Partners for a New Beginning
Encyclopedia
In his "A New Beginning
" speech on June 4, 2009, at Cairo University
in Cairo
, Egypt
, President of the United States Barack Obama
stated that "I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles -- principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings." During the speech, he also committed to "host a Summit on Entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world."
To support the President's "New Beginning" goals, United States Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton launched Partners for a New Beginning along with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
, Walter Isaacson
(President of The Aspen Institute), and Muhtar Kent
(Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company
) on April 27, 2010.
on April 27, 2010, the U.S. Department of State entered into a partnership with Partners for a New Beginning (PNB) - a group of eminent Americans
from a variety of sectors who will reach out systematically to private sector entities at the highest level to harness private sector resources and capabilities to advance New Beginning programs and goals. This partnership was officially announced during Secretary Clinton's remarks at the close of the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship.
The four main areas of focus for PNB include:
As Secretary Clinton explained at the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, "For example, they might reach out to companies to provide equipment and technology for the Scientific Centers of Excellence overseas, or help launch internships and mentoring programs for emerging business leaders, or encourage angel investors in this country to partner with angel investors abroad. Through collaborations like these, Partners for a New Beginning will deepen ties between our people and institutions, and give more Americans the chance to contribute to this common endeavor."
In December 2010 at the U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference in Algiers, Algeria, the U.S. Department of State announced the launch of the U.S.-North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity (NAPEO).
PNB-NAPEO will focus on: 1) promoting intra-regional cooperation among entrepreneurs in the Maghreb and 2) developing stronger people-to-people relationships between the United States and the Maghreb. In this framework, the public and private sectors in the U.S. and the Maghreb will work in cooperation to identify and implement specific projects and programs in the areas of entrepreneurship, education & research, science & technology and arts & culture.
The Partnership will focus on five major initiatives:
Each of these initiatives will work with regional partners to develop economic opportunity and entrepreneurship in the region both online and offline through mentorship programs and training academies that focus on areas of education, technology, and the arts.
In a December 2, 2010 press release, The Aspen Institute announced its NAPEO partners who include:
Intel Corporation, Education for Employment, Center for Research Development Foundation, The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship, Creative Leaps International, the Algeria Start-Up Initiative, and the South Mediterranean University School of Management in Tunisia.
Partners for a New Beginning (PNB) commits to broaden and deepen engagement between the U.S. and international Muslim communities by building public-private partnerships that advance economic opportunity, science and technology, education, and exchange. Over the next five years, these partnerships will increase access to financing, business capacity and development services, improve educational opportunities for students and teachers, foster physical and virtual exchange programs, and enhance science and technology solutions that will positively impact up to 500,000 people across PNB targeted countries.
Video from the Clinton Global Initiative Commitment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqlfb9QsD98
PNB is chaired by Madeleine K. Albright, Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, and she is joined by PNB Vice Chairs Muhtar Kent
, Chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company
, and Walter Isaacson
, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute. The PNB Steering Committee Members are as follows:
Members at large include:
She explained that "This is a high priority for both the President and myself. We really believe that person-to-person diplomacy in today’s world is as important as what we do in official meetings in national capitals across the globe. It can’t be achieved, though, just by our government asserting it. It can only be achieved by the kind of public-private partnerships that the United States is uniquely known for and which we are unveiling today: people and groups working across sectors, industries; working together with persistence and creativity to fulfill that promise of a new beginning and translate it into positive benefits.
So this partnership is a high priority for us and it’s one that I will be personally committed to as I announce it later this afternoon at the Entrepreneurship Summit. We really are committed to unleashing the potential, the individual and collective potential, of people around the world and particularly in Muslim-majority countries."
