Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Hillary Clinton to Keynote at AdvaMed 2014 in Chicago

Hillary is scheduled to be in Chicago next week stumping for Pat Quinn.  The day of the fundraiser, she will deliver the keynote at the midday AdvaMed plenary session.  Quinn will introduce the morning plenary that day.

Hillary Clinton’s ‘Hard Choices’ Retrospective Part Five Chapter 20 Gaza: Anatomy of a Cease-Fire

Hillary begins this chapter by verifying an incident we had all seen reported that was never confirmed.  It took place on the road between Ramallah and Jerusalem in 2012 and concerned many of us.
She was traveling in the Holy Land just before Thanksgiving.

Video: Hillary Clinton With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

President Obama asked me to come to Israel with a very clear message: America’s commitment to Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering. That is why we believe it is essential to de-escalate the situation in Gaza.
The rocket attacks from terrorist organizations inside Gaza on Israeli cities and towns must end and a broader calm restored. The goal must be a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security and legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians alike.

The incident on the Ramallah road involved a rocket that might have been launched, according to Hillary, and not the attempted ground attack we had read of here.

As she mentioned in chapter 14, the Obama administration came into office on the heels of a cease-fire in the region that more-or-less held through the next two years and began a creeping deterioration through 2011 into 2012.  Events of the Arab Spring influenced Hamas activity in Gaza as related by Hillary and Sinai began to descend into lawlessness as Bedouin tribes, excluded by the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo,  became restless.

On this first trip to post-revolutionary Egypt,  she raised the issue of Sinai to then President Morsi to no avail.  He perceived no problem.  After all, there was an Islamist government now.  She found his perception naive at best.

Hillary Clinton with Egyptian FM Mohamed Kamel Amr

Hillary Clinton in Egypt: Day Two

Came August -  Henry Kissinger had once warned her as secretary of state never to plan a vacation in August  - this.

Hillary Clinton on Vacation (Sort Of)

With regard to the Secretary’s call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr, they obviously talked about the situation in Sinai and the ongoing Egyptian security operations. They talked about the visit of the IMF to Cairo and under the – with Christine Lagarde there as well, and the United States’ ongoing interest in support Egypt’s recovery as well.
In October the Emir of Qatar made an official visit to Gaza.  It was a big deal for Hamas and precipitated a thorny regional situation for all involved at a volatile time.  The Emir, Sheikh Hammad bin Khalifa al-Thani,  assisted by his cousin,  Sheikh Hammad bin Jassim al-Thani,  sought to seize the moment to  peddle Qatari influence and consolidate power in the region.

The power-play was short-lived.  With the overthrow of Morsi and Islamist influence diluted, the two Sheikhs stepped aside in 2013.   In 2014 Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE recalled their ambassadors to Qatar.

Hillary was in Australia with Leon Panetta and Martin Dempsey when a call came through from Ehud Barak that in response to rocket attacks from Gaza, Israel was about to begin an air campaign.

Hillary Clinton With Australian Foreign Minister Robert Carr, Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith, and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta


Hillary was bound for Singapore and then Thailand to meet up with President Obama.  They were to make an historic joint visit to Burma and Cambodia where she  had originally been scheduled to attend ASEAN with President Obama.   It was a critical summit addressing issues about the South China Sea.

But in the Middle East there was a chance of a ground invasion of Gaza.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton Tour Wat Pho Royal Monastery in Bangkok

SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: Public Schedule for November 20, 2012

The decision had been made that it was most important that she travel to the Middle East to seek a cease-fire. Hillary and her traveling party headed for Israel.

Breaking: Hillary Clinton Wheels Down Israel

She met with Netanyahu immediately upon landing, but was told she would not be given much time.  If she did not effect an agreement quickly, the plans for a ground invasion would be implemented.

Hillary Clinton’s Day in Pics


Hillary Clinton Strongly Condemns Bus Bombing in Tel Aviv

Hillary Clinton Brokers Egyptian-Sponsored Middle East Cease-Fire

The visit to Abbas was largely a formality to keep him relevant in a situation where he had no real control or muscle to exert since the threat was coming from Hamas.  Hillary wanted to be sure he was kept in the loop.  He appreciated that.

Missing element: trust.  Mubarak was gone and the Israeli's did not trust the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt that was negotiating for Hamas.  An Iraeli official told Hillary that this was the hardest choice Bibi had faced as Prime Minister.

