The Clinton Global Initiative was established in 2005 to bring together global leaders from all backgrounds, regions, and religions to take action to address some of the world's biggest challenges.
CGI's Annual Meeting is held each September in New York City, where heads of state, business executives, Nobel Peace Prize winners, heads of nonprofit organizations and foundations, scholars, and members of the media gather to discuss and take action on pressing global issues. In 2008, the fourth Annual Meeting featured panels, workshops, and sessions devoted to addressing education, energy & climate change, global health, and poverty alleviation, featuring U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, Senator John McCain, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Bill Gates, Craig Barrett, Lance Armstrong, Matt Damon, and five Nobel Peace Prize winners, among many others.
Watch proceedings from the 2008 Annual Meeting via webcast.
Beyond the Annual Meeting, CGI is reaching even more leaders in diverse regions through a series of international meetings, beginning with CGI Asia, to be held in Hong Kong this December. CGI has also expanded its model to include future leaders from college campuses in the Clinton Global Initiative University. Global citizens can get involved at www.MyCommitment.org, an online portal that allows anyone to make a commitment and connect with others who share the same vision for change.
This community of projects expands CGI's unique model that focuses on Commitments to Action: a participant's new, specific and measurable approach to a global challenge. To date, CGI's members have made nearly 1,200 Commitments to Action valued at $46 billion. Already these commitments have impacted more than 200 million lives in 150 countries, and commitments made at the 2008 Annual Meeting are expected to impact almost 160 million.
To learn more visit www.ClintonGlobalInitiative.org.
PROFILE
After CGI's 2006 Annual Meeting, Concern Worldwide made a commitment to expand healthcare access to 400,000 women and children in Bangladesh and Haiti over three years, and to work with political leaders to pursue more permanent solutions.
