Washington, DC - The Honorable Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank and former trustee of the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship, recently spoke about the state of the world economy to alumni, trustees and friends of the fellowship. The Goldman Sachs Group hosted the sixth annual alumni dinner at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC, on Feb. 19.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick (left) and German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth

In an off-the-record speech about the global economic crisis, Robert Zoellick urged journalists and media organizations to bring greater attention to the issues.

"The global financial meltdown is clearly the most important story of the day, and Burns alumni got a deep insight from Zoellick on how the World Bank is coping with the crisis," said ICFJ president and Burns trustee Joyce Barnathan.

Zoellick explained that in order to understand the state of the U.S. economy, we must look at it in context and consider the broader global implications, even suggesting a future cooperation with China.

Among the approximately 100 distinguished guests, between 30 and 40 were alumni. In addition, ten alumni worldwide followed the evening's activity through the first-ever live video stream.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick (left) and German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth

"We're trying to enable a broader segment of our alumni base to take part in these kinds of activities and thus strengthen the alumni network," said Mario Scherhaufer, ICFJ's director for the Burns program. "New technology such as streaming video of our dinner events, our interactive alumni portal and the Burns page on Facebook, will hopefully enable us to bring more alumni back into the Burns family."

Burns alumni will also gather for the German alumni dinner in Berlin on Thursday, June 4. Dr. Josef Ackermann, CEO of Deutsche Bank AG, will be the keynote speaker.