She left for Cairo with an Israeli-approved  strategy.  This is what her day looked like.


Public Schedule for November 21, 2012

Public Schedule
Washington, DC
November 21, 2012

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
PUBLIC SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2012

SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
Secretary Clinton is on foreign travel to Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Cairo. Please click here for more information.
8:15 a.m. LOCAL  Secretary Clinton meets with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in Jerusalem.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)
9:30 a.m.  LOCAL Secretary Clinton meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah.
(CAMERA SPRAY PRECEDING MEETING)
11:00 a.m. LOCAL  Secretary Clinton meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem.
(CAMERA SPRAY PRECEDING MEETING)
2:40 p.m. LOCAL  Secretary Clinton meets with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, in Cairo.
(CAMERA SPRAY PRECEDING MEETING)
4:10 p.m. LOCAL  Secretary Clinton and Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr deliver joint press statements, in Cairo. Please click here for a transcript of the remarks.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)
Note: Secretary Clinton has no public schedule through Sunday, November 25th.

Morsi was educated in the U.S. and read carefully.  He questioned the translation, and objected to a portion until Hillary pointed out that his it was folks who had proposed that element at which point he let it slide.  He and the Muslim Brotherhood were new to leadership despite having something of a history,  and Hillary had to remind them of their position of leadership in the region.  The moment of the announcement would represent the apex of their authority.

Video: Hillary Clinton Announces Mid-East Cease-Fire

November 21, 2012 by still4hill

Hillary Clinton and the Gaza Cease-Fire

In the end a senior Israeli official told Hillary that they had been forty-eight hours from launching a ground offensive and that her intervention was the only thing standing in the way.
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Hillary Clinton’s ‘Hard Choices’ Retrospective: Introduction

__________________________________________________________
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Monday, September 29, 2014

Bill and Hillary Clinton Call on India's Prime Minister Modi in New York

They spent the better part of the weekend at Lenox Hill Hospital visiting their new granddaughter, Charlotte,  and her parents, Chelsea and Marc.  Today the Clintons called on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who are in town for UNGA.  Yesterday, Modi appeared at a sold-out event at Madison Square Garden.   Hillary praised Modi's plans to clean up the Ganges.

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NBC Evening News just showed video of the whole Clinton clan leaving the hospital as Chelsea and Charlotte were discharged earlier today.   NBC is also reporting tat Hillary has canceled events originally scheduled in D.C. for tomorrow and that events planned for later this week are now up in the air.




Grandbaby shakes up Hillary and Bill Clinton’s calenders

09/29/14 05:44 PM


Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky may be only four days old, but she’s already influencing politics. After all, her grandparents Hillary and Bill Clinton lightened their political schedules this week to spend more time with the newest member of the family.

The former secretary of state —and proud grandmother — canceled a planned appearance Tuesday at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s Public Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., “due to recent family events,” according to a spokesperson for the group.

Read more >>>

Here is one photo. Thank you to PYW who shared an article with several more great pics and a video in the comment section below.

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Hillary Clinton Will Be Featured Speaker At League Of Consrvation Voters Dinner In New York

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Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to be Featured Speaker at LCV's Dinner in New York

29 Sep 2014  
WASHINGTON, DC – The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) announced today that Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will be the featured speaker at their annual dinner in New York City on Monday, December 1, 2014.
“Secretary Clinton outlined a compelling vision of a clean energy future that makes fighting the climate crisis a top priority during her recent speech at the National Clean Energy Summit. We’re honored that Secretary Clinton will continue that call to action as the featured speaker at our New York dinner this year,” said Gene Karpinski, President of the League of Conservation Voters.
Media are required to RSVP in order to cover this event.  To RSVP, please contact Jeff Gohringer at Jeff_Gohringer@lcv.org. Further details regarding media access and logistics will be provided closer to the event.
What: Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to be featured speaker at LCV’s dinner in New York City
When:  Monday, December 1, 2014
             6:30 p.m. ET - Registration and Reception
             7:30 p.m.ET - Dinner and Program
Where: New York Hilton Midtown
            1335 Avenue of the Americas
             New York, NY

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Saturday, September 27, 2014

Congratulations Chelsea and Marc!

All the best to the whole family.  Congratulations on the birth of your precious little daughter!

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Marc and I are full of love, awe and gratitude as we celebrate the birth of our daughter, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky.

