The John Adams Institute is pleased to present:

Hyphen-Nation: American Perspectives on Diversity

5 February 2010

Location: Stadsschouwburg, Leidseplein 26 Amsterdam

Immigration and diversity are the biggest, hottest, most painful issues in the Netherlands. America is the land of diversity. What’s the secret to America’s approach? It’s a tiny thing: the hyphen (streepje). Everyone in the U.S. has a dual identity: Mexican-American, Italian-American, African-American… America tells newcomers: “Become American, join us…but don’t lose your origins.” It has taken a few hundred years, and it has plenty of flaws, but American diversity works. The purpose of this special, all-day event, organized by the John Adams Institute with the sponsorship of the Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, is to pose this question: Can the American diversity format work in the Netherlands?

Part 1

1pm to 7.45pm

Hyphen-Nation Diversity Conference, admission part 1 & 2: €25

featuring:

· Panel discussions on diversity in the workplace and diversity on TV, including top U.S. corporate and TV executives.

· Talks by Eboo Patel, member of President Obama’s Faith Advisory Council, and Farah Pandith, U.S. Special Representative to Muslim Communities.

· Remarks by U.S. Ambassador Fay Hartog Levin and Dutch Minister for European Affairs Frans Timmermans.

· A report by Pia Dijkstra on the future of women in the Dutch workforce.

· Airing of an episode of the documentary “The New York Connection,” about diversity in New York.

· Amsterdam street musicians, a slideshow on what it’s like to be an illegal immigrant in New York, and a case study of how Pepsi pioneered the integration of blacks into its sales force in the 1940s.

· Drinks and buffet dinner.

For the full program and registration details, go to our website: www.john-adams.nl

Part 2

8pm to 9.30pm

Public keynote address by Jesse Jackson, admission part 2: €10 and €5 for youngster -25 years

Jesse Jackson speaks on the success and failure of American diversity in the age of Obama.

Moderated by Prem Radhakishun.

For the full program and ticket sale, go to our website: www.john-adams.nl/tickets/index.html

Part 3

Organized by Coolpolitics

9.30pm to 3am

Hyphen-Nation Youth Event location: Boom Chicago, Leidseplein Amsterdam

Event with comedy, a Coolpolitics talk show featuring Jesse Jackson, and a party with Flinke Namen and DVDJs Off the Wall.

For the full program and ticket sale, go to www.coolpolitics.org