One year later, Secretary Clinton hosted a dinner for the PNB Steering Committee and Local Chapters. At this event, Secretary Clinton stated that "I believed in this vision and it has developed into something that is now ready to just take off. This entire effort is moving in the direction we need: partnership, not patronage. Rather than work on the premise of 'what we would do to someone,' we're pursuing an approach of 'what we would do with someone.' We are reorienting our thinking and PNB is really such an impressive example of just that."
discussed the importance of public-private partnerships in foreign policy: "I think that what was said by President Obama in Cairo bears highlighting. And he said the principles of justice and progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings as a central to a new beginning – a central point. And I think he recognized the need for a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another, and to seek common ground. And the partnership really does build on these pillars to advance the President’s vision by focusing on these elements of economic opportunity and entrepreneurship, innovation in science and technology, education, and people-to-people exchanges. And taken together, these projects can go much further to strengthening the bonds between the United States and the citizens of Muslim-majority nations, and to do so based on a philosophy – and I think we should keep repeating these words – mutual understanding, mutual interests, and mutual respect.
Now, I did learn – it’s always terrifying to people to know that you actually learned something while you’re Secretary of State – is that the real importance about public-private partnerships and the great difference that can be made when businesses get involved with nongovernmental organizations and the government in order to really propel issues forward. And I think it’s that combination, Hillary, that I think is going to make this so important. I think that it is an effective way to move forward and I do think that these kinds of partnerships will be a way to really begin anew. So here I am with a new beginning, Madam Secretary. Thank you again for asking me to do something on behalf of the United States of America. There is no greater honor."
shared this story about Benjamin Franklin
: "If you go outside, you see the two greatest portraits of him, the Siffred Duplessis portrait right by the elevators that’s on the $100 bill, but also the David Martin portrait in the Franklin Room, which was his own favorite with Newton looking down on him. He was the one who first did all this. He knew that small businesses and voluntary associations would be the backbone of what made this country strong but also gave it a link around the world.
And not only did he start all sorts of associations and public-private partnerships, he launched the first public-private partnership in America, which was a hospital in Philadelphia, in which half the money was to come from subscriptions and lottery and the other half was to come from the Pennsylvania Assembly, which it did. And still inscribed on the door is his motto for it, which is, 'To pour forth benefits for the common good is divine.'
During his lifetime, he donated to the building fund of each and every church built in Philadelphia, and at one point, they were building a new hall for visiting preachers, and he wrote the fundraising document that said even if the Mufti of Constantinople were to send somebody here to teach us Islam and preach about Mohammed, we should offer them a pulpit and listen, for we might learn. And then on his deathbed, he was the largest individual contributor to the Mikveh Israel Synagogue, the first synagogue built in Philadelphia. So when he died, instead of his minister accompanying him to the grave, all 35 ministers, priests, and preachers along linked on to the rabbi of the Jews and marched with him to the grave.
That’s what we’re fighting for in this world today. That’s what you represent, Secretary Clinton, and that’s what we hope – to be foot soldiers in your crusade. Thank you so very much."
CEO Muhtar Kent
, which focused on the private sector perspective on the New Beginning effort: "Across the Arab world alone, our bottling partners operate 58 plants, employ 40,000 people, providing livelihoods for 500,000 families, and have invested more than a billion dollars in the last few years. We’re the third largest employer, the fifth largest investor in the Palestine Authority area, employing 350 Palestinians and providing livelihoods for 5,000 families. Over the next 10 years, job creation and the growth of a middle class will be among the most powerful and defining global developments. Women in particular will be a driving force of the economic empowerment in the developing world. Global corporations have an important role to play in small business development and in helping to create sustainable communities where they operate.
To do business successfully in a multicultural environment, you need to demonstrate respect, flexibility, sensitivity, open-mindedness, and a genuine interest in understanding the differences between people. That is why we are honored to stand here today and lend our support to this important initiative. We look forward to playing our part to foster further private sector engagement between the United States, Muslim communities, and citizens in an inclusive and constructive way."
A New Beginning
"A New Beginning" is the name of a speech delivered by United States President Barack Obama on June 4, 2009, from the Major Reception Hall at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt. Al-Azhar University co-hosted the event...
