‘The World Is Burning’ But Teamwork Can Help
New York – For the first time since 2016, former President Bill Clinton joined governments, businesses, philanthropic organizations and other prominent institutions in reconvening the Clinton Global Initiative, a conference of international leaders, to “burn fire.” We are calling on the world to help. .
“Someone has to show up and make something good happen,” he said at the conference’s opening public session on Monday. “That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Interest in the two-day conference was so high that the Clinton Foundation had to turn down more than 1,000 potential attendees. Celebrities such as Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and actor and water access activist Matt Damon. are convening.
Clinton, who was president of the United States from 1993 to 2001, said she was surprised by the massive response.
“The world is burning in many ways,” he said in an interview with the AP. “But there is much that businesses, non-governmental groups and governments can do together to solve many of these problems.”
Since its founding in 2005, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) has helped more than 435 million people in more than 180 countries. Previously, participants were asked to create commitments to action, measurable projects that address global issues, but in the first year, anyone can announce or develop partnerships. Expected. These commitments often bring new partners together and foster cooperation between the public and private sectors.
“I think there’s a longing for people to come together and meet with a purpose,” Clinton said in an interview. I know.”
Chelsea Clinton, vice-president of the Clinton Foundation, calls this “behavioral bias,” which she says is part of what makes CGI special and spurs global change. She said the COVID-19 pandemic has increased public health and attention to tackling health disparities.
As Chelsea Clinton said, “Health is interconnected with everything that everyone cares about. There are many people who are mobilized to try.”
Dr. David Fajgenbaum received a standing ovation for announcing plans for his new nonprofit, Every Cure, to find new uses for generic drugs to treat rare diseases. The idea arose from his own research to find a cure for Castleman’s disease, a rare disease in which the immune system attacks vital organs.
His new nonprofit will initially work on using generic drugs to treat 106 rare diseases, he said. said. “As long as I live, I will continue to pursue them.”
In other efforts, Andrew Kuper, founder and CEO of impact investment firm LeapFrog Investments, announced plans for the firm to support 25 million businesses providing 100 million jobs in developing countries by 2030. did. OurCrowd, an Israeli global venture firm, has announced a partnership with the WHO Foundation for his $200 million Global Health his equity fund focused on breakthrough technology solutions in healthcare.
Peter Sands, executive director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said CGI has always introduced his group to new potential partners. This is even more valuable after his two difficult pandemic years that have made access to new donors difficult: “There’s only so much you can do with PowerPoint and Zoom,” Sands says.
He is currently in the middle of his own fundraising campaign. President Joe Biden will host the Global Fund’s seventh replenishment meeting in New York on Wednesday, but it will be delayed two days so Biden can attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday.
However, he said he will now attend the CGI and will be absent while the meeting is suspended, even though the Clinton Foundation itself remains active. It was held annually until 2016 during former Senator Clinton’s presidential campaign. question was raised Regarding the emergence of potential conflicts of interest if the donor had business prior to her administration.
Bill Clinton said the initiative relies on the extraordinary energy of its participants to tackle a growing number of issues.
“We have the largest number of immigrants since World War II,” he said. “And the most publicity they have in America is when one or his two governors turn it into a political issue and try to make trouble for other people. Together, we’re trying to find the best way to deal with it.”
Clinton also hopes CGI can shine a spotlight on different solutions that need more support. He, Research from Generation180, A non-profit organization that promotes the use of clean energy. According to the study, some rural schools are installing solar panels to reduce carbon emissions and electricity bills. The school then used the savings to give teachers pay raises.
“The energy is here. The jobs are here. The benefits are here. The kids win,” Clinton said. “It shouldn’t be a political issue.”
He says philanthropy helps break through political and cultural impasses by showing what can be done. For example, when President Barack Obama proposed hiring 100,000 of his new STEM teachers and Congress overruled him, philanthropy stepped in to make it happen, he said.
“We got the Carnegie Corporation and the National Teachers Federation and over 20 other partners and they said, ‘We’re going to raise money,'” Clinton said. He got the job done and showed why Republicans and Democrats should work together on such things.
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https://www.news4jax.com/business/2022/09/19/bill-clinton-the-worlds-on-fire-but-teamwork-can-help/ ‘The World Is Burning’ But Teamwork Can Help