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2002 Summit

Dublin, Ireland

The Academy of Achievement brought a wide array of world leaders and 200 graduate students to Dublin, Ireland, for the 41st annual International Achievement Summit, June 6-9, 2002.

The 41st annual Salute to Excellence and International Achievement Summit took place in Dublin, Ireland, from June 6 to June 9, 2002. The first International Achievement Summit to be held since the events of September 11, 2001, this year’s program was a moving demonstration of peaceful and enlightening exchange between men and women of high accomplishment from many nations and the most promising young scholars from around the world.

2002: President Bill Clinton, Catherine B. Reynolds, Bono, President Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia, and Frank McCourt at a symposium during the Academy of Achievement’s International Achievement Summit in Dublin.

More than 25 new honorees were inducted into the Academy, and 200 outstanding graduate students attended the program. Among the past and present honorees of the Academy in attendance were the 42nd President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton; the Prime Minister of Ireland, Bertie Ahern; the President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai; the President of Colombia, Andrés Pastrana Arango; the former Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak; musicians Bono and Enya; newsmen Sam Donaldson, Chris Matthews and Mike Wallace; authors Frank McCourt, N. Scott Momaday, and Edna O’Brien.

President Bill Clinton speaking to the Academy delegates at the 2002 International Achievement Summit in Dublin.

The Summit Host was the Prime Minister of Ireland, Bertie Ahern; the Host Chairman was Catherine B. Reynolds, Chairman, and CEO of The Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation. Academy members and Honor Delegates stayed at the elegant Four Seasons Hotel Dublin.

Honorees John Hume, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace, and President Bill Clinton at the Academy of Achievement’s 2002 International Achievement Summit.

Most of the Summit’s proceedings took place in the Hotel’s spacious Grand Ballroom. Academy members and Honor Delegates gathered there for the first evening’s program, featuring an unforgettable discussion with President Clinton and U2 lead singer Bono, moderated by ABC News Correspondent Sam Donaldson.

A discussion with President Clinton and U2’s lead singer Bono at the first evening’s program of the 2002 Summit.

The next morning’s program began with inspiring addresses by two speakers who overcame extraordinary obstacles to become great men of medicine: Dr. Michael Phelps, the pioneer of PET Scan technology, and the famed neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson.

David Trimble, First Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, addresses Academy student delegates and members during the 2002 International Achievement Summit in Dublin, Ireland.

They were joined by Nobel Prize recipient Dr. Paul Greengard and Lasker Award-winning neuroscientist Dr. Solomon Snyder for an enthralling discussion, “Mysteries of the Brain.”

Dr. Henry Kissinger, former United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, with fellow honoree Andrés Pastrana Arango, the President of Columbia, during the 2002 International Achievement Summit in Dublin.

The famed paleoanthropologist Dr. Donald Johanson made an engaging presentation on the subject of human evolution, with projected images of his own field expeditions and his most famous discovery, the fossilized remains of the primate known as “Lucy.”

Awards Council member James Earl Jones and guest of honor Prince Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, at the Banquet of the Golden Plate during the 2002 Summit in Dublin, Ireland.

The morning took a literary turn with an address by the great Irish novelist Edna O’Brien and a delightful reading by James Earl Jones and the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet N. Scott Momaday. As the topic turned to public policy, the Academy heard from the Mayor of Chicago, Richard M. Daley, and from the President of Colombia, Andrés Pastrana Arango. President Pastrana sat down for a question-and-answer session with the Academy’s Honor Delegates, moderated by the host of MSNBC’s Hardball program, Chris Matthews.

Academy Awards Council member Roger Bannister, a neurologist and track and field legend, presents the Golden Plate Award to Sir Paul Nurse, the recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Director of Britain’s Imperial Cancer Research Fund, during the Academy of Achievement’s 2002 International Achievement Summit in Dublin.

The afternoon’s proceedings began with an entertaining and provocative discussion with the recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Sir Harold Kroto. America’s foremost consumer advocate and “Public Citizen,” Ralph Nader, spoke and joined Mayor Daley and Chris Matthews to discuss “Activism and Public Policy.” A panel discussion, “The War on Disease,” was moderated by Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute.

