Miscellaneous

The Clinton Global Initiative was inaugurated September 15-17, 2005 in New York City to coincide with the 2005 World Summit, under the leadership of President Bill Clinton. CGI is stated as being a non-partisan catalyst for action, bringing together global leaders including heads of state, non-profit organizations, charities, and business leaders to discuss challenges facing the world today and devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. The initiative culminates in an annual conference, at which each invited guest must make a specific commitment to address one of the focus areas discussed. CGI staff then monitors the progress and success of these commitments throughout the year. Clinton himself has stated that the 2005 conference saw US$2.3 billion in commitments to donations, and that by the conclusion of the 2006 event, over US$7.3 billion was committed, including British entrepreneur Richard Branson's pledge to donate the profits of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains, two of his Virgin Group's companies, over the next ten years to research environmentally friendly fuels. The donation is estimated to be worth US$3 billion.[2] In the conference's first announcement, First Lady Laura Bush announced a public-private partnership with the Case Foundation and others to install 4,000 Roundabout PlayPumps to bring water to up to 10 million people in Africa.

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