WHAT IS THE CONNECTICUT FORUM?
The Connecticut Forum convenes the leading thinkers, artists and cultural icons of our time for live, unscripted discussions. This free and open exchange of ideas can build bridges between individuals and communities. For this reason, The Connecticut Forum also hosts a robust program for youth in our region, to engage in critical cotemporary topics with Forum speakers and their peers.
PAST PANELISTS INCLUDE:
The Forum season includes four Forums at The Bushnell that address the issues, challenges, and opportunities of our time – from politics to sports to science to the arts.
KURT VONNEGUT • MICHELLE OBAMA • SETH MEYERS
JOHN LEGEND • GLORIA STEINEM • NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON
KEN BURNS • DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN • MALCOLM GLADWELL
FRED ARMISEN • YO-YO MA • MARCUS SAMUELSSON
SPIKE LEE • TONI MORRISON • LIZ CHENEY • NILE RODGERS
RHIANNON GIDDENS • ANTHONY BOURDAIN ... AND MANY MORE.
David Ignatius and Liz Cheney
Yo-Yo Ma
Audie Cornish and Ken Burns
SPONSORSHIP BENEFITS
Engage Employees
Your employees can:
• Attend Forums together for team-building and engagement.
• Meet with Forum representatives to brainstorm topics and speakers of interest, craft questions to ask speakers, and help shape our program.
• Volunteer in various roles at The Forums.
Networking Opportunities
• The exclusive Private Networking Reception before each Forum features about 200 corporate executives, policymakers, and philanthropists from across the region.
Visibility
• Forums are attended by more than 10,000 people annually.
• Forums feature a highly educated audience that is growing in reach and diversity.
Client Engagement
• Opportunities to host clients at Networking Receptions with leading executives, policymakers and Forum speakers
Exclusive Access
• Access to world-renowned experts and celebrity speakers.
• Backstage visits for highest-level sponsors.
Youth Development
• Opportunities for teams to work closely with youth from historically marginalized communities around The Forums.
YOUTH ENGAGING
Central to The Connecticut Forum’s mission has been the engagement and enrichment of youth, particularly young people from the urban core and historically marginalized communities. At each Forum, local middle and high schoolers are invited to meet the evening’s speakers, during which the students raise issues and ask questions that matter to them.
Known as Youth PreViews, Forum speakers often reflect that their conversations with young people are among the highlights of their visits. The students also meet with volunteers to prepare for their visits with the Forum speakers and afterward, to consider what they have learned.
Morgan Tuck and Sue Bird
EXCLUSIVE NETWORKING
OPPORTUNITIES
Sponsors and their guests receive invitations to Private Networking Receptions before each Forum, which feature leading executives, policymakers and, often, the speakers of that evening’s Forum.
These opportunities enable sponsors to connect with current and prospective clients and employees – creating team-building activities around The Forum.
SAT, SEP 28, 2024
Jon Batiste & Suleika Jaouad
On
joy
music,
THU, OCT 24, 2024
Nikole Hannah-Jones &
Heather Cox Richardson
Reflections on a complex America
Moderated by Jonathan Capehart
THU, MAR 6, 2025
Featuring Admiral James Stavridis
Moderated by Yamiche Alcindor
THU, APRIL 3, 2025
An Evening with José Andrés
