Acting in Time Conference

The Looming Crisis: Can We Act in Time?

The Acting in Time initiative was launched at a conference held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in May of 2007. Hosted by Harvard Kennedy School, the conference explored critical long-term challenges – from climate change to natural disasters to nuclear proliferation – where action could make an enormous difference, but where governments, nations, and communities seem unable or unwilling to act, even when action will almost certainly be less costly and more effective than delay.

This two-day event, featuring a keynote address by former President Bill Clinton, examined how leaders and nations can act in time to solve the world’s biggest problems. Participants included a wide range of Kennedy School faculty, scholars and researchers, policymakers, journalists, nonprofit leaders, and policy advocates. The conference chair was David T. Ellwood, dean of Harvard Kennedy School.

Watch President Clinton's keynote address (video)

Dean Davide Ellwood and President Bill Clinton

Former President Bill Clinton (right), pictured here with Dean David Ellwood, was the keynote speaker at the Harvard Kennedy School conference, “The Looming Crises: Can We Act in Time?”