Statement from President and Secretary Clinton

Statement

We are blessed, grateful, and so happy to be the grandparents of a beautiful girl, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky, born on Friday evening, September 26, 2014.
We are thrilled to be with our daughter and her husband as they welcome their daughter into the world.

Chelsea is well and glowing. Marc is bursting with pride.  Charlotte's life is off to a good start.
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At 7:03 PM on September 26th, we finally met Charlotte. We’re in love.

Embedded image permalink
Charlotte, your grandmother and I couldn’t be happier!


Friday, September 26, 2014

New Clinton Global Initiatives Announced

As CGI 2014 drew to a close this week, new initiatives and an action network were announced indicating expansion of attention to additional issues and regions including ocean conservation, the Mediterranean, and a CGI Middle East and Africa Meeting.

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Clinton Global Initiative to hold Oceans: A CGI Action Network Meeting in Boston in March 2015
The first CGI meeting of its kind will bring together leaders from business, government, civil society and philanthropy to address ocean conservation
New York, NY – President Bill Clinton, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton announced today that the Clinton Global Initiative will hold its first Action Network Meeting regarding oceans in March, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts.
“We are excited that CGI is hosting Oceans: A CGI Action Network Meeting,” said President Clinton. “Maintaining the health and resilience of our oceans is a critical environmental challenge, and leaders from across the globe will come together in Boston next year to address this very important task. We look forward to seeing how the CGI model will encourage the large-scale cooperative solutions needed in ocean conservation.”
This meeting will be the first large-scale convening for the Oceans Action Network, launched in 2012 as part of the Environmental Stewardship focus area of the Clinton Global Initiative. The meeting will bring together leaders from business, government, civil society and philanthropy to address ocean conservation.
The Oceans Action Network was launched in 2012 to discuss and debate methods for creating lasting, positive impacts on ocean conservation while breaking down obstacles in the way of these efforts. To date, CGI members’ work in this area has yielded more than 20 commitments that will impact more than 9,000 lives and 49,000 square miles of oceans by improving fisheries, regenerating coastal ecosystems, and creating more sustainable market models for the industries that depend on oceans.
Support for Oceans: A CGI Action Network Meeting is generously provided by The Waitt Foundation.
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Clinton Global Initiative to Host CGI Mediterranean in June 2015 in Athens, Greece
First CGI meeting in Greece will bring leaders from business, government, civil society, and philanthropy to address economic and social challenges in the region
New York, NY — Today at the 10th Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, President Bill Clinton, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton announced the CGI Mediterranean meeting, to be held in Athens, Greece in June 2015.
“The CGI Mediterranean meeting will bring leaders together to address critical regional challenges such as youth unemployment and social and economic volatility through new Commitments to Action, and to showcase the region’s enormous potential for growth,” said President Bill Clinton.
“I’ve been honored to serve as a CGI convening sponsor for the past five years. I love the CGI ethos of turning ideas into action. That’s why, today, I am proud to announce I will sponsor the first CGI Mediterranean event to bring the Clinton Global Initiative legacy of leadership and action to my own country,” said Ambassador Gianna Angelopoulos, who joined President Clinton for the announcement and is the founding sponsor of CGI Mediterranean.
In addition to the CGI Annual Meeting in September, CGI hosts a number of convenings throughout the year, including CGI America and CGI University. For the past two years, Ambassador Angelopoulos has encouraged Greek students to submit proposals to CGI University, and funded their projects after launch. CGI has also brought its model of commitment-making to international settings, as well as hosting issue-focused meetings to create partnerships and develop new Commitments to Action on a global challenge.
CGI Mediterranean continues that tradition. Participants will develop solutions for long-term economic growth and competitiveness for countries in the Mediterranean region by generating commitments in areas such as youth employment, economic development, job creation, and green growth.
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Clinton Global Initiative to Host Inaugural CGI Middle East and Africa Meeting in Spring 2015 in Marrakech
International convening will bring together leaders from business, government, and philanthropy to address regional and global issues
New York – At the 10th CGI Annual Meeting today, President Bill Clinton, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton announced that the Clinton Global Initiative will hold its inaugural CGI Middle East and Africa Meeting in the Spring of 2015 in Marrakech with a focus on economic development.
“CGI brings together leaders from all sectors of society, highlighting successes and creating opportunities to build partnerships to further social, economic, and environmental goals,” said President Clinton. “The Middle East and Africa have a youthful workforce, fast-growing economies, untapped natural resources, and enormous potential to thrive in the coming years.”
In addition to CGI’s Annual Meeting in September, CGI hosts a number of convenings throughout the year, including CGI America and CGI University. In recent years, CGI has brought its model of dialogue and commitment-making to an international setting, tailored to a specific region. This will be the third CGI International Meeting. In December 2008, CGI Asia in Hong Kong brought together several hundred leaders from across the continent to further strengthen social and global responsibility in Asia. In December 2013, CGI Latin America brought together key leaders from the private sector, government, civil society, and NGOs to address to the region’s most pressing challenges.
Follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative for upcoming meeting news and highlights.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

