GLOBAL CITIZENS IN A TIME OF TURMOIL: NEXT STEPS TO JUSTICE, PEACE & SUSTAINABILITY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 6, 2009

CONTACT:  DIANE HODGES 202-330-4109

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators and Representatives, leaders from a dozen different advocacy organizations, and activists from across the country will gather at the Kellogg Conference Center in Washington D.C. March 19^th-21st for the Annual Meeting of Citizens for Global Solutions.   Titled Global Citizens in a Time of Turmoil: Next Steps to Justice, Accountability and Peace, the meeting will focus on how to return the U.S. to its role as an international leader in justice, peace, and human rights.

The conference will feature a full day of meetings with members of Congress, to discuss policy priorities for 2009.  Senator Jeff Merkeley of Oregon, U.S. Representative Tom Perriello of Virginia and U.S. Representative Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania are just some of the members who will be speaking to the conference participants.

On Friday, there will be a full day of presentations from some of the nation’s most prominent activists.  Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund and author of Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons, and Anne Richard, vice-president of the International Rescue Committee discuss the next steps the U.S. should take towards peace.  In another panel, Morton Halperin of the Open Society Institute and Elisa Massimino, CEO and Executive Director, Human Rights First and Global Citizens CEO Don Kraus will discuss the next steps towards justice, especially in ways to end torture and get the U.S. more involved in the International Criminal Court.  A third panel will feature Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizens’ Energy Program and Jason Patlis, vice-president of the World Wildlife Fund discussing what the U.S. should be doing to stop global warming.

 In addition, there will be insights from leaders such as Eric Schwartz of the Connect US Fund, who played a key role in the U.S. decision to sign the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court, and James Traub from the New York Times Magazine, as well as sessions on how to be a more effective advocate for all these causes.

If you’re interested in attending, call Laura Hendrick at 202-330-4102 or register online at www.globalsolutions.org/annual_meeting_2009.