TITLE: International Summit of the Book 4: Closing
SPEAKER: Hon. John Larson, James H. Billington, Elaine Ng, Tommy Koh
EVENT DATE: 12/07/2012
FORMAT: Video + Captions
RUNNING TIME: 19 minutes
TRANSCRIPT: View Transcript (link will open in a new window)
DESCRIPTION:
The closing session of this annual event featured a passing of the torch to officials from Singapore, the site chosen for the 2013 International Summit of the Book.
Speaker Biography: U.S. Rep. John B. Larson is in his seventh term serving the people of Connecticut's First Congressional District. He was recently elected by his colleagues to chair the House Democratic Caucus for the 112th Congress. He served as vice-chair of the caucus for more than two years. Rep. Larson serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Subcommittee on Trade and the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures; previously he served on the Armed Services Committee and the Science Committee, and as ranking minority member of the House Administration Committee.
Speaker Biography: James Hadley Billington was sworn in as the Librarian of Congress on September 14, 1987. He is the 13th person to hold the position since the Library was established in 1800.
Speaker Biography: Elaine Ng is the chief executive officer of the National Library Board of Singapore. As CEO of the board, she oversees the strategic development of the National Library of Singapore and the network of public libraries in Singapore. She has more than 20 years of experience in the public sector, covering a wide range of portfolios, ranging from policy development to research and corporate governance. Prior to joining the National Library Board in April, 2011, Ng was the deputy chief executive officer of the National Heritage Board, where she was responsible for overseeing heritage development. During her tenure there, she played a pivotal role in setting out the heritage board's strategic plan in actively reinforcing inter-government agency efforts to strengthen the role of heritage in the public realm. She also served in the Singapore Ministry of Defence, which she joined in 1989. Ng holds a Master's degree in English from the University of Cambridge, U.K. and a Master's in Politics from Brandeis University.
Speaker Biography: Tommy Koh is currently Ambassador-At-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Professor Koh has a storied academic and diplomatic career. Among his many prestigious posts, he has served as Singapore's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, as Ambassador to the United States of America, as President of the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea and Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for and the Main Committee of the UN Conference on Environment and Development. He was also Singapore's Chief Negotiator for the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. He chairs three committees for the NUS relating to law, Asia research and environmental management.