" speech on June 4, 2009, at Cairo University
Cairo University
Cairo University is a public university located in Giza, Egypt.The university was founded on December 21, 1908, as the result of an effort to establish a national center for educational thought...
in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, President of the United States Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
stated that "I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles -- principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings." During the speech, he also committed to "host a Summit on Entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world."
To support the President's "New Beginning" goals, United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Hillary Clinton launched Partners for a New Beginning along with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
, Walter Isaacson
Walter Isaacson
Walter Isaacson is a writer and biographer. He is the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. He has been the Chairman and CEO of CNN and the Managing Editor of TIME...
(President of The Aspen Institute), and Muhtar Kent
Muhtar Kent
Muhtar Kent is a Turkish business executive. He is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. He was appointed to assume the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Company in 2008.-Early life:...
(Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
) on April 27, 2010.
Background
In an official signing ceremony in conjunction with the Presidential Summit on EntrepreneurshipPresidential Summit on Entrepreneurship
In his "A New Beginning" speech on June 4, 2009, at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt, President of the United States Barack Obama announced that "I will host a Summit on Entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in...
on April 27, 2010, the U.S. Department of State entered into a partnership with Partners for a New Beginning (PNB) - a group of eminent Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from a variety of sectors who will reach out systematically to private sector entities at the highest level to harness private sector resources and capabilities to advance New Beginning programs and goals. This partnership was officially announced during Secretary Clinton's remarks at the close of the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship.
The four main areas of focus for PNB include:
- Economic opportunity: advancing entrepreneurship, business support services, and increasing access to capital;
- Science and technology: supporting local labs, universities, and other institutions that advance innovation;
- Education: advancing access to educational tools and building human capacity to equip people for employment opportunities;
- Exchange: advancing human connectedness, understanding, and people-to-people ties.
As Secretary Clinton explained at the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, "For example, they might reach out to companies to provide equipment and technology for the Scientific Centers of Excellence overseas, or help launch internships and mentoring programs for emerging business leaders, or encourage angel investors in this country to partner with angel investors abroad. Through collaborations like these, Partners for a New Beginning will deepen ties between our people and institutions, and give more Americans the chance to contribute to this common endeavor."
In December 2010 at the U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference in Algiers, Algeria, the U.S. Department of State announced the launch of the U.S.-North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity (NAPEO).
PNB-NAPEO will focus on: 1) promoting intra-regional cooperation among entrepreneurs in the Maghreb and 2) developing stronger people-to-people relationships between the United States and the Maghreb. In this framework, the public and private sectors in the U.S. and the Maghreb will work in cooperation to identify and implement specific projects and programs in the areas of entrepreneurship, education & research, science & technology and arts & culture.
The Partnership will focus on five major initiatives:
- The Young Business Leaders and Associations Network
- The Leadership and Training Academy
- The Innovation and Technology Incubator
- The Creative Industries Incubator
- The Center for Entrepreneurship Excellence
Each of these initiatives will work with regional partners to develop economic opportunity and entrepreneurship in the region both online and offline through mentorship programs and training academies that focus on areas of education, technology, and the arts.
In a December 2, 2010 press release, The Aspen Institute announced its NAPEO partners who include:
Intel Corporation, Education for Employment, Center for Research Development Foundation, The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship, Creative Leaps International, the Algeria Start-Up Initiative, and the South Mediterranean University School of Management in Tunisia.
Steering Committee Members
On the morning of Wednesday, September 22, 2010, PNB inaugurated the full PNB Steering Committee and announced the following commitment:Partners for a New Beginning (PNB) commits to broaden and deepen engagement between the U.S. and international Muslim communities by building public-private partnerships that advance economic opportunity, science and technology, education, and exchange. Over the next five years, these partnerships will increase access to financing, business capacity and development services, improve educational opportunities for students and teachers, foster physical and virtual exchange programs, and enhance science and technology solutions that will positively impact up to 500,000 people across PNB targeted countries.
