Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Speaks at the Millennium Challenge Corporation Forum on Global Development

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. government's Millennium Challenge Corporation is hosting its second-annual Forum on Global Development with top leaders and practitioners in international development to discuss the critical role of foreign assistance.

Who: 

• Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is expected to discuss the importance of foreign aid and its role in U.S. national security and diplomacy
• Senator Patrick Leahy
• Deputy National Security Advisor Michael Froman

Moderated by Frank Sesno, Director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University and former CNN Washington bureau chief.

When & Where:

• April 29, 2013, 9:00 AM EST – 11:00 AM EST, at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC.

Press must confirm attendance no later than 6:00 PM April 28 to fontainesa@mcc.gov or (202)499-9581. The event will be live-streamed at http://www.mcc.gov/2013-forum.

What:

MCC will honor four award recipients at the Forum. MCC's Corporate Award will recognize Green Mountain Coffee Roasters of Vermont for its commitment to partnering with local NGOs for sustainable community development. The company's projects have focused on diversifying the incomes of coffee roasters, helping advance food security in the communities where it works.

MCC's Country Commitment Award will recognize Sophia Mohapi, CEO of Millennium Challenge Account-Lesotho, for facilitating large-scale partnerships to promote economic growth in Lesotho. Mohapi helped facilitate the Government of Lesotho's commitment to contribute more than $150 million to MCC-funded poverty reduction programs.

D.C. United midfielder Dwayne De Rosario will present MCC's Next Generation Award, recognizing Jessica O. Matthews and Julia Silverman, co-founders of Uncharted Play, for advancing youth leadership and innovation in international development. Uncharted Play's flagship product is the SOCCKET, a soccer ball that stores kinetic energy and provides light for those living off the electrical grid in developing nations.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S. Government agency designed to work with some of the poorest countries in the world, is based on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people that promote economic growth and elimination of extreme poverty.

SOURCE Millennium Challenge Corporation

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