Yalta European Strategy: From Bono to Pinchuk to Zakaria to Spaceships


One thing’s for sure, Ukrainian magnate Viktor Pinchuk never fails to disappoint.  Hosted once again in the grand Kyiv Arsenal Museum, this year’s Yalta European Strategy (or YES) meeting featured the usual defense hawks and conservative commentators (for a rundown of last year’s YES conference, featuring my extensive commentary on the various political interests, click here).  On the other hand, YES 2018 also hosted a panoply of “futurologists” and even spaceships no less.  Indeed, the somewhat grandiose title of this year’s conference was “The Next Generation of Everything.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko kicked off the conference.
Viktor Pinchuk speaking with media host Fareed Zakaria and others.
Richard Haas of the Council on Foreign Relations, speaking with conservative historian Niall Ferguson, who claimed that the threat from Trump had been overplayed.
At the finale of the conference, YES trotted out “surprise guest” Bono, who chatted with Zakaria about volunteer work in Africa. The two fawned over each other in a series of exchanges.

At times, the conference focused on the future of technology and even the quest for immortality.  Pinchuk himself had purchased a piece of art shaped like a spaceship.  Inside, visitors were able to scan their brain waves.


Leave a comment


Content | Menu | Access panel