Desert Town Hall Lecture Series Kicks Off

Some of the world’s most influential people will be rolling into the city of Indian Wells through April for the 19th annual Desert Town Hall.

One of the speakers includes former President George W. Bush.

On Tuesday, the editor-at-large of Time magazine and CNN host Dr. Fareed Zakaria kicked off the lecture series.

Zakaria gave two different speeches: one to the general public and the other to students from local high schools and College of the Desert.

It seems almost everyone walked away inspired.

“It opened up my eyes,” said Willie Harris, a student at Amistad High School.

“His commitment in excellence in journalism is something that you always want to look towards in continuing your journalistic efforts,” said Avery Jaffe, a student at Marywood-Palm Valley School.

“He’s actually my favorite political commentator,” said Samir Khanna, who introduced Zakaria to the audience before the first speech.

Khanna is a senior at Xavier College Prep and a member of the Youth Ambassador Program.

More than 150 students from 15 local high schools and colleges were invited to the 2011 Desert Town Hall to listen to the speech.

“To be able to talk directly with people that are in the news at that moment,” said Justice Douglas Miller, an organizer of the Youth Ambassador Program. “It enhances their ability to understand what’s going on around them.”

Zakaria’s speech to the students lasted 10 minutes, and a question-and-answer session followed.

He stayed away from foreign policy and focused on inspiring the students to work hard, do what they love, and take advantage of the opportunities America has to offer.

“Even in the United States, we are not very attentive to the young,” said Zakaria. “We’re not very attentive to these future concerns. If you look at our budget, whether it’s the Republican party or the Democratic party, we spend a lot of time worrying about how to subsidize the present, rather than invest in the future.”

Mohamed Safy is one of several Egyptians on scholarship with the U.S. Department of State attending class at College of the Desert.

He’s watched the revolution in Cairo play out on television and listened carefully to Zakaria discussing his home country in front of nearly 2,000 people during the second speech

Safy’s not into politics but is proud that Egyptians took a stand, forcing President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

“I was reading the news today (and it) said, Egypt in 10 years, it will be changed 100 percent,” said Safy.

“If the events of the Middle East should remind us, very powerfully, that addressing the concerns and problems of the young is a very important reality,” said Zakaria.

The lecture series continues through April.

Former President George W. Bush is scheduled to speak on March 7.

For more information on the event, go to www.deserttownhall.org.