Video from the Clinton Global Initiative Commitment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqlfb9QsD98
PNB is chaired by Madeleine K. Albright, Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, and she is joined by PNB Vice Chairs Muhtar Kent
Muhtar Kent
Muhtar Kent is a Turkish business executive. He is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. He was appointed to assume the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Company in 2008.-Early life:...
, Chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
, and Walter Isaacson
Walter Isaacson
Walter Isaacson is a writer and biographer. He is the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. He has been the Chairman and CEO of CNN and the Managing Editor of TIME...
, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute. The PNB Steering Committee Members are as follows:
- Tarek Abdel-Meguid, Founding Partner, Parella Weinberg Partners
- Cathleen Black, President, Hearst Magazines
- Jean CaseJean CaseJean N. Case is CEO of the Case Foundation, which she and her husband, AOL co-founder Steve Case, created in 1997. In June 2006 she was appointed by President Bush to chair the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation....
, Chief Executive Officer, The Case Foundation - John ChambersJohn ChambersJohn Chambers may refer to:* John Chambers , British landscape, seascape and portrait painter* John Chambers , last Abbot of Peterborough Abbey and, after the Dissolution, the first Bishop of Peterborough* John B...
, Chairman and CEO, Cisco Systems, Inc. - Kenneth Cohen, Chairman, ExxonMobil Foundation; Vice President of Public Affairs, Exxon Mobil Corporation
- Helene Gayle, President and CEO, CARE USA
- Stephen Heintz, President, Rockefeller Brothers FundRockefeller Brothers FundThe Rockefeller Brothers Fund , , is an international philanthropic organisation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was set up in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle of the five famous Rockefeller brothers: John D...
- Andrew Liveris, President, Chairman, and CEO, Dow Chemical CompanyDow Chemical CompanyThe Dow Chemical Company is a multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. As of 2007, it is the second largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization .Dow...
- John MackJohn J. MackJohn J. Mack is the current Chairman of the Board at Morgan Stanley, the New York-based investment bank and brokerage firm. Mack announced his retirement as Chief Executive Officer on September 10, 2009, which was effective January 1, 2010. Former Co-President James P...
, Chairman, Morgan StanleyMorgan StanleyMorgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000.... - Paul OtelliniPaul OtelliniPaul S. Otellini is an American businessman current president and chief executive of Intel. He is also on the board of directors of Google.- Early life and Education :...
, President and CEO, Intel CorporationIntel CorporationIntel Corporation is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most... - Eboo PatelEboo PatelEboo Patel is a member of President Barack Obama's inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships. He is an American Muslim of Gujarati Indian heritage and founder and president of the ,...
, Founder and Executive Director, Interfaith Youth CoreInterfaith Youth CoreInterfaith Youth Core is a Chicago-based non-profit founded in 2002 by Eboo Patel. The organization’s stated mission is to make interfaith cooperation a social norm. Today it operates with approximately 30 full-time staff and a $4 million budget... - Ruth Simmons, President, Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
Members at Large
On Tuesday, May 31 2011, the Aspen Institute announced the following Members at Large - organizations committed to working with other partners and PNB Local Chapters to carry out targeted and set revenue-generating and/or philanthropic commitments for the benefit of Muslim communities in PNB targeted countries.Members at large include:
- The Arab American Institute
- Bamyan Media
- Craig NewmarkCraig NewmarkCraig Alexander Newmark is an Internet entrepreneur best known for being the founder of the San Francisco-based international website Craigslist.-Biography:...
- IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
- International Youth Foundation and The MasterCard Foundation
- New York Academy of SciencesNew York Academy of SciencesThe New York Academy of Sciences is the third oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, non-profit organization with more than members in 140 countries, the Academy’s mission is to advance understanding of science and technology...
