Membership

Monday

8:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

Commission on the Advancement of Women (CAW) Annual Breakfast, co-sponsored with the Committee on Development Policy and Practice (CDPP), International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), and Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)
Gender, Poverty, and the Millennium Development Goals

Moderator: Sarah Newhall, President and CEO, Pact; and Co-Chair, Commission on the Advancement of Women, InterAction

Facilitator: Lisa Veneklasen, Executive Director , Just Associates

Panelists: Malcolm Ehrenpreis, Communications Officer, The World Bank
Geeta Rao Gupta,Co-chair of the Millennium Project Task Force on Primary Education and Gender Equality; and President, ICRW
Santosh Mehrotra, Senior Policy Advisor, Human Development Report Office, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Joanne Sandler, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

The Millennium Development Goals were adopted by heads of state in September 2000. The eight MDGs have become an international framework for development, yet the goals only address gender equality in relation to education. This session will examine current efforts to fully engender the MDGs. In the tradition of past CAW breakfasts, participants will have the opportunity to discuss how these trends apply to their own organizations.

Humanitarian Policy and Practice Committee (HPPC) Meeting
Semi-annual InterAction Humanitarian Policy and Practice Committee Business Meeting (For HPPC Members Only)

Panelists: Roger Winter,Assistant Administrator, Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, USAID
Arthur E. "Gene" Dewey, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, U.S. Department of State
Agnes Callamard, Director, Humanitarian Accountability Project
Joel McClellan, Executive Secretary, Steering Committee for Humanitarian Relief

10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open

11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. InterAction Board of Directors Meeting

12:30 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Opening Plenary and Luncheon

Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, United Nations

Shashi Tharoor was appointed to the post of Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information in June 2002. Since January 2001, Mr. Tharoor has served as Interim Head of the Department of Public Information at the Assistant-Secretary-General level. Prior to this assignment in DPI, Mr. Tharoor served as Director of Communications and Special Projects in the Office of the Secretary-General (1998-2001) and earlier as Executive Assistant to the Secretary-General (1997-1998). Mr. Tharoor is also the author of six books, including the award-winning political satire, The Great Indian Novel (1989), and India:From Midnight to the Millennium (1997), a study of Indian politics, society and economic development after independence, as well as numerous articles, op-eds and literary reviews in a wide range of publications. In January 1998, Mr. Tharoor was named by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as a "Global Leader of Tomorrow".

2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Workshops

Advancing our Commitments to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment
The AIDS pandemic has shifted to a new level of crisis. While earlier projections indicated that the number of people living with HIV would level off, we know now that this is far from the case and that AIDS is moving towards explosive growth in Russia, India, and China. This session will examine commitments and experiences with the Global Fund and United Nations special session, as well as explore fundamental questions about infrastructure and activism to increase access to medications and enhance prevention.

Moderator: Frank Beadle de Palomo, Vice President and Director, AED Center on AIDS and Community Health

Panelists: Salih Booker, Director, Africa Action
Connie Carrino, Director Office of HIV/AIDS, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Desmond Johns, Director for UNAIDS New York Office, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
Peter Smith, Majority Professional Staff Member, House International Relations Committee

Issues in Humanitarian Assistance
Humanitarian NGOs have found themselves confronting new issues in their relations with the U.S. military as the latter has become a belligerent in Afghanistan and Iraq. Representatives of the press, academe, the Pentagon, and the NGO community will discuss the problems NGOs and the military are encountering as they seek to redefine their relationship in this new setting.

Moderator: Father Richard Ryscavage, S.J., Director, Jesuit Refugee Services/USA

Panelists: Jane Barry, Humanitarian Policy Consultant
Joseph Collins, DAS, Stabilization Office, DOD/OSD
Larry Minear, The Humanitarianism and War Project, Tufts
Dana Priest, Washington Post Reporter and Author of The Mission

International Efforts on NGO Accountability: Benchmarking the InterAction PVO Standards
Demands for greater accountability from NGOs are growing from donors, governments and beneficiaries. This session will examine several multinational efforts under way that were launched to respond to these demands, including Sphere, the Humanitarian Accountability Project and the Good Donor initiative, all based in Geneva. There will also be a response from the World Bank, which as an International donor, is focusing increasingly on NGO accountability. Discussants will engage participants in an open and candid debate on what these collective efforts mean for the movement toward establishing collective, multinational standards of accountability for NGOs and donors, the impact of these standards on program effectiveness as well as for defining next steps in the evolution of InterAction's own PVO Standards.

