Issue Sessions

At this year's NCC we will have engaging issue sessions featuring leaders from the international development world. Through these sessions you will be informed, inspired, and connected to the issues which are affecting people all over the globe.
Below you will find a list of the issue session titles; check back soon, more details to come!

1. The New Aid Dynamic: Tackling Global Challenges through Foreign Assistance Reform and Aid Effectiveness

Description:

Today we face complex global challenges - rampant disease, food insecurity, and lack of education that hinder economic growth and crush the hopes for a better life for nearly half the world's population. America's global leadership is more important than ever in addressing these challenges. By modernizing the way we deliver foreign assistance and making it more effective, we can make positive strides towards solving these pressing problems. Join representatives of the U.S. government and colleague organizations in a discussion of how the U.S. government is advancing foreign assistance reform and aid effectiveness.

2. Rebuilding Haiti: Applying Lessons and Blazing Trails

Description:

CARE has decades of experience in responding to myriad types of natural disasters, but the devastation in Haiti is testing the expertise and innovation of even the most seasoned of organizations. Take a look behind the scenes at CARE's impact to date and our role in helping to rebuild a stronger and more self-sufficient Haiti. And, learn how the expertise and support of key corporate partners enabled CARE to deliver immediate relief, and how those support will help drive our innovation as we develop plans to help rebuild the country.

3. Partnerships for Progress: Ending World Hunger

Description:

More than one billion people — one sixth of the world's population — suffer from chronic hunger. For many undernourished populations, lack of access to sufficient food is a persistent, long-term problem that results from enduring social inequities. Women and children comprise the majority of the world's chronically hungry people. It's time to think differently about hunger. In this session we will explore how diverse partners such as the US government, corporations, foundations and non governmental organizations, are coming together to address the underlying causes of hunger and implementing innovative solutions.

4. Innovative Contribution to the World of Microfinance: The Village Savings and Loan Association Story

Description:

This session will explore the innovative contributions to microfinance — the savings-based methodology called Village Savings & Loan Associations and why this approach to microfinance will reach the very bottom of the world's economic ladder. Through the stories of women who have been personally involved in a Village Savings & Loan Associations and other economically empowering programs, we will uncover why microfinance focuses on women, how their lives are changed as a result of financial security and why Africa is on the brink of a microfinance revolution.

5. Global Hunger in a Changing Climate: What's at Stake and How are Poor Women Farmers Adapting

Description:

Food is a basic human right. Yet, today, one billion people worldwide are undernourished. The vast majority of chronically hungry people are women and children. Climate change threatens to worsen this crisis, decreasing agricultural productivity in parts of sub-Saharan Africa up to 50% and pushing as many as 25 million more children into malnourishment. This session will address the impact of climate change on agriculture and water resources and what this means for the poorest and most vulnerable populations.

6. Empowering Women and Girls: Translating Rhetoric into Action

Description:

There is a growing consensus among those who tackle poverty: women and girls endure poverty disproportionately —and they are central to the effort to overcome it. In this session, CARE along with other panelists will present ways in which we can make this happen by offering practical perspective about what empowerment often consists of in country setting, what works best to empower women and girls and how do we translate concepts and policies into practice.

7. Educating Marginalized Girls: CARE's Innovative Approach

Description:

Many of the 72 million children out of primary school worldwide belong to marginalized groups including girls, linguistic and ethnic minorities, child laborers and children living in remote areas. In order to reach the global goal of Education for All, attention must be focused on increasing access to these children. Learn about the work that organizations like CARE are engaged in to overcome these disparities and innovative approaches they employ to increase educational opportunities for marginalized children.

8. A Day in the Life of a Humanitarian Aid Worker

Description:

What is life like for someone who works directly on global poverty issues? This session will highlight the life of CARE staff in different country throughout the world. Aid workers will discuss their daily lives, the projects they are working on, and the struggles they face.

9. Navigating Today's Political Landscape

Description:

This year, 2010, marks the first full year of Obama Administration. This session will review the current Administrations' and 111th Congress' accomplishments and competing priorities. We will focus on upcoming midterm elections (including midterm election predictions!) and the opportunities and challenges that could arise including a change in the leadership and control in Congress. This session will also examine how CARE's policy and advocacy priorities are faring in the current U.S. political landscape.

10. Doing Good in Tough Times presented by Meredith and More Magazine

Description:

''Doing Good in Tough Times'' will explore how even in these challenging economic times, Americans can continue to do their part to fight poverty and make the world a more hopeful place for all. This session is a part of a larger track for Meredith readers – individuals who are committed to engaging others in work to empower marginalized women and girls around the world. Lesley Jane Seymour, Editor in Chief of More Magazine will moderate this panel which will focus on tangible actions people can take to improve the lives of women and girls, keeping in mind that the economic downturn has affected us all.

11. A Call to Action on Maternal Health. Featuring a screening of No Woman No Cry, a film by CARE Ambassador Christy Turlington Burns.

Description:

NO WOMAN, NO CRY, is a film inspired by Christy Turlington Burns' own postpartum complication after the birth of her daughter. Christy Turlington Burns became CARE's Maternal Health Advocate and went back to school to pursue her MPH at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. In her gripping directorial debut, Christy shares the powerful stories of at-risk pregnant women in different parts of the world, including a remote Maasai tribe in Tanzania, a slum of Bangladesh, and a prenatal clinic in the United States. Following the film will be an intimate discussion with Christy Turlington Burns and CARE staff about the film and how we can make pregnancy and delivery safe for all women. For more information, visit: www.nowomannocrythemovie.com.


*Titles subject to change