CGI 2014: Closing Day

CGI 2014 wrapped up just minutes ago with new commitments.  This year there was an analysis of commitments that were not delivered along with an announcement from Hillary of specific areas that would benefit by being addressed with commitments. 

The day began with Hillary and such power brokers as Melinda Gates, Julia Gillard, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein taking on the challenge of equality for women and girls and education for girls - particularly secondary education which remains threatened in many parts of the world.

http://new.livestream.com/CGI/CGI2014/videos/63004584

http://new.livestream.com/CGI/CGI2014/videos/62996756

You can access all of the videos of today's events here >>>>

The full agenda for today's events is here >>>>


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The whole family was there for the closing plenary where Nelson Mandela's widow Graça Machel accepted her Global Citizens Award and spoke.

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President Clinton, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, And Chelsea Clinton Call Members to Action on Final Day of 10th CGI Annual Meeting
Members made 188 new Commitments to Action, expected to impact nearly 4.9 million people. To date, more than 3,100 commitments have been made, improving the lives of over 430 million people in more than 180 countries.
                                                        
NEW YORK, NY – Today, President Bill Clinton, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton closed the 10th Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting by announcing new Commitments to Action and issuing a call to action to members in four critical issue areas: addressing energy poverty around the world, tackling food insecurity and hunger in the United States, increasing access to water, and responding the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Over three days, CGI members made 188 new Commitments to Action, expected to impact nearly 4.9 million lives around the world when fully funded and implemented.

Highlights from the final day of the Annual Meeting included:
  • Featured speakers included: President Bill Clinton, Founding Chairman, Clinton Global Initiative, 42nd President of the United States; Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator from New York; Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation; Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan; Cady Coleman, Astronaut, NASA; Katie Couric, Global Anchor, Yahoo News; Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and Founder, X PRIZE Foundation; Melinda Gates, Co-chair and Trustee, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 2011, President, Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa; Hikmet Ersek, President, CEO and Director, The Western Union Company;  David Leonhardt, Editor, The Upshot, The New York Times;  Graça Machel, Founder, Graça Machel Trust and Foundation for Community Development;  Nilofar Sakhi, Chief Executive Officer, American University of Afghanistan; and Reid Wiseman, Astronaut, NASA , Commander, U.S. NAVY
  • Melinda Gates joined Secretary Clinton to examine the progress that has been made since the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and what challenges remain.
  • CNN’s Erin Burnett hosted a retrospective conversation on lessons learned since CGI was founded. Participants included President Bill Clinton, Founding Chairman, Clinton Global Initiative; 42nd President of the United States; Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Queen of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Tony Blair, Former Prime Minister, United Kingdom; Ashley Judd, Actor, Author, Advocate, Population Services International; Zainab Salbi, Founder, Executive Producer and Co-Creator, Women for Women International; The Trials of Spring.
  • The Haiti Action Network joined together to highlight the work of the group and debate how members can continue designing and implementing Commitments to Action that build local capacity and have clear exit strategies to enable Haiti to prosper far into the future.
  • A discussion hosted by CNN’s Sanjay Gupta discussed the importance of investing in early childhood education and development. Participants included Geoffrey Canada, President, Harlem Children’s Zone; Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Nadine Burke Harris, Founder and CEO, Center for Youth Wellness; Cindy McCain, Founding Member, Eastern Congo Initiative; and Rosemarie T. Truglio, Senior Vice President, Global Education Content, Sesame Workshop.
  • CGI members discussed their current efforts underway to combat the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa and explored ways to leverage partnerships in response to the outbreak.
  • At the closing, Secretary Clinton had a conversation with Graça Machel, Founder, Graça Machel Trust and Foundation for Community Development, and presented her with the Clinton Global Citizen Award for Civil Service
In the closing plenary, Secretary Clinton issued calls to action to members to develop innovative commitments in four issue areas:
  • Committing to make dramatic progress on energy access and energy poverty. As many as 1.3 billion people around the world do not have access to electricity today;
  • Helping communities around the world get the clean water they need. In the majority of developed countries, access to clean water is often taken for granted, but worldwide 780 million people lack access because of poor quality or insufficient supplies;
  • Increasing access to and improving the affordability of healthy food in low-income communities across America. An estimated 15 percent of all American households, or roughly 49 million Americans, experience food insecurity or hunger;
  • Providing immediate assistance and strengthening health systems to respond to the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The Annual Meeting is sponsored by Ambassador Gianna Angelopoulos, HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Hult Prize Foundation, Starkey Hearing Foundation, Victor Pinchuk Foundation,  Barclays, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Foundation, Monsanto, P&G, Rockefeller Foundation, United Postcode Lotteries, Varkey Gems Foundation, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Cisco, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women, NRG Energy, PWC, Blackstone, Deutsche Bank, ExxonMobil, HP, Inter-American Development Bank, InterEnergy, Laureate International Universities, Microsoft, Standard Chartered Bank, Swiss Re, Western Union, APCO Worldwide, Diageo, Jive, and Knoll.