Moderator: Bruce Wilkinson, Senior Vice President, WorldVision; and Chair, PVO Standards/Membership Board Committee, InterAction

Panelists: Agnes Callamard, Executive Director, Humanitarian Accountability Project (HAP International)
Anna Young, Senior Program Officer, Mercy Corps
Mikael Lindvall, Good Donor Initiative, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sweden, (Invited)

Respondent: Jonathon Potter, Executive Director, People in Aid (Invited)

Demands for greater accountability from NGOs are growing among donors, governments, and beneficiaries. This session will examine several multinational efforts underway that were launched to respond to these demands, including Sphere, the Humanitarian Accountability Project, the Good Donor initiative and People in Aid. Discussants will engage participants in an open and candid debate on what these collective efforts mean for the movement toward establishing collective, multinational standards of accountability for NGOs and donors, understanding the impact of these standards on protecting the interests of aid staff, promoting program effectiveness on the ground, and for defining next steps in the evolution of InterAction’s own PVO Standards.

5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Reception
Exhibit Hall

6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Eighth Annual InterAction Humanitarian and Journalism Awards Dinner

Emcee: Joie Chen Correspondent, CBS News, Washington, D.C.

Joie Chen was named a CBS News correspondent in March 2002. She is based in Washington, D.C. and covers Capitol Hill, among other beats. Chen has covered two presidential summit meetings, President Bush's address at West Point and was the primary correspondent covering the Washington, D.C. sniper siege for the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER and THE EARLY SHOW. Previously, Chen served as an anchor or co-anchor and correspondent for CNN based in Atlanta (1994-2001). She anchored coverage of many major news stories including the Sept. 11 attacks, the military developments in the strikes against Afghanistan, as well as coverage of the Olympic bombing for which she won a national Emmy award. Chen won the 1996 CableACE award (with her co-anchor, Leon Harris) for Best Newscasters.

The InterAction Effective Assistance Photography Award
The first annual InterAction Photography award will be presented to the photographer who best captures effective assistance. Displayed in the exhibit hall are winners for the seven categories of InterAction's Campaign, the Global Partnership for Effective Assistance, these include basic education, health care, job and business skills, reducing hunger, women and girls, refugees and disaster response, as well as peace and democracy.

The InterAction Award for Excellence in International Reporting

Recipient: Anne Garrels, National Public Radio

Anne Garrels has worked at National Public Radio (NPR) for 15 years covering foreign affairs. While at NPR, she has spent most of her time in the former Soviet Union and its successor states. Ms. Garrels has also covered Tienamen Square, the Gulf War, the former Yugoslavia, especially Bosnia, and Chechnya. Since September 11, she has extensively covered Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, the West Bank, and now Iraq. Prior to that Ms. Garrels worked for a decade for ABC News in a variety of positions and then moved to NBC where she was their State Department Correspondent. Ms. Garrels has been awarded the Columbia Dupont for her coverage of the Gulf War, a documentary on Russia and coverage of the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.

InterAction Humanitarian Award

Recipient: Beatrice Were, International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, Uganda

Beatrice Were is the currently working in Uganda to support women living with HIV/AIDS. Until January 2003, she was the Executive Coordinator of the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, Uganda. ICW's main aim is to reduce the isolation of women living with HIV/AIDS by exchanging information on health issues, self-help, human rights and setting up local support networks. ICW's core value is to be run by and for HIV positive women. Ms. Were is a mother living with HIV for the past 11 years. Prior to working with ICW Ms. Were was the founder and National Coordinator of National Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (NACWOLA). In this position she initiated the Ugandan Memory Project that encourages and assists HIV positive women to pass on their family history to their children. Ms. Were is now working in conjunction with NACWOLA and Healthlink Worldwide to extend the Memory project to 3 other African Countries. Ms. Were is also a Board Member of the Firelight Foundation and worked as a social worker at the Nsambya Hospital AIDS Integrated Services Program.