Academy member Mike Wallace of CBS News’s 60 Minutes and honoree Bill Clinton at the 2002 Summit in Dublin.

The panelists included: the Assistant Surgeon General of the United States, Rear Admiral Susan J. Blumenthal; a recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Director of Britain’s Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Sir Paul Nurse; the Chief of Surgery at the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Steven Rosenberg; and the winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in medicine, the co-discoverer of the double helix structure of the DNA molecule, Dr. James D. Watson.

Academy Awards Council member and broadcast journalist Sam Donaldson presents the Golden Plate Award to exiled Chinese novelist Gao Xingjian, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, during the 2002 Summit in Dublin.

The next two speakers addressed the problems of the physically disabled in developing countries. Philanthropist Ken Behring made a moving video presentation on his latest venture, Wheelchairs for the World. Alberto Cairo described his work at the International Red Cross Orthopedic Center in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Summit Host Catherine Reynolds and Awards Council member Quincy Jones, with honorees Sen. George Mitchell, Dr. Henry Kissinger, and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan at the historic Dublin Castle at the 2002 Summit.

The exiled Chinese novelist Gao Xingjian gave a touching address on “The Necessity of Loneliness” and charmed the audience with his wise and witty answers to their questions on life, literature, and survival. Chris Matthews returned to the stage with Sam Donaldson and Mike Wallace of CBS News’s 60 Minutes for a freewheeling, no-holds-barred discussion of “Rights and Responsibilities in Broadcast Journalism.”

Awards Council member General Joseph W. Ralston, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and honoree Patrick G. Ryan, the founder, chairman and CEO of Aon Corporation, during the 2002 Summit in Dublin, Ireland.

Friday evening, Academy members and Honor Delegates dined in the State Apartments at historic Dublin Castle after a reception and awards presentation in the Castle’s magnificent St. Patrick’s Hall. The evening’s proceedings included a delightful presentation by Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons and continued with addresses by Dr. Henry Kissinger, Senator George J. Mitchell, and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan.

Honoree Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister of Israel, addresses Academy student delegates and members at a symposium during the Academy of Achievement’s 2002 International Achievement Summit in Dublin, Ireland.

On Saturday morning, archaeologist Kent Weeks gave a thrilling account of his excavations in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, including his discovery of the tombs of the sons of Ramses the Second, one of the great archeological discoveries of the last 100 years.

Academy Awards Council member Ralph Nader presents the Golden Plate Award to Dr. José Ramos-Horta, Foreign Minister of East Timor and Nobel Prize for Peace laureate, during the 2002 Achievement Summit in Dublin, Ireland.

Lennart Meri, the first man to serve as President of Estonia since it regained its independence from the Soviet Union, spoke briefly and introduced Estonia’s Ambassador-at-Large, the dynamic young diplomat Jüri Luik. The President of Latvia, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, spoke and was joined by Ambassador Luik and by past and present commanders of NATO — General Wesley Clark and General Joseph Ralston, respectively — for a panel discussion, “Redefining NATO,” moderated by Sam Donaldson.

Three honorees: Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Ehud Barak, the former Prime Minister of Israel, and Mikhail S. Gorbachev, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and the last President of the Soviet Union, at a symposium during the American Academy of Achievement’s 2002 International Achievement Summit in Dublin.

The discussion of superpower politics and the changing role of NATO was followed by an appearance by a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace, Dr. José Ramos-Horta, Foreign Minister of East Timor. Dr. Ramos-Horta spoke movingly of his lonely 25-year struggle to secure his country’s freedom, a journey that finally ended weeks before the Summit with the achievement of full independence for East Timor.

Honoree Mikhail S. Gorbachev, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and the last President of the Soviet Union, addresses Academy student delegates and members during the 2002 International Achievement Summit in Dublin, Ireland.

General Wesley Clark returned to the stage to conduct a discussion of “Entrepreneurship in the Global Economy” with international business giants Frank Lowy, Patrick Ryan, and Gil Shwed, representing Australia, the United States, and Israel, respectively.

Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and the first Muslim woman to head a democratic government, addresses Academy student delegates and members at the 2002 International Achievement Summit in Dublin.