Commitments announced in Plenary Sessions today include:

CHARGE: Collaborative for Harnessing Ambition and Resources for Girls’ Education

At the 2014 CGI annual meeting, the Center on Universal Education at the Brookings Institution will commit to create CHARGE (The Collaborative for Harnessing Ambition and Resources for Girls Education), a global collective of public, private, and grassroots organizations working to advance the “second generation” of global girl’s education. With more than 30 partners, including the United States, Nepal, the United Kingdom, No Ceilings, Pearson, CHIME for Change, and Discovery Communications – CHARGE has already pledged nearly $600 million to reach 15 million girls over the next 5 years. Working to develop and advance solutions for the most pressing challenges, the partners commit to closing persistent gaps and improving the quality, safety, and security of girls’ secondary education worldwide. The collaborative will chart a new path in this pursuit by focusing on a unique five-step agenda that will: Keep girls in school; Ensure school safety and security; Improve quality of learning; Support transitions from and out of school; and Support girls’ education leaders/workers in developing countries to fulfill these goals.

Connected Women: Driving Gender Equity Through Digital Economy
Commitment by: GSM Association
Partner(s): Ooredoo, Qualcomm, A.T. Kearney

In 2014, GSM Association and its partners committed to develop the Connected Women program to increase women's participation in the mobile economy. The first part of the program includes a comprehensive research project to assess women's wants and needs surrounding mobile technology. Upon completion of the research, the mobile network operators working in partnership with Connected Women, including Ooredoo, Qualcomm, Roshan, and Smart Communications, will utilize the information collected to implement programs and services for their female customers. In 2010, research found that 300 million fewer women than men owned a mobile phone and women are 21 percent less likely to own a phone in low and middle income countries. The Connected Women program will generate information about the socio-economic benefits of greater inclusion of women at all points in the mobile industry continuum from consumer to employee to leader, and then work with industry players to create opportunity.

Dhaka to Harlem: Empowering Women as Engines of Growth
Commitment by: Grameen America

In 2014, Grameen America committed to opening a new branch of its micro-lending service in Harlem, New York, pledging to provide $50 million to 7,000 women business owners in the area over 5 years. Since 2006, when Grameen opened its first New York branch in Queens, the organization has expanded to 18 branches in 11 cities, lending $171 million to nearly 33,000 low income women entrepreneurs across the country. Starting in October with 500 women, Grameen will provide entrepreneurs with funding and financial training on savings, credit maintenance and interest rates.

Rework America: Markle Economic Future Initiative
Commitment by: The Markle Foundation

In 2014, the Markle Foundation made a $50 million commitment to launch the “Rework America” Initiative, providing technological training for the modern business world to college age and continuing education participants later in life. Students will have access to a classroom and online learning environment utilizing models developed by the University presidents of Arizona State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, providing participants with real world skills they might not learn in a university environment.

