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NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton called on governments, businesses, charities and other prominent institutions to come together to help a world “on fire,” as he reconvened the Clinton Global Initiative, a meeting of international leaders since 2016 the first time since.
Interest in the two-day conference was so strong that the Clinton Foundation had to turn away more than 1,000 potential attendees. It is bringing together a series of celebrities, including Jordanian Queen Rania Abdullah, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Motley, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Nobel Peace Laureate Malala Yousafzai and actor and water activist Matt Damon.
Clinton, who served as US president from 1993 to 2001, said he was surprised by the scale of the response.
“The world is on fire in many different ways,” he told The Associated Press in an interview. “But there’s a lot that businesses, NGOs and governments can do to help address a lot of these issues.”
Since its founding in 2005, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) has helped more than 435 million people in more than 180 countries. It previously required participants to develop a commitment to action, a measurable project addressing global issues, although that requirement was dropped for this year. These commitments tend to unite new partners and encourage collaboration between the public and private sectors.
“I think people are eager to get together and achieve goals,” Clinton said. “Not just talking about it, but knowing that when they’re gone, they’re going to be committed to doing something.”
Chelsea Clinton, vice president of the Clinton Foundation, called it a “bias to action,” which she said was part of what makes CGI special and a catalyst for global change. The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked interest in public health and addressing health disparities because the impact can be seen by those outside the field, she said.
“Health is about anything that anyone could care about,” Chelsea Clinton said. “There’s a lot of people mobilized right now to do something with what they’ve newly learned, and they now feel obligated to help solve these problems.”
Panel discussions scheduled for the initiative focused on potential solutions. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will discuss ways to create gender equality with New York Gov. Kathy Hocher, actor and philanthropist Robin Wright, and others. All three Clintons will talk about partnerships that focus on shared humanity. They will be joined by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, U2 singer Bono and “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said CGI has been introducing his team to new potential partners, which has led to new donations after two challenging years of the pandemic. This becomes all the more valuable as it becomes difficult for the user. “There’s only so much you can do with PowerPoint and Zooms,” Sands said.
He is currently running his own fundraising campaign. President Joe Biden will host the Global Fund’s seventh replenishment meeting in New York on Wednesday, delayed by two days so Biden can attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday.
However, he now plans to attend CGI and says that while the Clinton Foundation itself is still active, he missed the gathering during the hiatus.The initiative was held annually until the 2016 presidential campaign of former Senator Hillary Clinton, when the asked a question Regarding potential conflicts of interest that could arise if the donor had business before her administration.
Bill Clinton said the initiative relies on the special energies of its participants to solve a growing number of problems.
“We have the most immigrants since World War II,” he said. “The biggest publicity they get in America is when one or two governors turn it into some political problem and try to create problems for others. Smart countries work together and try to figure out the best way to deal with it.”
Clinton also wanted CGI to focus on various solutions that needed more support.he points to a Learn from Generation180, A non-profit organization promoting the use of clean energy. Its research shows that some rural schools have installed solar panels to reduce carbon emissions and electricity bills. The school then uses the savings to give teachers a raise.
“The energy is here. The work is here. The benefit is here. The kids win,” Clinton said. “It shouldn’t be a political issue.”
Philanthropy can help break political and cultural gridlock by showing what can be done, he said. For example, he said, when President Barack Obama proposed hiring 100,000 new STEM teachers and Congress rejected him, philanthropy stepped in to make it happen.
“We brought together the Carnegie Company and the American Federation of Teachers and more than 20 other partners, and they said, ‘We’re going to raise money,'” Clinton said. “No one thinks that’s what philanthropy is about. But it gets the job done, and it demonstrates why Republicans and Democrats should work together on these things.”
The AP’s coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits is supported through The Associated Press’ partnership with American Dialogue and funded by the Eli Lilly Endowment Company. The Associated Press is solely responsible for this content.For all AP philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
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