Launched in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, Clinton Global Initiative’s Annual Meeting brings together global leaders from business, government, and civil society to turn ideas into action to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
As a Program Fellow, I brought critical, challenging, and compelling issues to life by working on:
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MOTIVATION | How can security and development agencies work together to improve the lives of those affected by extreme poverty, extreme climate change, and extreme ideology?
CONCEPT | Bring together eminent leaders from military, government, multilaterals, and private sector to highlight challenges based on real-world situations in Nigeria, the EU, and the Middle East.
EXECUTION | Secretary Madeleine Albright moderates panel with Bono, General John Allen, Federica Mogherini, and Amina Mohammed
BACKSTAGE | I remember Federica Mogherini arriving from the UN 4 minutes before the panel went on stage. Bono asked her for an update on the EU's plans to finance a new development initiative, which we decided on-the-spot needed to be a focal point of the conversation.
MOTIVATION | What challenges need to be overcome – and how – in order for host communities and refugees to realize the opportunities inherent in the global refugee crisis?
CONCEPT | Highlight major and urgent needs of host countries like Jordan, social integration approaches like those used in Sweden, and opportunities for businesses to facilitate refugees’ transitions.
EXECUTION | David Miliband, President & CEO of International Rescue Committee, moderated panel with Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, and Western Union CEO Hikmet Ersek
BACKSTAGE | Muzoon al-Mellehan, a 17-year-old Syrian refugee who works with the Malala Fund to advocate for educational opportunities for girls and boys, met Her Majesty Queen Rania and thanked her deeply for Jordan's hospitality. It was moving.
MOTIVATION | Why are long-term investments in, and partnerships with, local businesses critical to help stabilize economies and improve livelihoods of people living in conflict zones?
CONCEPT | Explore effective partnership models that produce sustainable, ethical, quality, and profitable products, and that integrate girls and women into their core labor force.
EXECUTION | Uzodinma Iweala, Co-Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and CEO of Ventures Africa Magazine moderates conversation between Chouchou Namegabe, Founding Member, South Kivu Women’s Media Association and Ben Affleck, Founder of Eastern Congo Initiative
BACKSTAGE | As we walked to the stage, I saw Uzo rush back to grab 5 Theo chocolate bars. I had no idea why until, on stage, he asked Ben and Chouchou to sign them, promising to give the bars out to the first 5 people who committed to investing in the Congo. Brilliant!
MOTIVATION | As people around the world live and work longer, how can we reimagine opportunities that leverage their unique skills and knowledge?
CONCEPT | Share policy and practical perspectives from people representing industrialized and industrializing countries about ideas and programs that train and position older people for successful encore careers.
EXECUTION | Debra Whitman, Chief Public Policy Officer of AARP moderates panel with Stanley Litow, VP of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, IBM, Phyllis Kandie, Cabinet Secretary, Kenya Ministry of East African Community, Labour, and Social Protection, and Marc Freedman, founder and CEO, Encore.org
BACKSTAGE | This session surprised me. Watching it play out, I realized that the panelists were challenging and changing my own perceptions about what it means to contribute to society later in life. Consider me a reformed agist!
MOTIVATION | How can we leverage our global interdependence to ensure that prosperity is created equitably?
CONCEPT | Draw on experiences from heads of state, public health leaders, and government leaders at the local level to connect micro and macro plans and implications.
EXECUTION | President Bill Clinton conferred with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Argentinian President Mauricio Macri, GAVI President Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan
BACKSTAGE | As part of the Opening to the Annual Meeting, we invited all the Heads of State to the Green Room for a meet-n-greet. It was fun watching old friends reconnect.
MOTIVATION | How can empathetic partnership, economic development, and social integration facilitate reconciliation between two former adversaries?
CONCEPT | Invite leaders from the Balkans to express their motivations and reflect on challenges facing them as they try to mend ethnic divisions in Bosnia and Serbia.
EXECUTION | President Bill Clinton was joined by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksander Vucic and Camil Durakovic, the mayor of Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
BACKSTAGE | I left the Green Room to watch this session in-person. It was like watching live history: two honest people, constrained by ghosts of their pasts and voters of their present, trying to make gestures of good faith.
In his closing remarks, President Clinton echoed the sentiment: “Over the course of this meeting, many have come up to me saying, “that was the most powerful panel ever put on by CGI.”
MOTIVATION | How can businesses and governments work together to achieve and advance the sustainable goals outlined in the 2015 Paris climate negotiations (COP21)?
CONCEPT | Draw on lessons shared from those running and participating in the COP21 negotiations to identify opportunities for partnership, emphasizing the urgency and consequences of inaction.
EXECUTION | Two panels explored the threats of climate change and the urgency of action. The first panel included Inter-American Development Bank Luis Alberto Moreno and Rhea Suh, President, Natural Resources Defense Council.
The second panel featured Christiana Figueres, Former Executive Secretary for UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, John Silk, Foreign Minister of the Marshall Islands, and Martyn Parker, Chairman of Global Partnerships, Swiss Re, and was moderated by GOOD Co-Founder Max Schorr.
BACKSTAGE | As I prepared the speakers backstage, Christiana Figueres wryly looked at me and asked, " Do you think it was necessary to print out so many briefing documents?"
MOTIVATION | How can we improve policies, funding strategies, and technology to help smallholder farmers produce more and better crops, sold at fair market prices to global consumers?
CONCEPT | Highlight critical points of intervention along the food supply chain in a panel discussion, and prompt audience members to work together to propose ideas during a Prosperity Lab.
EXECUTION | Raj Kumar, President and Editor-in-Chief, Devex, moderates panel with Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, World Food Programme, T R Kesavan, Chief Operating Officer, TAFE, and Zia Khan, Vice President, Initiatives & Strategy, The Rockefeller Foundation.
BACKSTAGE | When I introduce Zia to Ertharin, he gushed, "If I go on for too long about your Patient Procurement Plan, it's only because I'm a HUGE fan!"
MOTIVATION | How do we build on the legacy of CGI members’ work to ensure that effective, thoughtful, and creative partnerships continue to take on the world’s most pressing challenges?
CONCEPT | Showcase President Clinton’s empathetic nature and worldly philosophy as the cornerstone of the Clinton Global Initiative, celebrating the twelve years of work that improved the lives of over 435 million people around the world.
EXECUTION | After highlighting the impact of CGI, CGI International, CGI University, and CGI America, President Clinton gave final remarks.
BACKSTAGE | No one was backstage for this moment. Every CGI member, staffer, and supporter poured into the ballroom to hear a heartfelt and inspiring closing. Touched by the session's title, Imagine All the People, President Clinton cited it to urge everyone to keep the good work going.
Icon credit: Bubble by icon54; Chair by Noel Rasendrason; Speaker by Tahsin Tahil; Paper by Joao Paulo; Light by Olyn LeRoy. Available on nounproject.com