Ebola Response: Air Bridge Support
Commitment by: Airlink
Partner(s): Paul G. Allen Foundation; Greenbaum Foundation; ChildFund International; AmeriCares; Direct Relief; AFYA Foundation; LIFT; ALAN (American Logistics Aid Network); Brussels Airlines; Western Global Airlines

In 2014, Airlink committed to transporting between 100 and 500 tons of material aid cargo by air to Western Africa by year-end 2014 with the help of its partners. The actual amount that Airlink will ship will depend on the length of time that an air bridge is called for in Western Africa before slower forms of transportation become sufficient to serve the requirement for material aid.

Emergency Solar Lighting for Ebola Relief Teams
Commitment by: Econet Wireless Group

Econet Wireless, a global telecommunications company with operations and investments in a dozen African markets, and its subsidiary company, Solarway, will provide $100,000 worth of solar power lanterns (totaling 5,000 lanterns) to support relief teams working to treat, contain and prevent the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the three worst affected countries – Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The solar power lanterns will provide medical and relief workers with lighting in areas where there is limited or no access to electricity. The lanterns, which come with a solar panel, can be hung as room lights and provide up to 20 hours of light from one full charge. The lanterns also come with a port for charging all types of mobile phones to support improved communications and coordination. Econet Wireless will partner with relief agencies on the ground to ensure 5,000 solar power lanterns are delivered and distributed to frontline public health workers most in need of sustainable lighting solutions.

Combating Ebola: Airlift of 100 Tons of Medical Aid
Commitment by: Direct Relief
Partner(s): Wellbody Alliance – Sierra Leone; Medical Research Centre – Sierra Leone; CDC – Sierra Leone; Last Mile Health – Liberia; Christian Aid Ministries – Liberia; CDC – Liberia; Africare – Libreria; Ministry of Health/National Drug Services – Liberia; Merck; Becton, Dickinson and Company

In response to the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, Direct Relief committed to sending more than 100 tons of urgently needed personal protective equipment (PPE), medical supplies, and medicines to its partners on the ground in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Partners on the ground will team up with the respective Ministries of Health to deploy an effective distribution channel to get supplies to clinics, health facilities, and hospitals in regions heavily affected by the outbreak. In addition, more supplies will be secured in other locations as precautionary and emergency preparedness measures.

Fighting Ebola: Strengthening Rural Health
Commitment by: Partners in Health and Last Mile Health
Partner(s): Wellbody Alliance; Direct Relief

Partners In Health, Last Mile Health (Liberia) and Wellbody Alliance (Sierra Leone) have launched a coalition to scale-up rural Ebola response efforts and rebuild primary health systems in two of the most-affected countries: Liberia and Sierra Leone. The Coalition builds on over 40 years of collective experience (including 15 combined years in Liberia and Sierra Leone) in strengthening public health systems in partnership with Ministries of Health; and integrating research, teaching, and service to deliver high-quality, comprehensive health care to the poor.

The Hult Prize
Commitment by: Hult International Business School

In 2010, the Hult International Business School committed to bring together MBA and undergraduate business students from schools around the world together to come up with innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing social problems. Every year, teams from around the globe compete to win recognition for their consulting efforts and $1 million dollars in funding to put their project into practice. Past winners include Cambridge University’s 2011 mPanni plan, now a functioning company in Mumbai, India that provides mobile technology for increased social impact to underserved communities. The 2014 Challenge was to find solutions to non-communicable diseases in urban slums. This year’s winner was NanoHealth, which will be awarded $1 million in start-up capital for their proposal to use innovative technology to create micro-insurance health networks for slum dwellers. After presentations, NanoHealth was announced as the winner at the Hult Prize Dinner on Tuesday.

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative - Peru
Commitment By: Goldman Sachs Foundation

In 2009, the Goldman Sachs Foundation committed to build on their global 10,000 Women initiative by joining with the Inter-American Development Bank's Multilateral Investment Fund and the Thunderbird School of Global Management to provide women entrepreneurs in Peru with quality business education and enhanced access to capital. In cooperation with Mibanco, a leading provider of loans to small and micro entrepreneurs, this training will offer more than 700 high-potential small business owners with the specialized training, access to capital, networking, and mentoring necessary to significantly grow their businesses.  Today, 728 women are certified, exceeding the target of 700; 200 women entrepreneurs received one-on-one mentoring, exceeding the target of 120.

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