Fourth Annual Clinton Global Initiative Comes to Manhattan on Heels of General Assembly

Taking advantage of the dignitaries visiting New York for the United Nations General Assembly, the fourth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative got under way today in the Metropolitan Ballroom of the Sheraton New York.

The conference, which runs through Friday afternoon, convenes heads of state, government and business leaders, scholars, celebrities, and activists to aid education, health, and poverty around the world and discuss solutions to energy dependence and climate change. Noteworthy speakers this year include Lance Armstrong, Bono, Queen Rania Al-Abdulla of Jordan, and Al Gore. Today’s events culminate in a conversation between President Bill Clinton and Bill Gates followed by a reception at the Museum of Modern Art.

This year’s meeting doesn’t stray too far from past incarnations, with all programming taking place at the same venue used in the past. Earlier this year, we spoke with CGI director of operations Mary Morrison, who explained the rapport her team has built with its many vendors, including the Sheraton. “Our hotel options are limited in New York, because our opening and closing ceremonies for the annual meeting involve 1,300 guests,” she said. “The Sheraton New York ... goes above and beyond to accommodate our challenging requests, from redesigning a space before an event to allowing us to take over the hotel for an entire week or cover their walls with our material.”

Clinton is also taking advantage of the election year to use the meeting as a forum for presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama to explain their positions on some of the key issues. McCain is set to deliver the opening remarks at Thursday’s plenary session titled “Integrated Solutions: Water, Food, and Energy." Obama will make the closing presentation, though, as of today, he only plans on appearing via satellite. 

The Clinton Global Initiative has seen an estimated $30 billion in commitments to improve life across the globe since its inception in 2005, and will likely raise even more when it expands later this year. CGI plans to use the New York conference as the model for December’s CGI Asia in Hong Kong, the first of what the Clinton Foundation expects to be a series of international meetings.