April 23, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her department is starting a new program to work more closely with foundations and philanthropists and has assigned a veteran diplomat to lead the effort.
Speaking during the Global Philanthropy Forum last night, the secretary announced the Global Partnership Initiative, which will work with nonprofit groups, businesses, and others to fight poverty abroad.
“I know that we’ve only been in office for a little shy of a hundred days. But I’m even more convinced now than I was when I became secretary of state that the problems we face today will not be solved by governments alone,” she said.
“It will be in partnerships –- partnerships with philanthropy, with global business, partnerships with civil society. We have to find new ways to fill that space that is unfortunately left to create vacuums in too many places around the world.”
(A transcript of Ms. Clinton’s speech is available on the State Department’s Web site.)
Elizabeth Bagley, who was a senior adviser to former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and a former ambassador to Portugal, will lead the program, Ms. Clinton said.
“Elizabeth is a talented diplomat, a gifted networker, and a wonderful person, and I’m delighted she agreed to champion our efforts,” she said.
While several participants welcomed the new effort, saying it was a change from how the Bush administration operated, some said they would like to know more specifics about what types of collaboration the secretary and other Obama officials are looking for.