Saturday afternoon, the assembly moved to Trinity College, where Academy members and Honor Delegates heard from three former chiefs of state, each of whom played a historic role at a crucial moment in the lives of their respective countries. The former Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak, described his extraordinary quest for peace between his country and the Palestinians and shared his unique insight into the present state of the conflict in the Middle East.

Summit Hosts Catherine B. Reynolds and the Prime Minister of Ireland Bertie Ahern at the Banquet of the Golden Plate in the Ballroom of the Four Seasons during the 2002 International Achievement Summit in Dublin, Ireland.

He was followed by a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace, the last President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail S. Gorbachev, who presented his irreplaceable personal viewpoint on the end of communism in Eastern Europe.

Summit Host Bertie Ahern, the Prime Minister of Ireland, addresses the Academy student delegates, members, and honorees in the Ballroom of the Four Seasons at the Banquet of the Golden Plate ceremonies at the 2002 Summit.

As the first woman to serve as chief of state of a Muslim country, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, has an extraordinary life story to tell and offered an invaluable point of view on issues ranging from the current conflict between India and Pakistan to the future relations between the West and the Islamic world.

Frank McCourt and Jeremy Irons share a laugh during the presentations of the Golden Plate to the Class of 2002.

Chris Matthews moderated a discussion of the Northern Ireland peace process with the two men who received the Nobel Prize for Peace for their historic breakthrough in this cause: John Hume, MP, and the Right Honorable David Trimble, First Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The evening ended with a tour through the breathtaking Long Room of Trinity’s Old Library to view Ireland’s greatest art treasure, the ninth-century Book of Kells.

Murray Gell-Mann and fellow Academy Awards Council member and Nobel Prize laureate Dr. James D. Watson, with Catherine and Wayne Reynolds, the Summit Host and Chairman, at the 2002 Achievement Summit in Dublin.

The weekend’s activities culminated with the black-tie Banquet of the Golden Plate held in the Ballroom of the Four Seasons, accompanied by the Band of An Garda Sioch·n·, Ireland’s national police force. Presentations of the Golden Plate to the Class of 2002 were read by Frank McCourt, Jeremy Irons, and James Earl Jones and followed by remarks from the Host Chairman, Catherine B. Reynolds, and the Summit Host, the Prime Minister of Ireland, Bertie Ahern.

Academy members Jeremy Irons and Naomi Judd, with honoree Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, at a reception at the Banquet of the Golden Plate ceremonies during the 2002 International Achievement Summit.

At the close of this year’s Banquet of the Golden Plate, Academy members and Honor Delegates were treated to a performance by the internationally acclaimed soprano Kathleen Battle and by the founding father of Rock and Roll, Chuck Berry. Academy members and Honor Delegates from around the world, young and old, were swept up in the universal and timeless beat of “Johnny B. Goode.”

Academy members and delegates dance to a performance by honoree Chuck Berry, the founding father of Rock and Roll, at the close of the Banquet of the Golden Plate at the 2002 International Achievement Summit in Dublin.

On this joyous note, the 41st Annual Salute to Excellence and International Achievement Summit rocked to an end, leaving one and all exhilarated with the promise of a better world emerging from the conflicts and divisions of the old.


Zhores Alferov, Ph.D.
Nobel Prize in Physics
H.E. Andres Pastrana Arango
President of the Republic of Colombia
Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud
Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the U.S.
Chuck Berry
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Bono
Musician and Activist
Alberto Cairo
Afghanistan's "Angel of Mercy"
Richard M. Daley
Mayor of Chicago
Enya
Grammy Award-winning Musician
Niall FitzGerald
Chairman and CEO, Unilever
Gao Xingjian
Nobel Prize in Literature
Paul Greengard, Ph.D.
Nobel Prize in Medicine
Zahi Hawass, Ph.D.
Egyptologist
Sir Harry Kroto
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Frank P. Lowy
Developer and Philanthropist
H.E. Lennart Meri
President of the Republic of Estonia
George J. Mitchell
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Sir Paul Nurse
Nobel Prize in Medicine
José Ramos-Horta
Nobel Prize for Peace
Tony Ryan
Co-founder of Ryanair
Patrick G. Ryan
Founder and Chairman of Aon Corporation
Gil Shwed
Security Software Pioneer
Peter D. Sutherland
Chairman, Goldman Sachs International