Retiro inicial era el 29 de marzo al 1 de abril, 2012

En el 2012 los países vecinos de México y los Estados Unidos tuvieron elecciones presidenciales en el mismo año, un fenómeno que ocurre solamente cada doce años. Aprovechando esa oportunidad natural para progresar y avanzar en las relaciones entre los EEUU y México, Sunnylands y el Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, convocaron un grupo extraordinario de 22 líderes importantes de opinión, pensamiento, política y negocio de los dos países para crear una agenda en cuanto a relaciones bilaterales que será visionaria y pragmática. Después de tres días de reuniones sobre una variedad de temas como seguridad, integración económica, y migración, también con unas reuniones adicionales sobre el intercambio cultural y el paisaje político mundial, el personal de las dos organizaciones trabajaron para transformar las ideas generadas durante el evento a un plan concreto y estratégico para poder cosechar apoyo amplio dentro de los partidos políticos.

El 11 de julio del 2012, Sunnylands y el Wilson Center enviaron un reporte, escrito y en video, de las recomendaciones que se generaron durante el retiro. Hubo más reuniones para avanzar con las ideas generadas durante el retiro para hacer que los ministros y oficiales, los líderes de política, y la comunidad de negocio se enfocaran más en las relaciones entre los EEUU y México.

El 28 de agosto del 2012 durante la Convención Nacional Republicana, y otra vez el 4 de septiembre durante la Convención Nacional Democrática, Sunnylands y el Wilson Center organizaron varias conversaciones y mesas redondas para informar a los representantes, funcionarios electos y otros sobre el reporte y las recomendaciones.

The setting and details of a Sunnylands retreat create an atmosphere for reflection and collaboration. The advantages include: 

In keeping with the aim of translating ideas into action for the betterment of the world, Sunnylands retreats adhere to the following standards:

A topic of national or international importance

The Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands tackles the most pressing issues to better serve the nation and the world.

Renowned leaders and innovators

The leaders and experts invited to meet at Sunnylands are the very best in their field; each must possess an outstanding record of achievement and a proven ability to impact society’s most difficult challenges.

A significant and meaningful outcome

Retreats must contribute to advancing solutions and making measurable progress.

Diverse perspectives

The challenges facing the world today are multifaceted. Finding solutions requires collaboration among those with a broad range of viewpoints, experiences, and talents.

A distinct California lens

Sunnylands benefits from a location that bridges the East and West and provides access to California’s rich cultural and intellectual resources. From this perch, Sunnylands embraces creativity, encourages openness and innovation, and honors diversity and the immigrant spirit.

Sunnylands curates a full range of convenings–from traditional meetings to roundtable discussions to intimate brainstorming sessions–to fulfill an ambitious agenda. Working collaboratively with internal and external expert advisers, the development of a convening involves the application of a rigorous review process and painstaking development of an agenda and participant list.

Sunnylands joins forces with institutions that are highly regarded for their expertise, recognized for excellence in their field, have a long-term commitment to the issue, and have articulated a strategy for achieving progress.  Sunnylands brings to the table a highly effective convening model and deploys a broad range of expertise and professional networks as well as funding and other resources. Sunnylands also integrates agenda development, project management, communication, and logistical skills with the needed staffing for exceptional retreat planning and execution.

While enormous progress has been made in recent decades to overcome global poverty, poor governance, societal strife, and eroding political will are threatening those gains in some parts of the world.  Therefore, Sunnylands places a priority on supporting domestic and international efforts to advance global health and food security, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected states.

The emerging consensus is that collaboration among a range of actors – governments, the private sector, non-profits, philanthropies, and individual donors – will be essential to successfully addressing these challenges.  Sunnylands’ goal is to build pathways between these entities by fostering dialogues to find the strategies that will lead to lasting progress.

Sunnylands supports democratic institutions and processes that safeguard civil liberties throughout the world.  From civics education and freedom of the press to cooperation across the partisan divide, retreats in this focus area are geared toward supporting principles of free expression and fair and open political practices.