSTON, April 5, 1999 -- Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze will deliver an address, "Georgia, the Caucasus and Beyond," and join former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, in a "town hall" meeting to reflect on historic events that brought about a peaceful end to the Cold War nearly 10 years ago.
The event--sponsored by Rice's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy--is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 22, in Stude Concert Hall, Alice Pratt Brown Hall on the Rice campus. Prior to the event, Shevardnadze will meet with news media representatives at 5 p.m. in the International Conference Facility of Baker Hall.
This will be the first time Shevardnadze and Baker have appeared together in public to talk about their roles in bringing the Cold War to an end and on future perspectives. They both made significant contributions--as foreign minister of the Soviet Union and the U.S. secretary of state, respectively--in managing a peaceful transfer to the post-Cold War era.
Former President George Bush will deliver a videotaped welcoming message to start the evening's program. Shevardnadze will then make his address and participate in the "town hall" meeting, during which he will exchange views with Baker on the historic events of 1989 and the state of the post-Cold War world.
After the meeting concludes, Shevardnadze will be presented with the Baker Institute's Enron Prize for Distinguished Public Service. Kenneth L. Lay, chairman and CEO of Enron Corp., will participate in the presentation. Shevardnadze will be the third person to receive the prize. Previous recipients were retired U.S. Gen. Colin Powell (1995) and former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev (1997).
The event is by invitation only, except for students, faculty and staff of Rice, who need only show university identification for admittance to the event site.
As Soviet Foreign Minister from 1985 until his dramatic resignation in December 1990, Shevardnadze was one of the principal architects of glasnost and Perestroika and a leader of the movement for democratic reforms and self-determination. He directed the policies that led to the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, reduction of nuclear arms, the independence of the countries of East and Central Europe, and the reunification of Germany.
In 1992, the Georgia State Council invited Shevardnadze to return to his native country to help restore peace and democracy following an uprising in northwest Georgia, where ethnic Abkhaz nationalists and military units of foreign mercenaries embarked on a policy of "national cleansing," expelling 250,000 Georgians amid fierce fighting. With considerable personal courage and risk to his life, Shevardnadze rallied the Georgian forces at the front and then negotiated a cease-fire.
In 1995 elections, his Citizens Union party won a majority in the Georgian parliament and he was elected president. He introduced democratic and economic reforms that restored political stability, economic growth and increased cooperation throughout the region. He also launched a program of privatization.
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Media coverage information follows
Coverage Information for Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze's Visit to Rice's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
Date: Thursday, April 22, 1999 Time: 5 p.m. CST -- Media briefing in International Conference Facility, Baker Hall 6 p.m. CST -- Speech, "town hall" meeting, Stude Concert Hall, Alice Pratt Brown Hall Presentation of Baker Institute Enron Prize for Distinguished Public Service
Credentials
Journalists interested in attending the media briefing and covering the "town hall" meeting need to e-mail or fax reporters' names, media affiliation, date of birth and social security number to the Rice University Office of Media Relations by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 16. The e-mail address is [email protected]. The office fax number is (713) 831-4747.
Satellite feed
For national and international broadcast media outlets, satellite coordinates are: Satellite--T5, at 97-degrees west. Transponder--24 at 4180Mhz downlink frequency, horizontal polarity, audio on 6.2/6.8. The program will have a pre-broadcast info slate from 5:45 p.m. CST to 6 p.m. CST. The program will run from 6 p.m. CST to 7:30 p.m. CST with a 15-minute soft closing to a 7:45 p.m. CST hard out.
Webcast
Shevardnadze's speech and the "town hall" meeting will be available live on the Internet through RealAudio/RealVideo. To listen to the event online at http://www.rice.edu/rtv/, you must use "RealAudio Player," a free, downloadable software. The Rice site contains a link to the Web page from which the free RealAudio Player can be downloaded. With the RealAudio Player installed on your computer, simply click on the links located at http://www.rice.edu/rtv/. The file will begin "streaming" or sending the speech to your computer.
Contact
Questions concerning this event should be directed to Michael Cinelli, director of Rice's Office of Media Relations, at (713) 831-4794.
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