MEDIA ADVISORY

International and Faith-Based Leaders to Discuss Building Partnerships to End Extreme Poverty
Messinger Also To Join Panel on Religion and International Development

Washington, DC—Ruth Messinger, president of American Jewish World Service (AJWS), America’s leading Jewish international development and human rights organization, will moderate the “Public Sector Leadership Perspectives” panel featuring World Bank CEO Jim Yong Kim at the Religion & Sustainable Development conference at the World Bank on Wednesday, the first full day of the conference. Messinger will also serve as a panelist on the “Religion & Politics: Development Implications” panel on Thursday.

The only Jewish organization dedicated solely to ending poverty and promoting human rights in the developing world, AJWS works in 19 developing countries worldwide, providing financial support to local grassroots organizations advocating for human rights. Grantees supported by AJWS are fighting some of the gravest health problems facing the world today, such as the spread of HIV/AIDS, the spread of Ebola, the consequences of violence against women and girls, and the negative effects of child marriage on the health of girls, young women, and newborns. AJWS also supports groups of sex workers who are advocating for access to health care and protection from violence and infectious diseases.

The Religion & Sustainable Development conference focuses on finding practical solutions to partnership challenges between the religious and faith communities and the public sector, bringing together key policymakers and academic, religious, and faith-based leaders. The Religion & Sustainable Development conference is co-hosted by the World Bank Group, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), the GHR Foundation in collaboration with the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities (JLIF&LC) and others. For more on the conference, go to http://www.rsdconference2015.org/

Partnerships: Public Sector Leadership panel

WHO:

Moderator:
Ruth Messinger, American Jewish World Service

Panelists:
Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Group
Babatunde Osotimehin, United Nations Population Fund
Thomas Silberhorn, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
Christopher Simoonga, Zambia Ministry of Health (not yet confirmed)
Alex Their, United States Agency for International Development USAID

WHERE: 

World Bank HQ
Preston Auditorium
1818 H St., NW
Washington, DC

WHEN:

Wednesday, July 8, 2015
9:00-10:15 A.M.

Religion & Politics: Development Implications panel

WHO:

Moderator:
Katherine Marshall, World Faiths Development Dialogue

Panelists:
Scott Appleby, Notre Dame University
Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations Population Fund
Susan Hayward, US Institute for Peace
Ruth Messinger, American Jewish World Service
David Saperstein, United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom

WHERE:

World Bank HQ
Preston Auditorium
1818 H St., NW
Washington, DC

WHEN:

Thursday, July 9, 2015
8:45-9:40 A.M.