In a call with reporters, members of the CGI team shared what moments and announcements they’re most excited for at the CGI 2024 Annual Meeting
More on the meeting, including agenda, featured participants, and livestream information at clintonglobal.org/2024
On Tuesday, leaders and experts on staff at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) gave a preview of next week’s CGI 2024 Meeting to press, answering questions about what moments they’re excited for at CGI 2024. They shared the on-stage moments and conversations that they think will be the most impactful, how our community is embodying the theme of “What’s Working,” and some of the Commitments to Action that will be launched.
Below, hear directly from CGI what to expect and what will be making news next week.
A Record Number of New Commitments to Action
The CGI 2024 Annual Meeting is poised to see the launch of over 170 new Commitments to Action – new, specific, and measurable projects that address a pressing global challenge. This number represents the highest number of Commitments to Action made at a CGI Annual Meeting in the past decade – and is a testament to the efforts of the CGI community to foster innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems.
“When we started thinking about our conference theme for this year, we spent time surveying the conference landscape, reading the headlines, and hearing from our partners around the world. And what we consistently heard was people asking questions like, ‘what’s broken and how do we fix it?” said Greg Milne, chief executive officer of CGI.
“We set out to design a different kind of conference this year, one that starts from a point of positivity and asks, ‘what’s working, how do we build upon that, and who are the leaders driving these innovative approaches and solutions?’ At CGI 2024, you’ll be hearing questions consistently throughout the meeting around scale, replication and acceleration, and you’ll see the launch of over 170 new Commitments to Action.”
Critical Conversations to Address the Climate Crisis
“As we know, climate change is the defining challenge of the 21st century, and requires bold, decisive action with speed and scale. At CGI, we aim to address the most pressing climate mitigation and adaptation challenges,” shared Mayuri Ghosh, CGI’s senior director of climate resilience and sustainability.
To do this, CGI 2024 – timed to Climate Week in New York City – will host several spotlight sessions to showcase what’s working on climate action in communities around the world. Leading voices and experts from across the globe will come together to discuss what’s working during Spotlight Sessions on topics such as innovations and water access, sustainable land management, waste and circularity, and infrastructure needs for electric vehicles.
With over 40 new Commitments to Action poised to be launched and added to CGI’s Climate Resilience and Sustainability portfolio, the annual meeting will shine a spotlight on the people and organizations on the front lines of the fight to preserve our planet.
New Programs to Address Humanitarian Crises
In 2023, Humanitarian Response was added as one of CGI’s core focus areas to reflect CGI’s expanded scope of programmatic work in the face of numerous global humanitarian crises. The annual meeting program will feature spotlight sessions focusing on the CGI community’s efforts to provide humanitarian assistance, including a Spotlight Session on women on the frontlines, which will address the disproportionate impact humanitarian and violent crises have on women and girls.
Following the launch of the Ukraine Action Network at CGI 2023, this year’s annual meeting will see the launch of commitments around the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
“We recognize the humanitarian crisis in Sudan is one of the largest and most underfunded crises of our time,” said Cheyenne Ellis, CGI’s deputy director of humanitarian response.
“One commitment that will be announced involves a coalition of over fifteen philanthropies and other organizations that are getting at the systematic question of funding and funding local response to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, particularly looking at mutual aid groups and locally led groups on the ground.”
A Conversation With Women’s Organizations Across Israel and Palestine
As the world continues to fracture across geographic, political, and economic lines, there is greater urgency than ever to find creative ways to partner to reach shared objectives. Monday evening’s Mainstage Session, “Look Around,” will feature leaders from across the social impact spectrum highlighting the ways in which they break down barriers between peer institutions, cultivate partnerships and community, and align values and programs to create new, specific, and measurable ways to support one another.
In light of the ongoing war in the Middle East, and the resulting humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the session will feature a meaningful conversation between the heads of two women’s organizations in Israel and Palestine: Reem Al-Hajajra, director of the Palestinian organization Women of the Sun and Yael Admi, co-founder of the Israeli movement Women Wage Peace.
Spotlighting Defenders of Democracy
With democracy under attack in elections and countries around the world, CGI will spotlight defenders of democracy at the annual meeting, and the role we can all play in upholding democratic institutions across the country – and the world. During the Spotlight Session on Citizen Social Responsibility, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and former Governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson will take part in a conversation moderated by Ian Bremmer on what’s working in the public, private, and philanthropic sectors to bolster democratic institutions in times of crisis and uncertainty.
Numerous heads of state – including Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, President Mohamed Irfaan Ali of Guyana, President Edgars Rinkēvičs of Latvia, and President Vjosa Osmani of Kosovo – will participate in CGI this year, sharing what’s working in their countries, not just on defending democracy, but on a variety of other challenges.
More details on the CGI 2024 Annual Meeting, including the latest program details, confirmed participants, and livestream, can be found at www.clintonglobal.org/2024. Follow CGI on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, and X, for meeting news and highlights.