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Tuesday

7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Registration Open

8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast with Exhibitors

8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open

8:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

Workshops

Crucial Links: The Importance of Sustainable Microfinance for the Very Poor in Achieving the Millennium Development Goals
Panelists will answer a number of questions, including: 1) What is the evidence that microfinance is having a profound impact on achieving the Millennium Development Goals from eradicating extreme poverty and reducing child mortality to improving maternal health and promoting gender equality and 2) In what ways is microfinance being linked with child survival, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Moderator: Anna Awimbo, Director of Research, Microcredit Summit Campaign

Panelists: Susy Cheston, Executive Vice President, Opportunity International
Chris Dunford, President, Freedom from Hunger
John Hatch, Founder, FINCA International

Meeting Our Commitments to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
This session will review current initiatives aimed at promoting progress on the MDGs and identify what developed countries, in particular the United States, can do to advance these goals. What progress have we made in honoring the Monterrey commitments and the Millennium Declaration? What are the necessary conditions that will enable progress towards the goals?

Moderator: Margaret Zeigler, Deputy Director, Congressional Hunger Center

Panelists: Nancy Birdsall, President, Center for Global Development
Patrick Cronin, Assistant Administrator, USAID
Jeffrey Sachs, Earth Institute Director and Professor, Columbia University; and Special Advisor to UN Secretary General

Global Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Initiatives Across Borders and Sectors
This session will examine the status and effectiveness of several international information and communication technologies (ICT) initiatives within the context of commitments made by the G-8 through the Global Digital Opportunities Task Force. The UN ICT Task Force, USAID's DOT-COM Alliance, and the Global Digital Opportunities Initiative of the Markle Foundation and UNDP will be among the initiatives highlighted in this session. How have these initiatives impacted the work of development and relief NGOs?

Moderator: Roslyn Docktor, Vice President, McConnell International

Panelists: Richard Fuchs, Director, ICT for Development,International Development Research Centre
Michael Litz, Director, OneWorld US
Tony Meyer, Director, DOT-COM Alliance, EGAT/EIT/IT, USAID
Fred Tipson, Executive Director, Global Digital Opportunity Iniative

Commitments to Protecting the Displaced: Increasing Stakeholders, Enhancing Accountability
As conflicts across the globe ensue and humanitarian emergencies become ever more complex, the need to reexamine traditional roles and lines of responsibility in protecting those displaced by crises becomes crucial. How can we as a community better address these challenges and bridge the gap between policies and guidelines and the ways in which we do our work? In this session, our speakers will look at recent inter-agency efforts to collaborate around protection; the capacity for NGOs to deliver protection; and the efforts of states, donors and their partners to mainstream rights and protection into all stages and sectors of operations-- from program planning and design, to implementation and delivery of services.

Moderator: Monette Zard, Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute

Panelists: George Biddle, Senior Vice-President, International Rescue Committee
Mark Bowden, Chief of Policy Development & Studies, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; and co-chair, Inter-Agency Standing Committee Task Force on the Prevention from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation in Humanitarian Crises
Arthur E. "Gene" Dewey, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, U.S. Department of State
Ngonlardje K. Mbaidjol, Deputy Director, Department of International Protection, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. InterAction General Membership Meeting

Information and Communication Technologies Bazaar / Demo Room
The ICT Bazaar is a first-time opportunity for InterAction members and partners to showcase their technology tools and initiatives. NetHope, the PACT Impact Alliance, WRI Digital Dividends, the DOT-COM Alliance, American Red Cross/Satellife, InterAction HPPC, ESRI, the Benetech-Martus Human Rights Bulletin System, the Development Gateway, Development Space, HumaniNet and OneWorld will exhibit their wares at this inaugural event.

