For Immediate Release Contact: Clinton Foundation Press Office
December 22, 2008 212.348.0360
Clinton Global Initiative Commitments to Action extend their reach in 2008, impacting millions around the world.
“We know we cannot do this alone… We have to partner with other NGOs… We have to partner with corporations… We also have to work with governments.”
Lance Armstrong, Founder and Chairman of the Board, Lance Armstrong Foundation,
speaking at the 2008 CGI Annual Meeting
“That’s the power of the Clinton Global Initiative, to change lives. You change lives, one life, one hope, at a time.”
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, United Kingdom, 2008 CGI Annual Meeting
The non-partisan Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) is a platform to bring together global leaders in business, government, non-profit organizations, and students to address some of the most pressing global challenges including poverty alleviation, climate change, global health, and education. Each CGI member is asked to make a Commitment to Action. Commitments vary in duration and reflect investments of time, expertise, and/or resources in the form of grants, commercial or social investments, program expenditures, and in-kind contributions. Members come together at CGI’s Annual Meeting in New York to continue the dialogue, make new commitments, and report on the progress of past commitments.
CGI is not a grant-making organization and Commitments to Action are funded and implemented directly by commitment makers. CGI staff provides advice and monitoring to ensure progress is made.
CGI’s Work to Date
President Clinton launched the Clinton Global Initiative in 2005. To date:
• Over 1,200 Commitments to Action valued at $46 billion have touched more than 200 million lives in 150 countries.
• As a result of CGI Commitments to Action, since 2005:
? 8 million children were able to attend school
? 34 million people gained access to treatment of neglected tropical diseases
? 40 million metric tons of CO2 emissions were cut
? 3 million entrepreneurs were empowered with access to microfinance.
• In 2008, CGI members pledged:
? Enough clean energy to power 110 million homes in India
? One billion liters of safe drinking water to those in need
? To raise $375 million to develop new vaccines and pursue medical research
? To provide healthy school lunches to 20 million children
• MyCommitment.org is an online network that offers everyone the opportunity to make a commitment. Since the launch, people from 181 countries have collectively pledged to volunteer more than 92,000 hours and donate more than 40,000 items to improve the world.
2008 CGI Accomplishments
In 2008 alone, CGI accomplished the following:
• CGI’s 2008 Annual Meeting brought together attendees including President-elect Barack Obama, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, President Hamid Karzai, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Queen Rania, Former President George H.W. Bush, Senator John McCain, Bill Gates, Bono, Wangari Maathai, Muhammad Yunus, Lance Armstrong and nearly 60 current and former heads of state.
• CGI’s Commitments to Action from the 2008 Annual Meeting are expected to impact almost 160 million people.
• The launch of Clinton Global University, which brought together more than 600 students from nearly every state and 15 countries to Tulane University in New Orleans to formulate ways to take action on campuses, in communities, and across continents. Nearly 1,000 Commitments to Action were generated at the inaugural CGI U meeting.
• This month, CGI Asia convened leaders in Hong Kong to address local, regional, and global challenges focusing on education, health, and climate change. 67 Commitments to Action valued at nearly $200 million and projected to affect 10 million lives occurred at CGI Asia.
In 2009, CGI will continue to inspire action across different audiences. The 2009 CGI University meeting will take place from February 13-15 at the University of Texas at Austin, bringing together hundreds of students, university presidents, and national youth organizations to make commitments. MyCommitment.org will continue to provide opportunities for any citizen from any country to find opportunities to take action. And finally, a very special Fifth Anniversary Meeting will take place in New York City from September 22-25.
Learn more at www.clintonfoundation.org.
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