Clinton Hosts Special Session On Haiti Recovery
NEW YORK – On the third day of the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), President Bill Clinton hosted a special session on Recovery in Haiti, gathering key leaders from government and business to discuss how the international community can help Haiti rebuild.
“Since the Haiti earthquake in January, CGI members have made $224 million in commitments to help Haiti build back better, in addition to the more than $140 million in commitments made before the quake,” President Clinton said. “Working together alongside the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission, CGI members are delivering measurable results in housing, clean energy, infrastructure, health care, and education, among other important sectors, to give the Haitian people the tools to create a better future for their nation."
President Clinton, who is co-chair of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, moderated the session, which featured Réne Préval, president of the Republic of Haiti; Jean-Max Bellerive, prime minister of the Republic of Haiti; Denis O’Brien, chairman of Digicel; Adam Golstein, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International; and Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum. A webcast can be viewed at live.clintonglobalinitiative.org.
The special session on Haiti followed programming during the morning which focused on Enhancing Access to Modern Technology, one of CGI’s four Action Areas for 2010. A plenary session on the topic featured John Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square and co-founder and chairman of Twitter, and Ratan N. Tata, chairman of Tata Group. Panelists addressed how technology can play a major role in meeting the world’s greatest challenges.
After the plenary session, three breakouts addressed more specific topics. A breakout session on Democracy and Voice featured Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor in chief of the Huffington Post, Mohamed Ibrahim, chairman of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Ashton Kutcher, co-chair of the Demi and Ashton Foundation, Pierre Omidyar, founding partner of the Omidyar Network, and Maria Otero, under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs with the U.S. Department of State. The session was followed by a press conference in which Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore discussed the DNA Foundation’s efforts to end sex trafficking of children.
About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 125 current and former heads of state, 15 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations, major philanthropists, directors of the most effective nongovernmental organizations, and prominent members of the media. These CGI members have made more than 1,900 commitments valued at $63 billion, which have already improved the lives of nearly 300 million people in more than 170 countries. The CGI community also includes CGI University (CGI U), a forum to engage college students in global citizenship, MyCommitment.org, an online portal where anybody can make a Commitment to Action, and CGI Lead, which engages a select group of young leaders from business, government, and civil society.
