Bill Clinton to Kick Off InterAction Forum on June 20 in D.C.

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Bill Clinton will give the opening keynote address at 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, June 20 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to kick off InterAction Forum 2017 -- the first major meeting of US-based international aid groups since President Trump proposed major cuts to U.S. foreign assistance in his FY 2018 budget.

Representatives from more than 100 nonprofit agencies involved in poverty-reduction, refugee resettlement, humanitarian relief, education, global health, food and nutrition security, water and sanitation and human rights will be participating in the three-day conference under the theme "United We Stand."

Besides Clinton, major speakers on Tuesday will include Joyce Banda, former president of the Republic of Malawi; Kristalina Georgieva, chief executive officer of the World Bank; and Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and current president of the Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice.

Among the major topics at the conference will be a discussion of the changing dynamics of migration on World Refugee Day, the impact of new technologies on humanitarian and development assistance and proposed reductions in U.S. foreign assistance under the Trump administration.

InterAction members have already expressed their concern about the proposed foreign assistance budget cuts. On June 2, 82 InterAction members called upon Congress to sustain and protect programs that provide life-saving and transformative economic impacts, noting that budget decisions currently before Congress "have life-and-death consequences for the world's poorest people."

During the conference InterAction also will present awards for outstanding leadership in international development and humanitarian assistance. Honorees include:

• Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO of Mercy Corps -- Julia Vadala Taft Outstanding Leadership Award
• U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) -- Congressional Leadership Award
• Judith Heumann, international disability rights expert -- InterAction Disability Inclusion Award
• Mohammad Shoaib Alamyar, operations supervisor at CARE Afghanistan -- InterAction Security Advisory Group Distinguished Achievement Award
• Omar Jadwat, director of the Immigrants' Rights Project at American Civil Liberties Union -- InterAction Humanitarian Award
• Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center -- InterAction Humanitarian Award

For additional information, visit interaction.org/forum.

SOURCE InterAction

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