LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- In the rolling green countryside of West Sussex in South England, there is an estate called Wilton Park. Some readers of this column may be familiar with the place and the institution it has become: "Wilton Park conferences" occur throughout the year bringing together politicians, officials, business executives and academics for several days to discuss some of the key topics of the planet. It is an excellent environment for this kind of meeting; quite grand, yet intimate and comfortable, and "inspirational."

Built in the 16th century, ownership of the estate changed hands several times before the last descendant of the last family died without any heirs shortly after World War II. He bequeathed the estate to the British government on the condition that it should serve as a venue for rebuilding trust and confidence between the British and German communities.

And that is what happened at Wilton Park for about a decade: meetings after meetings bringing together people from these two countries that had just emerged from war. By the late 1950s, it was felt that the relationship between the two countries had become solid enough that the scope and participation could be extended to discussion of broader European and trans-Atlantic issues. In the '80s, Wilton Park globalized and, among other things, has held a number of highly successful conferences on Japan.