In the presence of the Embassador of France, Laurent Bili, the evening will be introduced by thinker and futurist Nina Maturu, who will serve as Master of Ceremonies. Whitney McGuire will be the event’s guest of honor. Performances by young artists from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, principal partner of the first Night of Ideas in Washington, DC in 2025, will be featured, alongside highlighted international artists.
5:30 PM – Welcome
6:00 PM – Welcome in music
6:10 PM – Institutional Remarks
6:20 PM – Opening Address – Speaker and Special Guest
6:30PM – Vocal Performance by the Duke Ellington School of Arts
Moderate by Aviva Rosenthal Director of Smithsonian’s Office of Global Affairs. This panel will welcome as a guests Aurélie Clémente-Ruiz Director of the Musée de l’Homme, Elizabeth Merrit Strategic Foresight & Founding Director Center for the Future of Museums, Taline Balodian Co-Director of the Beirut Museum of Art in Lebanon and Whitney McGuire our Guest of Honor.
The first panel of the evening, The Museum of the Future, examines the transformation of the museum over the past 250 years.
Heir to the spirit and intellectual legacy of the Enlightenment, the museum has undergone profound evolution: from learned cabinet to public institution, it has become a democratic space, a forum for debate, a tool for civic education, and a platform for dialogue.
Today, this evolution is inseparable from an ecological reflection. The museum is reassessing its own operating model: building energy performance, eco-designed exhibitions, reduced transportation of artworks, sustainable material choices, and new lending and circulation practices are reshaping institutional responsibilities. These shifts reflect a growing commitment to environmental accountability.
By integrating its democratic and social dimensions with environmental responsibility, the museum emerges as a space of collective responsibility for future generations.
In her book Pour un musée engagé, Transmettre, interroger, inspirer, Aurélie Clémente-Ruiz, Director of the Musée de l’Homme in Paris, examines the capacity of museums to confront the major transformations of our time, digital revolution, evolving democratic expectations, and climate urgency, and reminds us that the museum is a living institution, in constant transformation.
At the intersection of cultural diplomacy and institutional strategy, discussions informed by the work of the Smithsonian Institution explore the role of museums as global actors. In an increasingly interconnected yet fragmented world, museums are redefining their capacity to foster dialogue across borders, negotiate complex narratives, and contribute to shared cultural understanding.
At the same time, forward-looking frameworks developed by the Center for the Future of Museums emphasize the importance of anticipation and adaptability. Through strategic foresight, museums are rethinking their models in response to shifting societal dynamics, evolving audiences, and the transformative impact of digital technologies. The question is how they prepare for multiple possible futures.
These reflections are further enriched by perspectives emerging from institution-building contexts, such as the Beirut Museum of Art. In environments marked by political, social, or economic complexity, the creation of a museum becomes a deeply meaningful act, one that engages with memory, identity, and the reconstruction of cultural ecosystems. In this sense, the museum is a catalyst for renewal and collective resilience.
Finally, the evolving relationship between art, law, and sustainability introduces a critical dimension to the discussion. Questions surrounding environmental responsibility, ethical stewardship, and the circulation of artworks are reshaping institutional practices. Museums are increasingly called upon to operate within frameworks that balance cultural ambition with ecological and legal accountability.
By students from the Peabody Institute.
Moderate by Nina Maturu. This panel will welcome as a guests Lotfi Aoulad Specialist of education and curation, UNESCO, Mark Anthony Thomas President & CEO, Greater Baltimore Committee, Jeremy Walsh Chief AI Officer at the FDA, Specialist in AI and its impact on health, Alex T. Johnson Senior Fellow and Co-Founder of the Global Futures Collaborative and Whitney McGuire our Guest of Honor.
The second panel, What Does It Mean to Be Human Today?, addresses the definition of humanity in 2026 within the framework of America250.
The legacy of the Enlightenment reminds us that the human being is defined by the capacity to think freely, to exercise discernment, and to participate in the construction of the common good. Reason, liberty, and dignity shaped the democratic revolutions of the eighteenth century and informed the founding of the United States. In the context of America250, this lineage takes on renewed significance: it calls for a reaffirmation of individual freedom.
In a fragmented and accelerated world, where artificial intelligence challenges traditional understandings of knowledge and agency, preserving fundamental freedoms requires protecting the dignity of the most vulnerable, safeguarding spaces for open debate, and cultivating listening and nuance. At the same time, the expansion of digital technologies and data collection raises new questions about surveillance and the protection of individual liberties, reminding us that technological progress must remain compatible with democratic freedoms. Democracy depends on individuals capable of responsibility and engagement.
Drawing from international frameworks developed within UNESCO, the discussion addresses the role of education, culture, and knowledge transmission in shaping responsible and informed citizens. In this perspective, humanity is not a fixed condition, but a shared construction, one that depends on access to education, cultural literacy, and the ability to engage critically with the world.
This reflection is inseparable from the realities of civic and economic life. Through the lens of urban leadership and institutional development, questions of social cohesion, economic inclusion, and democratic participation come to the forefront. The capacity to be fully human today is also the capacity to belong, to contribute, and to navigate increasingly complex societal structures, particularly in cities that concentrate both opportunity and inequality.
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, particularly in critical sectors such as healthcare, redefines the boundaries of knowledge, decision-making, and responsibility. Work conducted within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration highlights both the potential and the risks of these technologies: while AI offers unprecedented advances in efficiency and innovation, it also raises fundamental questions about autonomy, accountability, and the integrity of human judgment.
Forward-looking perspectives further extend this inquiry into the realm of futures thinking and systemic change. Initiatives such as the Global Futures Collaborative emphasize the need to anticipate long-term transformations and to design frameworks that align technological progress with human values. Here, the question what it should become and how collective choices made today will shape that trajectory.
Across these domains, legal, ethical, and cultural considerations intersect. The protection of individual freedoms in the digital age, the governance of data and surveillance, and the articulation of rights in rapidly evolving technological environments all point to a central tension: how to ensure that innovation remains compatible with democratic principles and human dignity.
Last Broadcast from Earth by Lisa Russell.
Musical and reading performance by the association Friendship Place.