12:45 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Plenary and Luncheon

Mildred Robbins Leet Award for the Advancement of Women

Presented by: Sarah Newhall, President and CEO, Pact; and Co-Chair, Commission on the Advancement of Women, InterAction

InterAction established this award in 1995 to recognize member agencies that have worked toward greater gender equity in programs and management. Past winners include the Academy for Educational Development, Accion International, American Friends Service Committee, American Jewish World Service, CEDPA, Center of Concern, Childreach, Heifer Project International, Lutheran World Relief, Mobility International USA, Opportunity International, Oxfam America, Partners of the Americas, Save the Children, and The Hunger Project. Their accomplishments ranged from gender-balanced representation on their boards and within senior management to the use of gender analysis and the collection of gender disaggregated data in all projects. The ninth annual Leet Award will be presented this year for exemplary organizational leadership and accomplishments in the area of governance and policy.

Patty Stonesifer, Co-chair and President, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

As co-chair and president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Patty Stonesifer leads its efforts to build upon the unprecedented opportunities of the 21st century to improve equity in global health and learning. Ms. Stonesifer has overseen the foundation's commitment of close to $6 billion to provide underserved communities with computers and Internet access; to ensure minority and disadvantaged students have access to a quality education; to improve the lives of vulnerable families in the Northwest; and to share advances in health with developing nations.

Prior to being asked by Bill and Melinda Gates to launch the work of the Gates Learning Foundation in 1997, she held a senior vice president position at Microsoft and ran her own management consulting firm, working with such corporations as DreamWorks SKG. In addition to her responsibilities with the foundation, Ms. Stonesifer is an active community volunteer, donating both significant time and resources to a number of regional nonprofit organizations. Patty serves on the board of regents of the Smithsonian Institution and on the board of directors of Amazon.com, Viacom Inc. and the Vaccine Fund.

2:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

Workshops

Managing the 24-hour News Cycle: How to Make the Global Media Work for You
We have all been there: your boss tells you at 5:30 p.m. on a Friday to "get some press" for a project that was unveiled that afternoon, unbeknownst to you. Do you go home anyway and tell your boss Monday morning that you could not find any takers? Or do you stay up all night hounding American reporters hoping they will be able to get a "brief" into the newspaper or broadcast? There is a better way. This panel, which will include a government spokesman, a member of the 24-hour media, and a public relations specialist, will provide some insight into how the endless news hole-both virtual and real-can work in your favor.

Moderator: Sid Balman, Director of Communications, InterAction

Panelist: Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent, Reuters
Michael McCurry, White House spokesman for President Bill Clinton; State Department spokesman for Secretary of State Warren Christopher
Laird Anderson, Professor Emeritus, School of Communications, American University

Building Strong Relationships, Online: Internet Tools to Put the Media and Others to Work for You
Forum One Communications and DDB Bass & Howe will discuss how to use Internet services to build strong relationships with your key audiences - so that you can reach them when you need them!

We'll discuss Internet strategies and technologies that will give you the necessary platform to reach and target key audiences in ways that are valuable for them - and that serve your goals. We bring experience working with a range of NGOs in reaching and influencing the media, the domestic political community, international policy groups, government staff, donors, etc. We'll talk about:
- Know them: How to learn what your audiences need and how to take a "user-centric" approach
- Find them: Online marketing tactics to find/reach your stakeholders
- Serve them: Delivering high value services to your key audiences
- Watch them: Creative ways to track impact and use it in management-level decision making

We'll discuss some strategies and technologies and show real world examples of how organizations are pushing news, resources, and campaigns to key audiences to create meaningful impact. We will also cover effective ways to mesh online and offline campaigns and programs.

Panelists:
Chris Wolz, President & CEO, Forum One Communications
Suzanne Rainey, Managing Director, Forum One Communications
Candy Cox, Managing Partner, Issues and Advocacy, DDB Bass & Howes

Organizational Capacity Building and Improved Development Outcomes
To what extent do various organizational capacity-building efforts actually affect impact in the field? Learn about ways in which organizations are assessing this connection, the evidence that is emerging, and critical issues yet to be addressed.