- PeacePlayers International
- Sawari Ventures
- Souktel
- SREN
- Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding
- Tomorrow’s Youth Organization
- Tony Blair Faith FoundationTony Blair Faith FoundationThe Tony Blair Faith Foundation was established by Tony Blair in May 2008.-The Foundation:The Foundation was launched in May 2008 in New York at the headquarters of media group Time Warner. In his speech Blair outlined its aim that "idealism becomes the new realism", and that one of its goals was...
- Turkish Philanthropy Funds
- University of the PeopleUniversity of the peopleUniversity of the People is a non-profit, tuition-free, unaccredited online academic institution headquartered in Pasadena, California and founded by entrepreneur Shai Reshef in January 2009....
- WillowTree Impact Investors
- World Cocoa Foundation
- World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists
Remarks by President Obama
During his visit to Jakarta, Indonesia, on November 9, 2010, President Obama stated that "Many of the partnerships I’ve mentioned are a direct result of my call in Cairo for a new beginning between the United States and Muslim communities around the world. And it involves the private sector as well, thanks to efforts like Partners for a New Beginning, which is forging partnerships around science, education and entrepreneurship."Remarks by Secretary Clinton
During her opening remarks at the PNB announcement, Secretary Clinton stated that "I think that this is one of those occasions in the diplomatic history of our country that we will look back on and say that that made a difference."She explained that "This is a high priority for both the President and myself. We really believe that person-to-person diplomacy in today’s world is as important as what we do in official meetings in national capitals across the globe. It can’t be achieved, though, just by our government asserting it. It can only be achieved by the kind of public-private partnerships that the United States is uniquely known for and which we are unveiling today: people and groups working across sectors, industries; working together with persistence and creativity to fulfill that promise of a new beginning and translate it into positive benefits.
So this partnership is a high priority for us and it’s one that I will be personally committed to as I announce it later this afternoon at the Entrepreneurship Summit. We really are committed to unleashing the potential, the individual and collective potential, of people around the world and particularly in Muslim-majority countries."
One year later, Secretary Clinton hosted a dinner for the PNB Steering Committee and Local Chapters. At this event, Secretary Clinton stated that "I believed in this vision and it has developed into something that is now ready to just take off. This entire effort is moving in the direction we need: partnership, not patronage. Rather than work on the premise of 'what we would do to someone,' we're pursuing an approach of 'what we would do with someone.' We are reorienting our thinking and PNB is really such an impressive example of just that."
Remarks by Secretary Albright
In her speech at the ceremony, former Secretary of State Madeleine AlbrightMadeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
discussed the importance of public-private partnerships in foreign policy: "I think that what was said by President Obama in Cairo bears highlighting. And he said the principles of justice and progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings as a central to a new beginning – a central point. And I think he recognized the need for a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another, and to seek common ground. And the partnership really does build on these pillars to advance the President’s vision by focusing on these elements of economic opportunity and entrepreneurship, innovation in science and technology, education, and people-to-people exchanges. And taken together, these projects can go much further to strengthening the bonds between the United States and the citizens of Muslim-majority nations, and to do so based on a philosophy – and I think we should keep repeating these words – mutual understanding, mutual interests, and mutual respect.
Now, I did learn – it’s always terrifying to people to know that you actually learned something while you’re Secretary of State – is that the real importance about public-private partnerships and the great difference that can be made when businesses get involved with nongovernmental organizations and the government in order to really propel issues forward. And I think it’s that combination, Hillary, that I think is going to make this so important. I think that it is an effective way to move forward and I do think that these kinds of partnerships will be a way to really begin anew. So here I am with a new beginning, Madam Secretary. Thank you again for asking me to do something on behalf of the United States of America. There is no greater honor."
