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Awards
 Each year, we honor individuals whose extraordinary efforts have made a tangible difference for those struggling to overcome poverty, disease, and discrimination in the developing world. Awards include the humanitarian leader award, media award, photography award, the Mildred Robbins Leet Award for the Advancement of Women and new this year, the Security Advisory Group Distinguished Achievement Award. We will also honor colleagues who lost their lives while advancing their organizations’ Missions around the world.
Plenary Sessions
Each year, the InterAction Forum features luminaries in the fields of development and humanitarian aid at our plenary sessions. Previous speakers have included: former President Bill Clinton, Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, and rock star and activist, Bono. View the Schedule of Events for a run-down of this year's speakers.
Networking Luncheon 
A special luncheon just before Advocacy Day events designed to provide opportunities for attendees to network with others in the InterAction Community and to complete preparation in teams for Hill visits.
Special Documentary Preview
 With So Much Wealth in the World,
Why is There Still So Much Poverty?
Looking beyond the popular “solutions” for poverty, The End of Poverty? - a CANNES 2008 Film - asks if the true causes of poverty today stem from a deliberate orchestration since colonial times which has evolved into our modern system whereby wealthy nations exploit the poor.
Leading economists, politicians and people engaged in social movements condemn colonialism, its consequences and the evolution of an economic system under which 25% of the world’s population consumes 85% of the world’s resources.
Join InterAction staff and the film's producers in Salon G at 7:30pm on Wednesday, May 7th. After 45 minutes, we will take a brief intermission for questions and then resume the film. Refreshments will be served.
Effective NGO Governance CEO Track
In response to enthusiastic demand generated at InterAction’s annual CEO Retreat, Forum 2008 will feature a special track for InterAction member CEOs and the leadership of their Boards of Directors. Highlights will include:
- A facilitated workshop for CEOs and Board Chairs on Effective Governance
- A special briefing by InterAction President and CEO Sam Worthington on InterAction’s role in the work of their organizations, effective advocacy, and the convening of dialogue on issues facing our community.
- The Annual Members Meeting
- Discussions with plenary speakers
- A discussion with USAID and US Foreign Assistance Leadership.
Art Exhibit
For the first time at the InterAction Annual Forum we will have a special Art Exhibit from DC’s culturally rooted artists. We are very grateful to Luis Scotti, one of DC’s best known graphic artists from Uruguay, for his work with organizing this beautiful exhibit.  Along with Scotti’s work, the exhibit will include the works of Vladimir Monge of Salvador and Nebiur Arellano of Peru among others.
The art works of Luis Scotti are emotional, using memories of the past to make peace with who we are as individuals. His images evoking social and cultural burdens rooted deep within history, depicting what was then and how we relate to them today. The artwork of Bethesda-based Nebiur Arellano evokes the transcendent blues of the stained-glass windows at Chartres, the burnished gold’s of the Byzantines and the earthy ochre’s of India. These are a few of the associations that may come to mind if an observer tries to put into context the radiance achieved by this artist’s techniques that are particular to her work.
Please stop by Salon E any time during the Forum to enjoy this special treat.
Affinity Groups
Plans are underway to provide opportunities for existing members of Affinity Groups to caucus and for the formulation of new Affinity Groups that emerge from Forum sessions. Affinity Groups form when InterAction members find that they wish to meet around areas that cross sectors in our community. Current Affinity Groups include:
- Women CEOs
- CEOs
- Disability
- Child Labor
- Regional and local groups: West Coast, Midwest, New York, Baltimore
Honoring Champions Gala Banquet
An evening of celebration and reflection. Join us for our Gala Event as we celebrate 20 years of the Interaction Forum with prominent speakers, entertainment, and acknowledgement of outstanding achievement. (Festive Attire).
Annual Breakfast
Financing for Development: What’s in the Global Piggy Bank for the MDGs and Gender Equality
Join this interactive dialogue with prominent men and women to assess the financial resources towards gender equality and the empowerment of women and its impact on the Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty by 2015.
Sponsored by the Commission on the Advancement of Women
Sponsors & Exhibitors Expo
The Forum '08 Sponsorship and Exhibitor Expo provides organizations, government agencies and vendors an opportunity to highlight timely issues affecting the NGO sector, share best practices and demonstrate cutting edge tools and products with the more than 800 leaders and practitioners participating in the Forum.
We have acquired a new, larger venue, which will enable us to offer new exiting exhibit options, including a special Cyber Café Hot Spot exhibit area with high speed internet access where attendees can use the internet and get email. Opportunities also include ad placement in the Forum Program or in InterAction’s flagship publication, Monday Developments and inclusion in InterAction’s On-line Forum Expo. In addition to customary sponsorship of continental breakfasts or coffee breaks, we offer special Sponsorship Packages with various levels of support that provide excellent visibility and acknowledgement to your organization or company.
Contact Taina Alexander at talexander@interaction.org or 202-667-8227 to learn more about exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities!
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