Partners for a New Beginning Announces Full Steering Committee and Clinton Global Initiative Commitments

NEW YORK, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, along with Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, and Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of The Aspen Institute, announced today the formation of the Steering Committee and the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) commitments for Partners for a New Beginning (PNB).

Partners for a New Beginning is a non-partisan, non-profit organization established to harness private sector and civil society resources to advance the vision President Obama laid out in his June 2009 Cairo speech of renewed engagement with Muslims around the world based on mutual respect and responsibility. Secretary Albright serves as PNB's Chair. Mr. Kent and Mr. Isaacson serve as Vice-Chairs.

This advisory group of prominent American leaders has committed to using their expertise, global networks, and access to resources to foster locally-driven public-private partnerships and projects to advance opportunity in Muslim-majority countries and Muslim communities in four key areas: economic opportunity, science and technology, education, and exchange.

Today at the Clinton Global Initiative's Annual Meeting, PNB announced its first commitments to increase access to finance, business capacity and development services; improve educational opportunities for students and teachers; foster physical and virtual exchange programs; and enhance science and technology solutions. These commitments will positively impact up to 500,000 people across the PNB targeted countries of Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, and West Bank/Gaza during the next five years.

PNB Steering Committee Members include:

• Tarek Abdel-Meguid, Founding Partner, Perella Weinberg Partners
• Cathleen Black, President, Hearst Magazines
• Jean Case, CEO, The Case Foundation
• John Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Kenneth Cohen, Chairman, ExxonMobil Foundation; Vice President for Government & Public Affairs, Exxon Mobil Corporation
• Helene Gayle, President and CEO, CARE USA
• Stephen Heintz, President, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
• Andrew Liveris, Chairman, and CEO, The Dow Chemical Company
• John Mack, Chairman, Morgan Stanley
• Paul Otellini, President and CEO, Intel Corporation
• Eboo Patel, Founder and President, Interfaith Youth Core
• Ruth Simmons, President, Brown University

Among the various PNB projects that will be implemented include the following:

• The Coca-Cola Company's Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN):  In partnership with USAID and UNDP, The Coca-Cola Company is committing more than $7.5 million to launch seven new water projects in African countries with large Muslim populations in 2011 including Algeria, Egypt, Liberia, Morocco, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Tunisia.
• Middle East Venture Capital Fund: MEVCF will enhance the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector and create jobs in the West Bank by investing in and helping to establish export-oriented, high-growth Palestinian companies in the ICT sector.
• ImagineNations Network: ImagineNations Network (INN), a social networking site for young entrepreneurs and mentors, is now being promoted by Yahoo! Inc. around the world. Imagine-network.org is the on-line platform for the Partners for a New Beginning and E-Mentor Corps, an initiative of U.S. Department of State. Imagine-network.org and its partners expect to impact 750,000 users over the next five years.
• Interfaith Youth Core: The Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) will create a global network of 150 Interfaith Leaders for a New Beginning between the US and several Muslim countries.
• The Tony Blair Faith Foundation – US: The Foundation will expand the reach of its "Face to Faith" global education program to impact 40,000 people over the next two years. Face to Faith promotes peace building by creating opportunities for students in 15 countries across the world to learn about each other, and the attitudes of those of different cultures, religions and beliefs.  
• Acxiom Corporation 'Reach In Reach Out': This initiative will create an atmosphere of understanding and dialogue in the United States to provide a foundation of credibility for efforts outside of the United States.
• Rotary International 'PolioPlus': Through its PolioPlus program, Rotary International is working with the World Health Organization, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF, to globally eradicate polio.

Partners for a New Beginning (PNB) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization established to harness private sector and civil society resources to advance the vision President Obama laid out in his Cairo speech in June 2009 of renewed engagement with Muslims around the world based on mutual respect and responsibility. PNB consists of independent citizens who are working in close partnership and consultation with the U.S. Department of State in Washington and U.S. Embassies abroad.  Toni Verstandig serves as the Executive Director of Middle East Programs at the Aspen Institute, which acts as the PNB Secretariat, facilitating the public-private partnerships and private-private partnerships that will help fulfill the President's Cairo vision. For more information, visit www.partnersforanewbeginning.com.

SOURCE Partners for a New Beginning