Moderator: Wilbert Tengey, Chief Executive Officer, Gender Development Institute

Panelists: Evan Bloom, Vice President, Capacity Building Services Group, Pact
Carolyn M. Jefferson, Regional Organizational Development Advisor, USAID
Milton Obote Joshua, Feldman Engaged Scholar-Adjunct Lecturer, Brandies University
Najma Siddiqi, Senior Social Development Specialist, World Bank

Meeting Our Commitment to Development through Rights-Based Approaches (RBA)
A rights-based approach is founded on the conviction that "each and every human being, by the virtue of being human, is a holder of rights." In recent years, interest in meshing civic and political rights with economic, social, and cultural rights has intensified among many donors and development practitioners, with the result being the adoption of a rights- based development framework. This session will discuss the rights-based theory and trace the experiences of a PVO and other actors that have tried to operationalize RBA.

Moderator: Cherri Waters, Vice President, Lutheran World Relief

Panelists: Peter Bell, President and CEO, CARE
Elizabeth Gibbons, Chief of the Global Policy Section, Division of Policy and Planning, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Alfredo Sfeir-Younis, Senior Advisor, The World Bank

Introduction to NetHope & InterAction ICT Working Group Meeting

Moderator: Julie Fossler, ICT Working Group Manager, InterAction

Presentor: Dipak Basu, NetHope Manger, Cisco

NetHope is a collaborative organization formed by several InterAction members with significant interest in the deployment of information technology in support of their mission objectives. NetHope's objective is to enable and to facilitate communications infrastructure in developing countries where the participating non-profit organizations operate their respective programs and projects. Supported by Cisco Systems, NetHope's membership is open to any InterAction member organization. Dipak Basu from Cisco Systems will present the history and vision of the initiative as well as lessons learned during the pilot phase.

The InterAction Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiative stemmed from member interest in sharing information on ICTs in development and relief efforts. As we enter the next phase of this initiative, we have expanded the goals, the breadth and the scope of the initiative to reflect the potential impact of ICTs on all aspects of our work. The long-term aim of this initiative is to contribute to the effectiveness of InterAction members' use of ICTs as tools to increase their impact in relief and development efforts both internally and in service delivery for beneficiaries overseas. How are we doing so far? We'll briefly discuss the results of the member ICT survey as well as future projects planned for the initiative. We'll also speak on how members can take a more active role in this initiative to enhance its effectiveness.

5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Plenary Discussion

Hilde Frafjord Johnson, Minister of International Development, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hilde Frafjord Johnson is the Minister of International Development of Norway and a member of the Norwegian Cabinet. A Norwegian national born in Tanzania, Ms. Johnson was a member of parliament from 1989 to 2001. She has been a political advisor to two Christian Democratic Party parliamentary leaders and to a Minister of Foreign Affairs. She was also Executive Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of Resources, Environment and Development. In 1999, Ms. Johnson initiated the "Utstein 4," a group consisting of likeminded development ministers from the U.K., Netherlands, Germany and Norway as well as Governors of the World Bank. As a member of the Standing Committee on Energy and Environment in the Norwegian Parliament from 1993 to 1997 and 2000 to 2001, Ms Johnson worked with a variety of environmental issues including petroleum policy.

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Wednesday

8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast with Exhibitors

8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open

8:30 a.m. -10:30 a.m.

Workshops

Opening Doors and Opening Minds: A Workshop on Effective Advocacy
This workshop will discuss the process of grassroots mobilization and its important role in advocacy campaigns. Effective grassroots mobilization strategies will be discussed in the context of the recent ANWR campaign and the viewpoints of both organizers and field activists will be shared. In addition, participants will learn how these efforts are received in congressional offices and the impact of vocal constituents on the Hill. The workshop will also discuss how effective mobilization can also be used to amplify humanitarian relief and development campaigns. The panel will be composed of participants in both the Congressional advocacy and grassroots mobilization efforts. A congressional staff perspective will address the impact of the campaign on Members of Congress.

Moderator:

Panelists: Michael Daulton, Assistant Director of Government Relations, Audubon
Erik Dumont, National Field Director, Alaska Wilderness League
Staff Member from Congressional Office
District Congressional Staff

Evaluating Our Work Against the Millennium Development Goals and other Commitments
This session will explore how PVOs and other organizations can measure their progress towards meeting the MDGs and examine new tools for monitoring and evaluation.

