InterAction's annual Forum plenary sessions feature prominent leaders and experts who provide thought-provoking insights, expert opinion, inspiration and information about global challenges related to the commitment of our community to the world's most vulnerable people.

Past plenary sessions have featured Former President William J. Clinton, Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, Bono and the Her Excellency, Former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson.

Plenary Topics at Forum 2010 include:

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

A New Direction for US Foreign Assistance

Opening remarks by Hon. Gerry E. Connolly, U.S. House of Representatives (D-VA)

Is there a new wind blowing for the future of official relief and development assistance? How do the three Ds of U.S. foreign policy, Defense, Diplomacy, and Development, measure up under the Obama administration, and what does this mean for the partnership role of NGOs in both fragile states and longer-term development settings? What will become of the beleaguered U.S. Agency for International Development; rebuilt or its authorities further whittled away and given to other agencies? Where is all this leading, and who is addressing the questions; what are we trying to achieve through official U.S. foreign assistance and what are the best legislative and institutional structures to reach these goals?

Keynotes
Representative Gerald E. Connolly, U.S. House of Representatives (VA-11)
Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator, United States Agency for International Development

Moderator
Ruth Messinger, CEO, American Jewish World Service

Speakers
Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, Department of State
Anne Marie Slaughter, Director of Policy Planning, U.S. State Department
Ruth Levine, Director of Evaluation, Policy Analysis & Learning

Conversation with Robert Zoellick, President World Bank

InterAction President Sam Worthington engages World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick in a candid conversation about new directions for addressing global poverty.

Speakers
Robert Zoellick, President, World Bank Group
Sam Worthington, President & CEO, InterAction

America’s Ambassadors? The NGO role in Public Diplomacy

The State Department’s Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Judith McHale, recently highlighted the need to find new ways to communicate and engage with foreign citizens at all levels of society. This interactive plenary will discuss the synergies between public and private global activities and highlight best practices in influencing public opinion.

Moderator
Nasserie Carew, Managing Director of Public Affairs, Millennium Challenge Corporation

Speakers
Tina Tchen, Director, White house Office of Public Engagement
Dan Glickman, President, Refugees International
Karl Stoltz, Public Diplomacy Office Director, East Asia Pacific Affairs
Bruce Wharton, Public Diplomacy Officer Director, African Affairs

Thursday, June 3, 2010

MDGs - 2015 & Beyond - Live Broadcast on Kojo Nnamdi Show

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) represent a common vision for the future. They are a powerful basis for mobilizing resources and coordinating international development efforts. Moreover, the quantitative nature of the goals allows for a degree of accountability, making it possible for countries to track progress and citizens to hold governments responsible for improving people's lives. President Barack Obama's foreign policy agenda supports the fight against global poverty and affirms that the new administration will embrace the Millennium Development Goals as "America's Goals." Join this panel to explore how our organizations could mobilize public and other key support so that addressing the causes and consequences of poverty detailed in the MDGs becomes the primary objective of U.S. official development assistance.

Speakers
Sering Falu Njie, Deputy Director, Policy. United Nations Millennium Campaign
Ambassador Mark Green, Director, Malaria No More Policy Center and former U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania and Member of Congress
Dr. Gloria Ekpo, HIV & AIDS Specialist, International Programs, World Vision 
Joanna Rubinstein, Director, Strategic Initiatives, Earth Institute, Columbia University 
 

Hunger as a Development Priority - Live Broadcast on Kojo Nnamdi Show

The Obama Administration's Global Food Security initiative is the administration's first effort to tackle an enormous and in recent time under resourced problem in addressing global poverty and MDG 1. To achieve sustained recovery from the global financial crisis there must be continued commitments to agricultural and rural development. L’Aquila, with its $20 billion, three-year commitment to food security, was a hopeful and necessary starting point.

Speakers
Ertharin Cousin, US Ambassador to UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture
Ambassador William Garvelink, United States Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dr. Jude Banatte, Head of Program, Catholic Relief Services, Les Cayes Office

Friday, June 4, 2010

Haiti – A New Way Forward

The international NGO community has been active in Haiti for decades, focusing on development work and shifting regularly to humanitarian assistance in response to a range of natural disasters. The earthquake on January 12 has refocused the community not only on disaster preparedness and response, but also on how to be better partners in development with the population of Haiti and its government. Please join us for a discussion on the roles and responsibilities of the international NGOs as we accompany Haiti through the continuing humanitarian response and through the recovery and reconstruction phase.

Special video message from UN Special Envoy to Haiti
President William J. Clinton

Keynote
Cheryl Mills, Chief of Staff for Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State

Speakers
Sam Worthington, President & CEO, InterAction
Carolyn Miles, Executive Vice President and COO, Save the Children Federation
Florence Guillaume, Management Sciences for Health
Paul Weisenfeld, Director Haiti Task Force, USAID