Welcome to The Commonwealth Club website. In the not-too-distant past, the only way to participate in discussions of community, national and international issues was to attend meetings in person. While live interaction is still very important, the Internet has opened up a great new opportunity for civic discussion. Our members and the public here in the Bay Area are now able to enhance in-house opportunities at the Club with access on the web. And those from around the globe who are interested in intelligent discussion of important questions can participate online in Club activities.

So, what can you do through this website?

Of course, if you're here in the Bay Area, you can look over the calendar of upcoming events and register for programs. You can sign up for membership – either as a local or national member, renew your membership, or ask questions of the membership department.

No matter where in the country or the world you are located, you can listen to audio recordings of recent programs, or listen to programs from the Club's 60-year archives of recorded speeches. We are gradually digitizing items from this 2,700-item collection, dating from the 1940s, and posting them to our website. You can also find a list of the 225 radio stations throughout the U.S. that carry the Club's programs on a weekly basis, and topics of programs broadcast here in the Bay Area.

Most importantly, you can also participate in discussions of important issues, here on the Club's website. An expanding community of individuals interested in questions of public interest and individual concern comes to the Club's site for intelligent, respectful discussion. After September 11th, CommonwealthClub.org hosted online discussions of several issues related to the terrorist attack. Currently, a discussion of Enron and the energy crisis is taking place on our site - in addition to an examination of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We invite you to join in the conversation!

Thank you for visiting the Club's site – your site for informed discussion of public affairs. Please come back often!

Dr. Gloria Duffy
CEO