Remarks by Walter Isaacson
In his remarks to commemorate the occasion, Walter IsaacsonWalter Isaacson
Walter Isaacson is a writer and biographer. He is the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. He has been the Chairman and CEO of CNN and the Managing Editor of TIME...
shared this story about Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
: "If you go outside, you see the two greatest portraits of him, the Siffred Duplessis portrait right by the elevators that’s on the $100 bill, but also the David Martin portrait in the Franklin Room, which was his own favorite with Newton looking down on him. He was the one who first did all this. He knew that small businesses and voluntary associations would be the backbone of what made this country strong but also gave it a link around the world.
And not only did he start all sorts of associations and public-private partnerships, he launched the first public-private partnership in America, which was a hospital in Philadelphia, in which half the money was to come from subscriptions and lottery and the other half was to come from the Pennsylvania Assembly, which it did. And still inscribed on the door is his motto for it, which is, 'To pour forth benefits for the common good is divine.'
During his lifetime, he donated to the building fund of each and every church built in Philadelphia, and at one point, they were building a new hall for visiting preachers, and he wrote the fundraising document that said even if the Mufti of Constantinople were to send somebody here to teach us Islam and preach about Mohammed, we should offer them a pulpit and listen, for we might learn. And then on his deathbed, he was the largest individual contributor to the Mikveh Israel Synagogue, the first synagogue built in Philadelphia. So when he died, instead of his minister accompanying him to the grave, all 35 ministers, priests, and preachers along linked on to the rabbi of the Jews and marched with him to the grave.
That’s what we’re fighting for in this world today. That’s what you represent, Secretary Clinton, and that’s what we hope – to be foot soldiers in your crusade. Thank you so very much."
Remarks by Barclay Resler on behalf of Muhtar Kent
At the ceremony, Barclay Resler read a statement by Coca-ColaCoca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
CEO Muhtar Kent
Muhtar Kent
Muhtar Kent is a Turkish business executive. He is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. He was appointed to assume the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Company in 2008.-Early life:...
, which focused on the private sector perspective on the New Beginning effort: "Across the Arab world alone, our bottling partners operate 58 plants, employ 40,000 people, providing livelihoods for 500,000 families, and have invested more than a billion dollars in the last few years. We’re the third largest employer, the fifth largest investor in the Palestine Authority area, employing 350 Palestinians and providing livelihoods for 5,000 families. Over the next 10 years, job creation and the growth of a middle class will be among the most powerful and defining global developments. Women in particular will be a driving force of the economic empowerment in the developing world. Global corporations have an important role to play in small business development and in helping to create sustainable communities where they operate.
To do business successfully in a multicultural environment, you need to demonstrate respect, flexibility, sensitivity, open-mindedness, and a genuine interest in understanding the differences between people. That is why we are honored to stand here today and lend our support to this important initiative. We look forward to playing our part to foster further private sector engagement between the United States, Muslim communities, and citizens in an inclusive and constructive way."
See also
- E-Mentor CorpsE-Mentor CorpsE-Mentor Corps is a project of the US State Department that will allow entrepreneurs seeking advice to access mentors on-line. The E-Mentor Corps will call on business leaders and proven entrepreneurs in the United States and overseas to serve as E-Mentors to aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs...
and ImagineNations GroupImagineNations GroupImagineNations Group is a global alliance of social entrepreneurs, thought leaders, investors, financial institutions, global brands, media and organizations — all working together to empower and inspire a new generation of successful young adults in the developing world with opportunities,... - Global Entrepreneurship ProgramGlobal Entrepreneurship ProgramThe Global Entrepreneurship Program is a new U.S. Government program focused on supporting and empowering entrepreneurs in Muslim communities around the world – and beyond. It will do this by marshalling partners, both U.S. and in-country, as well as multiple U.S...
- Presidential Summit on EntrepreneurshipPresidential Summit on EntrepreneurshipIn his "A New Beginning" speech on June 4, 2009, at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt, President of the United States Barack Obama announced that "I will host a Summit on Entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in...
- Aspen InstituteAspen InstituteThe Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...