Yesterday, I attended the Washington Ideas Forum in D.C. – an impressive gathering of leaders from government, business, civil society and the media focused on current and future issues, and sponsored by The Atlantic, the Aspen Institute, and the Newseum. ExxonMobil was one of the first underwriters of the Forum last year, and we are proud to underwrite the event again this year. You can watch the Forum on The Atlantic’s website.

To solve the economic, energy, environmental and other challenges we face worldwide, public awareness and understanding is vital. Gatherings like the Washington Ideas Forum help advance this understanding. People can and do often disagree about the public policies we should adopt to respond to these challenges –  but we can all agree that the best policies are those that are informed by an honest and open debate in which all stakeholders’ voices are respected. That certainly was the prevailing sentiment at a dinner I hosted last night with about 30 Forum participants.

Keeping with that spirit, this year’s Washington Ideas Forum speakers included leaders from a range of professions and persuasions, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senator Lindsey Graham, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Governor Haley Barbour, and others.

It will be interesting to see if the momentum from the Forum is carried out over the next year with so many important issues on the table – economic recovery, a new Congress in January, global poverty and health issues, just to name a few.  Let’s hope so.