Curated by The Normandy Institute

We are working hard to establish our own Normandy Institute Video Channel. In addition, we offer you a carefully curated selection of original ideas and artistic expression on this page.

EXCITING EDUCATIONAL FILM PROJECT
– WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Keith Nightingale with troops

Col., USA (ret.), Keith Nightingale with troops at Omaha Beach Cemetery

We would love for you to consider a tax-deductible gift toward the production of the Normandy Institute’s planned 2022 educational film.  It will capture the terrain walks the legendary retired Army Ranger, Keith Nightingale, has been conducting in Normandy since 1984 for active-duty troops. 

Henry Roosevelt, director of the tremendous documentary “Sixth of June” will helm the film. The guided ‘walks’ explore 12 specific battlefield sites that were each individually critical to the Allied success. Most of Keith’s unique knowledge is based on stories told to him directly by generals and other veterans of the time, many of which were from first hand experiences. These terrain walks are essential to safeguard and promote the legacy of D-Day and The Battle of Normandy, as well as to pass along to today’s defenders of freedom the myriad lessons learned. We are honored that Col. Nightingale has selected the Normandy Institute to record this invaluable historical knowledge on film. As the keeper of this incredible legacy, the Institute intends to share it freely. Listen below to Keith explaining, in his own words, why this effort is important:

“Tracing the Heroes of D-Day”

PLEASE CONSIDER A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION MENTIONING “KEITH”

The Normandy Institute needs your help to realize a film about the legendary terrain walks of Col (ret) Keith Nightingale that he has conducted since 1984 for the US troops that participate in the D-Day commemoration. We will film all 13 terrain walks in 2022. Keith’s knowledge was formed by walking these battlefields with the original Generals and veterans. We need to preserve this precious history. Please donate now!

Homage to the men of Easy Company

20th anniversary of the series “Band of Brothers”

band-of-brothers-tribute

Why WWII matters today

Personal stories from Members of Congress

In order to keep the momentum of the strong relationship Congress has with Normandy going, the Normandy Institute wants to mark D-Day 77 in a very special way by inviting over 60 Members of Congress, past and present, to share through a personal stories WHY WWII MATTERS TODAY.

Tom Brokaw, author of “The Greatest Generation” bookends the film and Gérard Larcher, the President of the French Senate, welcomes the Members of Congress.

Dorothea de La Houssaye, Chair and Founder of the Normandy Institute explains: “Normandy is symbolic of what is possible in the face of the impossible when people of good will unite. It showed those who were allied in this epic struggle all over the world that evil could be vanquished.” The annual Commemoration of D-Day represents more than just that battle. Dorothea vividly remembers both her father (who was interned in a Japanese concetration camp in Indonesia) and her mother (in occupied Holland) telling: “When we heard about the Battle of Normandy, we started to have a glimmer of hope that perhaps the end was near…”

We will hear emotional stories about Holocaust survivors, dive bombers, paratroopers, radar scientists, the home front, frozen toes, POW camps, “Flying the Hump”, German spy cells in the USA, kamikaze attacks, soldiers, sailors and airmen. We will discover how proudly and emotionally the Members talk about their connection to WWII. This filmed document is a unique opportunity for Members of Congress to come together on the hallowed ground of WWII and find unity in their common family experience.

These are the Members that are participating: Secretaries Hagel and Panetta, Senators Elizabeth and Bob Dole, Senators Roberts, Dodd, Leahy, Schumer, McConnell, Durbin, Thune, Graham, Tim Scott, Collins, King, Portman, Rick Scott, Shelby, Fischer, Boozman, Warner, Blumenthal, Peters, Cornyn, Whitehouse, Carper, Wicker, Moore Capito, Hoeven, Shaheen, Bennet, Rosen, Tester and Hassan.

Representatives. Clyburn, DeLauro, Fortenberry, Suozzi, Takano, Dunn, Kaptur, Calvert, Eshoo, Himes, Kilmer, Houlahan, Waltz, Kinzinger, Bacon, Kuster, Latta, Garamendi, Moulton, Lee, Dingell, Deutch, Wenstrup, Huizenga, and Courtney.

Thank you, Members of Congress, for opening up you hearts and family histories.

A Tribute to D-Day and the Veterans

The 76th Commemoration of D-Day

To mark June 6, 2020, The Normandy Institute has invited a distinguished group of its supporters to pay tribute to D-Day, the veterans and the importance of the commemoration.

We are honored to announce that amongst the speakers are: The US Ambassador to France, Jamie McCourt, General Cavoli, Admiral Foggo, General Winski, General Petraeus, Congressmen Suozzi, Fortenberry and Wenstrup, Congresswoman Eshoo, Susan Eisenhower, Henry Montgomery, Beto O’Rourke, Tom Brokaw, Rita Cosby, Kirk Saduski, and seven WWII veterans.

Below the full version, made public on Saturday, June 6 2020.

The military case for sharing knowledge

TED talk by General Stanley McChrystal

When General Stanley McChrystal started fighting al Qaeda in 2003, information and secrets were the lifeblood of his operations. But as the unconventional battle waged on, he began to think that the culture of keeping important information classified was misguided and actually counterproductive. In a short but powerful TED talk McChrystal makes the case for actively sharing knowledge.

There are People You Need to Know

Leaders in Action Society

The Leaders in Action Society was launched end of 2019. It is a platform of inspiring stories told in the first person through intimate and memorable conversations with some of the great leaders of our time – people whose occupations range from the corporate world to the arts, academia to sports, science to philosophy, politics to planet conservation. Their backgrounds and nationalities might diverge, but every single one of them embodies a true 21st century leader. These stories are made into compelling videos that can reach millions of people around the world, powering conferences in various cities, reflections and debates at schools and universities as well as special learning moments at corporations.

It is an ambitious and beautiful media project, with strong inspiration, education and training traits, designed to unleash the leader that exists inside each of us.

We chose a video interview with Alain de Botton, a philosopher of the modern times.

David Petraeus on Strategic Leadership

Interviews by the Belfer Center

Few military officers ever command international coalitions in combat operations. Fewer still do it twice. General (retired) David Petraeus commanded coalition forces in Iraq from February 2007 to September 2008, and in Afghanistan from July 2010 to July 2011.

A project group of the Belfer Center tried to distill from the depth of General Petraeus’ experience his views on the role of the theater level commander, specifically from the perspective of strategic leadership: the link between policy and operations. Conducted over the 2014-15 academic year, the team worked with General Petraeus to draw out his views on strategic leadership in several interviews. The filmed version represents a distillation of this interaction.

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is the hub of Harvard Kennedy School’s research, teaching, and training in international security and diplomacy, environmental and resource issues, and science and technology policy.

Altering corporate leadership for the better

Paul Tudor Jones on “just” behaviour

Paul Tudor Jones II loves capitalism. It’s a system that has done him very well over the last few decades. Nonetheless, the hedge fund manager and philanthropist is concerned that a laser focus on profits is, as he puts it, “threatening the very underpinnings of society”.

In an earlier presentation  he outlined his planned counter-offensive, which centers on the concept of “justness.” In this follow up TED talk he elaborates on what it means for a company to be “just”.

In a quest for the meaning of “corporate justness” Paul Tudor Jones and his team surveyed 43,000 Americans to find out what matters to them. Among the issues that came up: Does a company pay its workers fairly? Does it protect employee rights? Does it make safe and reliable products? But as Tudor Jones shares in this spirited talk, that’s just the start.

Next up: the “Just 100” index; an annual ranking of America’s most just companies, specifically designed to alter the behavior of US corporate leaders for the better.

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