Albright shines in ANC Leadership Series

For the second straight year, the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) has brought to the Philippines a global leader for its ANC Leadership Series in its effort to raise the level of discourse on pressing issues in the country and the world.

After Virgin Group founder Richard Branson in 2016’s Asian Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum, it was former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright’s turn to impart her wisdom to Filipino in ANC’s Forum on Global Governance and the World Economy held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza last July.

ANC chief operating officer Cilette Liboro-Co said that it is through organizing these events that they get to not just inform but also empower Filipinos.

“ANC’s role goes beyond reporting the news. It’s important to start a conversation on topics that have an impact on our lives. The ANC Leadership Series, the ANC-X events, and the Bangsamoro and Beyond Forum, are venues for these discussions. Through these events, our viewers should gain a better understanding of the issues so they can make informed decisions,” she explained.

Moderated by multi-awarded broadcast journalist Karen Davila, the forum began with Dr. Albright sharing her story as a young refugee from Czechoslovakia who eventually became the first female US secretary of state, and essentially the most powerful woman in the world.

Dr. Albright helped reinforce America’s alliances and advocated for democracy and human rights around the globe, gaining respect and wielding influence in a male-dominated field. Even now as a private citizen and a professor, Dr. Albright remains a thought leader especially on issues on foreign policy and world affairs.

She certainly did not disappoint the over 400 business leaders and diplomats who came to listen and learn from her at the forum, including Department of Foreign Affairs secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, US ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, ABS-CBN president and CEO Carlo Katigbak, and ABS-CBN News head Ging Reyes.

In her speech, Dr. Albright showed her sharp analysis on the rise of populism and incidence of terrorism in different countries in the world right now. Summing up her presentation in five words, Dr. Albright bluntly said, “The world is a mess.”  

She then emphasized the need for nations to come together to resolve these issues and the importance of understanding the root cause of conflicts. 

On issues close to Filipinos, such as our government’s efforts to forge ties with USA rivals Russia and China, she said that the nation has the right to seek other alliances but maintained the importance of US-PH relations. 

In a one-on-one interview on Headstart with Karen Davila, Dr. Albright got to share more about her life. The current chair of the Albright Stonebridge Group and Albright Capital Management shared the she keeps in her office three things that signify her “American story” — the manifest from the ship she rode with her family to the United States in 1948, her commission signed by former President Bill Clinton and the Medal of Freedom awarded to her by former President Barack Obama.

Asked what kind of world awaits her grandchildren, the former US Secretary of State said it is going to be different and said the uncertainty facing the world right now motivates her to still take part in shaping the future in her own little way.

“I would like to still be in a position to try to today figure out what the governance is and how we make rules a little bit ahead of time in terms of cyber, in terms of artificial intelligence, in terms of climate change, so I hope that people think ahead,” she said.

Among those inspired by her intelligence and her honesty was Karen, who also received praises for her work in the forum and the interview. The veteran anchor said she read Dr. Albright’s books and watched interviews of her to be able to ask the right and most important questions.

“Madeleine Albright is a woman who has taken stock of a decision she made. She is able to say she made a mistake. It is quite refreshing to hear a powerful person say that. And it’s nice to see powerful women because it takes so much harder for a woman to get there,” she shared.

Meanwhile, ANC, as the gold standard and primary source of Philippine news and analysis, continues to embrace the responsibility of providing Filipinos not just accurate news reporting but also enlightening discussions on topics that matter.

On Oct. 19 at 8 p.m., ANC is airing the Bangsamoro and Beyond: A National Conversation forum in partnership with the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies. The forum tackles the grievances of the Bangsamoro people and the search for peace and genuine autonomy in the region. It also educates people on the peace process and the status of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, as well as the social and economic implications of having a Bangsamoro autonomous state. 

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