Moderator: Constance McCorkle, Senior Technical Advisor for Monitoring and Evaluation, Catholic Relief Services

Panelists: Dan Blumhagen, Program Officer, USAID Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination
Marianna Mendoza Coelha, Consultant
Jaisankar Sarma, Director of Development Resources, World Vision International
David Roodman, Research Associate, Center for Global Development
Marina Ponti, Deputy Director for CSO Outreach, Millennium Development Goals Campaign, UNDP

The Pitfalls, Promise and Replication of NGO-Business Engagement for Development Sustainability and Effectiveness

Moderator: Holly Wise, Director, Global Development Alliance, USAID

Panelists: Ludwick Hayden, ChevronTexaco
Kevin Lowther, Regional Director, Southern Africa, Africare (Invited)
Carolyn McCommon, Rio Tinto
Jane Nelson, Director of Program, International Business Leadership Program
A. Rani Parker, Consultant

There is more than one way to address any problem. Decades of development assistance demonstrate that sustainability and effectiveness are predicated on a myriad of factors, not least among them are equity, accountability and multi-sectoral partnerships. While perhaps motivated by different agendas, the private for-profit sector operating in many developing countries and the NGOs that are also working there share a common view that their program objectives are better realized when the citizens of those countries are lifted out of poverty, given proper skills and education and enjoy good health. These are among the many shared goals that have and should continue to drive the narrowing of the historic gap between the for-profit and non-profit communities. This session will be built upon these shared goals and demonstrate through two specific case studies presented by both NGO and business partners, how these relationships have progressed beyond philanthropy to real program collaboration that has led to greater development effectiveness on behalf of the beneficiaries we all claim to serve.

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Closing Plenary

Andrew S. Natsios, Administrator, USAID

Andrew S. Natsios' appointment as Administrator, USAID, in April 2001 follows a career of public service and commitment to humanitarian causes. Mr. Natsios served as a Fellow at the U.S. Institute for Peace; Vice President of World Vision; Assistant Administrator, Bureau of Food and Humanitarian Assistance; and Director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance for USAID. He has also served as a State Representative for the Massachusetts House of Representatives as well as the Chief Financial and Administrative Office for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Prior to his appointment to USAID he was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Congressional Awards Luncheon
At this session key supporters in Congress will be recognized for their contributions to policy and funding for international relief and development.

Guest Speaker: Ambassador Tony Hall
Ambassador Hall serves as the chief of the U.S. Mission to the U.N. Agencies in Rome - the World Food Program (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Ambassador Hall is responsible for “putting into action America’s commitment to alleviate hunger and build hope in the world.” He is a former Member of Congress and was the founder and Chairman for the Congressional Hunger Center.

InterAction Congressional Service Award

Recipient: The Honorable Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
Chuck Hagel is the Senior Senator from Nebraska and sits on three committees: Foreign Relations; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; and the Select Committee on Intelligence. Hagel is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion Subcommittee and the Senate Banking International Trade and Finance Subcommittee. Hagel also serves as the Co-chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Senator Hagel is being honored this year for his commitment and support for the people of Afghanistan in their efforts to rebuild their nation and restore peace and stability and for his leadership on Iraq and on the Millennium Challenge Account.

Recipient: The Honorable Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Senator Richard Durbin is a 2nd-term Senator from Illinois serving on the Appropriations, Judiciary, Governmental Affairs, Rules and the Select Committee on Intelligence. Prior to becoming a Senator, Durbin served the 20th District of Illinois in the House of Represen- tatives. In 2000, Senator Durbin served as Co-chairman of the Democratic Platform Committee and also was Co-chairman of the Atlantic Conference, sponsored by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. InterAction members are honoring Senator Durbin for his leadership and commitment to combating HIV/AIDS worldwide, for his efforts to promote international women’s and development issues, specifically girls’ education, and for his support of international food aid programs and microenterprise programs.

3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Capitol Hill Visits
InterAction members will separate into small groups to meet with members of Congress and key staff and reconvene afterward to share the results of their visits.