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Press Release: President Clinton Announces Program for First Clinton Global Initiative Meeting Outside United States


CGI Asia Meeting to Address Education, Energy & Climate Change, and Public Health with a Focus on Asia

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Former Thai Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun, Yuriko Koike, Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang, ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, Po Chung, Jack Ma, Victor Fung, Tulsi Tanti, and Jet Li, among Confirmed Attendees

President Bill Clinton today announced the program for the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Asia meeting. The Asia meeting will be the first in a series of CGI meetings to take place in different regions of the world and will be held at the Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong on 2-3 December 2008. Many of the region's most influential leaders from government, business, and the non-profit sector are expected to attend.

“Asia's role as a catalyst for growth in today's global economy has enabled its leaders to address challenges at the local, regional, and international levels,” President Clinton said. “Modeled after our successful Clinton Global Initiative – through which members have made nearly 1,200 commitments, valued at $46 billion, and have already impacted 200 million lives in 150 countries – the upcoming CGI meeting in Asia will give us the opportunity to devise innovative solutions that draw upon the unique expertise and resources of the region.”

Among the distinguished Asian and international attendees that will participate in CGI Asia are current and former government leaders including Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines; Lee Kuan Yew, Minister Mentor and Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore; José María Figueres Olsen, Former President of Costa Rica; Chandrika Kumaratunga, Former Executive President of Sri Lanka; Hong-Koo Lee, Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea; Anand Panyarachun, Former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand; Fauzi Bowo, Governor of Jakarta; Yoriko Kawaguchi, Member of the House of Councilors Japan; Yuriko Koike, Member of the House of Representatives of Japan; Quoc Trieu Nguyen, Vietnamese Minister of Health; Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; and C.H. Tung, Former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; business leaders such as Po Chung, Chairman Emeritus, DHL International Limited; Richard Elman, CEO, Noble Group Limited; Victor Fung, Chairman, Li & Fung Group; Yoshito Hori, Chairman & CEO, Globis Group; Jack Ma, Chairman and CEO, Alibaba Group; Oki Matsumoto, CEO, Monex Inc; Victor Pinchuk, Founder and Chairman, The Victor Pinchuk Foundation and Founder of EastOne Group; Datuk Vinod Sekhar, President and Group Chief Executive, The Petra Group; Edwin Soeryadjaya, Chairman, Saratoga Capital; Tulsi Tanti, Chairman and Managing Director, Suzlon Energy Ltd.; and Zhang Xin, CEO, SOHO China Ltd; celebrated entertainers and philanthropists such as Jet Li, Founder, One Foundation; economic and development leaders including Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General, ASEAN; and leading practitioners in public policy such as Manju Bharat Ram, Founder and Chairperson, the Shri Ram School and David Ho, Director and CEO, Aaron Diamond Aids Research Centre.

Like the CGI Annual Meetings in New York, the Hong Kong meeting will focus on the areas of education, energy & climate change, and public health and will be organized around plenary and working sessions.

Plenary Sessions

Plenary sessions are panels that introduce and assess cross-sectoral issues for further examination within the working sessions. The plenary sessions at CGI Asia will include:

  • Balancing Growth, Sustainability and Equity – Explores the challenges and opportunities new models for emerging economies to achieve sustainable and equitable growth within and across countries.
  • Next Generation Philanthropy – Discusses current trends in philanthropy in Asia and mechanisms for business leaders, philanthropists, non-governmental organizations, and governments to work together to give in innovative ways that reflect their values and interests.
  • Building Prosperity from Diversity – Examines successful models for bridging divides that can benefit business and prevent the rise of extremism and communal strife.
  • Post-Disaster Relief: Response, Responsibility and Reconstruction – Highlights ways for public and private sectors to deliver relief quickly and efficiently, the responsibility of the state and employers to protect citizens in such crises, ways for all sectors to help to rebuild and revive destroyed communities over the medium and long term.

Working Sessions

Working sessions are divided into three segments and are designed to transform ideas into action. The first segment features a panel discussion among three to four leaders already taking action on a specific issue. During the second segment, audience members collaboratively assess opportunities for action through intimate, highly interactive table discussions led by knowledgeable, professionally trained facilitators. The final segment reconvenes the larger discussion and summarizes many of the proposals for action developed during the table discussions.

Education working sessions:

  • Overcoming disparity and deprivation
  • Bridging digital and learning divides
  • Alternative higher education

Energy & Climate Change working sessions:

  • Green buildings, green cities
  • Valuing resources and changing mindsets
  • Developing green technology and renewable energy

Public Health working sessions:

  • Chronic and infectious diseases: Asia's double burden
  • Nutrition and food challenges
  • Health and the environment: mitigating the impact of pollution

CGI was established by President Clinton in 2005 and is a non-partisan catalyst for action that brings together global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing issues. The practical steps taken by members to improve and save lives worldwide are defined as a member's ‘Commitment to Action'. Since 2005, CGI members have made nearly 1,200 commitments 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 lives. Media who wish to attend CGI Asia may register at CGIAsia@ogilvy.com. Applications for credentials should be received no later than November 28, 2008.

To date, the CGI community has worked to:

  • Avoid emitting more than 40 million metric tons of CO2;
  • Provide more than 4 million people with access to clean-energy services in the developing world;
  • Fund more than 270 microfinance institutions, permitting access to finance for close to 3 million micro-entrepreneurs;
  • Provide more than 8 million out-of-school children with access to schooling;
  • Increase access for health services or improved quality of health services for over 11 million people;
  • Target 34 million people for treatment of neglected tropical diseases; and
  • Provide interventions addressing malnutrition or under-nutrition for over 42 million children.

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