Although we won't meet in person this year for DAUK's annual Independence Day Picnic, we will still celebrate the Glorious Fourth with a day of games, kids' activities, American food demonstrations, music, and entertainment.

12:00 Opening Ceremony, including remarks from Sen. Tim Kaine and our International Chair Candice Kerestan, leading author on democracy Sarah Churchwell and the singing of the National Anthem

12:30 American Food Hour with the DAUK BBQ Caucus, other American specialities, cocktails by David Wenk and the July 4th Dessert Competition

13:30 Special Guest DAUK Speakers including Gary Stewart, Asha Subas and Michael Macy

14:00 Democrats Abroad: Meet our leaders and groups from different parts of the UK and around the world

15:00 DAUK Family and Youth Projects Initiative - Story time for youngsters and teen project launch led by Maya Buchanan and Maile O'Hara

15:30 July 4th Pub Quiz!

16:00 Closing with a message to DAUK from Rep. Adam Schiff

DJ and music will continue after the official closing

Reserve your free ticket today, but please consider helping to support DAUK's 2022 get-out-the-vote activities by buying a Independence Day Win (£7.04) or a Victory 2022 Ticket (£20.22). We would be delighted if you are able to go that extra mile by becoming a member of our Host Committee.

Places are limited, so book today. You will be sent updates and joining details.

See you online soon.

Democrats Abroad UK

Guest Speakers

Sarah Churchwell is Professor in American Literature and Chair of Public Understanding of the Humanities at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, where she is director of the UK’s national festival of the humanities, the Being Human Festival.

Her books include Behold, America: A History of America First and the American Dream, Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and The Invention of The Great Gatsby, and The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe. Her journalism has been published widely, and she comments regularly on arts, culture, and politics for television, radio, and film documentaries.

She has judged many literary prizes, including the 2014 Man Booker Prize and the 2017 Baillie Gifford Prize for nonfiction. She was a co-winner of the 2015 Eccles British Library Writer’s Award, named by Prospect magazine one of the world’s Top Fifty Thinkers in 2019, and long-listed for the Orwell Prize for Journalism in 2021. Her latest book, The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Myth of the Lost Cause, will be published by Bloomsbury/Head of Zeus in 2022.

Gary Stewart is the CEO and co-founder of FounderTribes, a mobile app that helps founders to: i) identify the strengths and weaknesses of their business plans; ii) access mentors and community support to make their businesses stronger; and, iii) get warm intros to investors and other funding sources once they are investment-worthy.

From 2014-2019, Gary was the Director of Wayra UK, a corporate accelerator backed by Telefonica (O2), where he invested in 185 start-ups that raised $265m and are valued at more than $1.1bn. He launched his first start-up in 2005, which was a property search engine that raised $4m before eventually being acquired by a publicly listed company.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, Gary worked as a lawyer in NY, London, Madrid and Barcelona. He graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Yale College and was the executive editor of The Yale Law Journal. He is a Governor of the University of East London and has been twice on the Power List of the most influential black people in the UK.

Senator Tim Kaine, Senator from Virginia, has been a good friend to Democrats Abroad, particularly as Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011. Senator Kaine’s public and political service has focused on Virginia. During a break at Harvard Law School, he ran a vocational education center in Honduras and is fluent in Spanish. After graduation, he practiced law in Richmond for 17 years, specializing in fair housing law, representing clients discriminated against on the basis of race or disability and also taught legal ethics as an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond School of Law. He served as Mayor of Richmond, and then Lt Governor and Governor, before his election to the Senate in 2013 and then running as the Democratic candidate for Vice-President alongside Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Representative Adam Schiff has served in the House of Representatives since 2001, representing California’s 27th and 28th congressional districts. Prior to that he served a four-year term representing the 21st district in the California State Senate.

He currently serves as chairman of the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Schiff is a recognized leader on national security and foreign policy issues, and has at the forefront in promoting legislation to protect freedom of the press,

Schiff led the first House impeachment inquiry and served as the Lead Impeachment Manager during the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump. His closing speech was widely hailed as an incisive and impassioned indictment of Trump and appeal to Republicans to step up.

HOST COMMITTEE INFORMATION

Linda Adeson

Austin Allaire

Bill Barnard

Julian Becker

Anonymous

Mark Bergman

Maya Buchanan

Rob Carolina

Deborah Durkin

David and Lesley Gallagher

Carol Grose

Patricia Hamzahee

Jenny Harper

Charles Hawes

Eldrid Herrington

Tom Hunersen

Nancy Janin

Elizabeth Kelly

Inge Kjemtrup

Nicholas Kukrika

David & Linda Lakhdhir

Anne Lieberman

Wen-Wen Lindroth

Isabel Liu

Sharon Manitta

Ellen McCoy

Brett McHargue

Sonia Mihelic

Margo Miller

Adrienne Minster

Carol Moore

Tangy Morgan

Laura Mosedale

Stanley Musgrave

Charles Myers

Aliza Blachman O’Keefe

Courtney Plummer

Stephanie Ryde

Dee Howard Salvest

John Scardino

Susan Schoenfeld-Harrington

Gary Stewart

Stephanie Stewart

Susan Trevelyan-Syke

Joshua Van der Ploeg

Laura Vasaturo

David Wenk

For any press queries, please email press@democratsabroad.org.uk

"Notice of Recording. DAUK may record these proceedings in both audio and video form as well as realtime transcription using automated or other means. Such recordings may be stored on the meeting platform provider's storage facility outside the UK, subject to appropriate protections. Such recordings shall be used solely for the legitimate purposes of DAUK such as aiding meeting accessibility, record keeping and other quality assurance purposes."