Bangkok--13 Feb--cipe Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid Public Meeting Thursday, February 28, 2008 Public Meeting: A Forum on Democratic Governance and Economic Growth You are cordially invited to attend the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid’s (ACVFA) public meeting. The meeting is free and open to the public. Thursday, February 28, 2008, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM (end time is approximate) National Press Club Ballroom529 14th Street, NW, 13th Floor, Washington, DC 20045 The closest Metro stop is Metro Center. Parking is available at garages in the area. Meeting Highlights (topics are subject to change and do not necessarily reflect the order of the agenda) Keynote: Henrietta H. Fore, USAID Administrator and Director of United States Foreign Assistance, will speak on the Global Development Commons, including its role as a driver of development and the link between economic growth and democratic governance. She will also provide an update on USAID’s response to the ACVFA working groups’ recommendations. Democratic Governance and Economic Growth: An examination of what has worked successfully in democratic governance and economic growth programs will be discussed in two parts. Particular attention will be paid to those programs that have been or could be successfully replicated in other countries. Cutting Edge Partnerships: Carol Adelman, ACVFA Vice Chair, will lead a discussion with representatives from the corporate, foundation, and end user communities on innovative partnerships that have stimulated economic growth and promoted good democratic governance. Panelists will include Lauren Moser Counts with Shorebank, Corey Griffin with Microsoft Corporation, Donald F. Terry with the Inter-American Development Bank, Jennifer Hodgson with WINGS Global Fund for Community Foundations and a representative from Global Giving. USAID and Partners: Successes and challenges in creating high growth democratic countries with a specific focus on USAID’s contributions will be examined. Possible countries for discussion may include Costa Rica, India, Botswana, Chile, and Estonia. Panelists will include Simeon Djankov with the World Bank, Chad Evans with the Council on Competitiveness, Mary Ott with USAID’s Office of Economic Growth, Mary Ryckman with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and Dorothy Taft with USAID’s Office of Democracy and Governance. Global Knowledge Sharing for Development: Knowledge management tools, including the Global Development Commons, will be discussed as to how they could benefit the variety of actors in democratic governance and economic growth. Representatives from USAID, academia and web portals have been invited to join the panel discussion. Online Registration and Information: Pre-register and join the ACVFA list serve at http://www.usaid.gov/about_usaid/acvfa . Participants will be able to register on site; pre-registration is strongly encouraged. Questions, please contact Jocelyn Rowe at [email protected] or 202-712-4002 or Jenny Chun at [email protected] or 301-897-2789 ext. 115.