USAID to Host Groundbreaking International Development Forum

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United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Jun 04, 2012, 01:21 ET

Frontiers in Development to be held June 11 – 13 at Georgetown University

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) today announced it will host the inaugural Frontiers in Development forum at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. June 11-13, 2012. The three-day event will convene world leaders, government officials, corporate and nongovernmental thought leaders and international development experts to address the important issues facing the future of foreign assistance and international development.

The invitation-only audience will consist of 700 prominent leaders from various communities involved in foreign assistance and development, including confirmed speakers Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia; Atifete Jahjaga, president of Kosovo; Joyce Banda, president of Malawi; Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland; Senator Richard Lugar (R - IN), Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kay Warren, Saddleback Church; Mandy Moore, actress, singer/songwriter and activist; Admiral James G. Stavridis, USN, NATO supreme allied commander, Europe; Former Congressman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ.); Sir Andrew Witty, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline; Chris Policinski, president and CEO of Land O'Lakes; Vikram Pandit, CEO, Citigroup; Paul Collier, author of "The Bottom Billion" and director for the Centre for the Study of African Economies at the University of Oxford; and a special taped video message from Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

"USAID is engaging the most innovative and experienced thought leaders and practitioners from around the world to stimulate debate around key development challenges and opportunities," said USAID Administrator Raj Shah.

The Frontiers in Development forum is an innovative public-private partnership. USAID is grateful to our partners for their generous support: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, The MacArthur Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation.

Designed to encourage forward-looking, provocative discussion and debate, Frontiers in Development will engage thought leaders in discussion focused on key themes including: