2007-2008

Ashraf Ghani Ashraf Ghani is founder and Chairman of the Institute for State Effectiveness, a new organization set up to rethink the relations between citizens, the state, and the market in our globalizing world. As Afghanistan's Finance Minister he designed the national development strategy and carried out a series of successful reforms that won him Emerging Markets' Best Finance Minister Asia award in 2003. Dr. Ghani advises a number of global networks and reform processes, including the UN Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, IDEA, the Atlantic Council, the American Bar Association's World Justice Project and the European Ideas Network. He served on the faculty of Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, and Kabul University and then spent a decade at the World Bank, leading work on numerous country strategies. He was nominated for UN Secretary General in 2006. He engages frequently with the media on global trends and state-building including in The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The New York Times and with international television and radio.

In honor of an extraordinary career in service to humanity; In recognition of your powerful focus on development and poverty eradication; In admiration for your challenging of conventional wisdom, for your courage in assuming daunting responsibilities and for your inspirational refusal to believe in failure. February 6, 2008 as part of "Global Poverty and Inequality" The 2008 EPIIC Program.

Bill Drayton Bill Drayton is the founder and current chair of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding and fostering social entrepreneurs worldwide. Drayton also chairs the organizations Community Green and Get America Working! Prior to this work, Drayton was a manager and management consultant for McKinsey and Co. and served as the Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Carter administration. He was elected a MacArthur Fellow for his work, including the founding of Ashoka. The American Society of Public Administration and the National Academy of Public Administration jointly awarded him their National Public Service Award.

In recognition of the powerful impact of one of the most distinguished global associations of the world's leading social entrepreneurs—visionaries whose systemic solutions confront the world's most urgent social problems; and in honor of Ashoka's extraordinary founder, Bill Drayton, who brilliantly has advanced the citizen sector by inspiring and empowering "changemakers." February 21, 2008 as part of "Global Poverty and Inequality" The 2008 EPIIC International Symposium

Andrew Revkin A prize-winning journalist and author, Andrew Revkin has spent 20 years covering subjects ranging from murder in the Amazon to the anthrax attacks, from the plight of the working poor to the political clash over global warming. Since 1995, he has been a reporter for The New York Times, mainly covering environmental issues in their social and political context. He was also part of the Times' Pulitzer-winning "Nation Challenged" team and a contributor to the best-selling book drawn from that coverage. His books include Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast and the New York Times Notable Book of the Year The Burning Season.

In recognition of more than twenty years of excellence in reporting and analysis on the global environment, from the depths of the Amazon to the remote areas of the Arctic; for your discerning understanding of the complexities of global climate change; for rendering science exciting, accessible, and "actionable"; for emphasizing the relationship between science and politics, and the consequences for those most threatened and vulnerable. February 22, 2008 as part of "Global Poverty and Inequality" The 2008 EPIIC International Symposium ?

Action Against Hunger The mission of Action Against Hunger is to save lives by eliminating hunger through the prevention, detection, and treatment of malnutrition, especially during and after emergency situations of conflict, war and natural disaster. From crisis to sustainability, Action Against Hunger tackles the underlying causes of malnutrition and its effects by using our expertise in nutrition, food security, water and sanitation, health and advocacy. By integrating these programs with local and national systems Action Against Hunger further ensure that short-term interventions become long-term solutions.

In recognition of Action Contre la Faim's extraordinary efficacy and dedicated commitment to saving lives by attempting to eliminate the scourge of hunger; for its vision of food security as one transcending crisis to sustainability; and critically, for not shrinking from assisting people in dire poverty and need, in the emergency situations of conflict, war and natural disaster. February 22, 2008 as part of "Global Poverty and Inequality" The 2008 EPIIC International Symposium

Accion International Established in 1961, the mission of ACCION International is to give people the tools they need to work their way out of poverty. By providing microloans, business training and other financial services to poor men and women who start their own businesses, ACCION's partner lending organizations help people work their own way up the economic ladder, with dignity and pride. With just a little capital, people can grow their own businesses. They can earn enough to afford basics like running water, better food and schooling for their children. In a world where three billion people live on less than $2 a day, it is not enough to help 1,000 or even 100,000 individuals. ACCION's goal is to bring microfinance to tens of millions of people – enough to truly change the world.

In recognition of ACCION's pioneering international mission to give people the tools they need to work their way out of poverty; for its audacity to think of truly changing the world by developing unique methodologies, technologies and incentives to provide microfinance to tens of millions of people in anti-poverty strategies that promise to be enduring and self-sustaining; and for being, at its core, a project in dignity, nurturing the power and determination of the human spirit. February 22, 2008 as part of "Global Poverty and Inequality" The 2008 EPIIC International Symposium?

J. Brian Atwood Mr. Atwood is dean of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Previously he was an adjunct lecturer at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, the Sol M. Linowitz Professor for International Affairs at Hamilton College, and a founding director and president of Citizens International. In 2001 he served on U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Panel on Peace Operations. From 1993 to 1999, Mr. Atwood was administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, where, during his tenure, he also served as chairman of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. He has served on the staff of former Senator Thomas Eagleton and in key administrative and policy-making posts under several U.S. Presidents, including assistant secretary of state for congressional relations during the Carter administration and under secretary of state for management early in the Clinton administration. He was dean of professional studies at the Foreign Service Institute, and from 1986 to 1993, he served as president of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. Mr. Atwood's career in foreign policy began 30 years ago when he joined the U.S. Foreign Service.

In recognition of your lifetime of stellar leadership and distinguished public service around the globe; in admiration for the extraordinary portfolio of your activities, tackled with integrity and vigor; for your tireless efforts at government reform and more focused development strategies in one of the most distinguished tenures as the Administrator leading the U.S. Agency for International Development; and for your commitment to the nurturing and support of the concept of international public citizenship. February 22, 2008 as part of "Global Poverty and Inequality" The 2008 EPIIC International Symposium

Sunita Narain Sunita Narain has worked for the Centre for Science and Environment since 1982, and currently serves as the director of the Centre as well as the director of the Society for Environmental Communications. During her years at the Centre, she has worked to analyze and study the relationship between the environment and development, while creating public consciousness about the need for sustainable development. Her research interests are wide-ranging – from global democracy, with a special focus on climate change, to the need for local democracy, within which she has worked both on forest-related resource management and water-related issues.

In recognition of your determined interventions for poverty reduction and the eco regeneration of India's rural environment; for your innovative pursuit of water rights as human rights and as integral to sustainable development; and for your formidable role in international civil society, warning about the repercussions of global warming on fragile nations and the poor. February 23, 2008 as part of "Global Poverty and Inequality" The 2008 EPIIC International Symposium

Miremba Kawomera Cooperative Mirembe Kawomera Coffee began with one man's dream. In 2004, JJ Keki, a Ugandan coffee farmer, walked door-to-door asking his Jewish, Christian, and Muslim neighbors to put aside old differences and come together. Their community of third and fourth generation coffee farmers was struggling to make a living off the low prices offered by the local market. With the assistance of Laura Wetzler from the US-based organization Kulanu, these Jewish, Christian and Muslim farmers formed a cooperative to build lasting prosperity in their villages and to spread a message of peace throughout the world. They named their coffee Mirembe Kawomera, which means, "Delicious Peace" in the Luganda language.

In honor of your community's extraordinary commitment to interfaith peace and understanding; your passionate dedication to building relationships; and your belief in the dignity of the individual and the power of community. March 4, 2008

Thanksgiving Coffee Company Founded in 1972 by Joan and Paul Katzeff, Thanksgiving Coffee has long been a pioneer in transforming the coffee business. Their philosophy blends business and politics; their goal is to be a force for change in support of social and economic justice, and environmental sustainability. Thanksgiving Coffee's commitment to total quality imagines trading relationships that empower farmers to produce incredible coffee, and also connects coffee drinkers with the knowledge that they can change the world through their coffee purchases.

In honor of your passionate commitment to the principles of fair trade and to empowering and connecting farmers and consumers; For your determined pursuit of economic and social justice and environmental sustainability; And for believing that all individuals can and should contribute to making the world a better and more peaceful place. March 4, 2008?

Kulanu Kulanu, an organization which reflects the community of interests in individuals of varied backgrounds and religious practices, is dedicated to finding and assisting lost and dispersed remnants of the Jewish people. Kulanu's activities concern these dispersed groups, including research, contacts, education, donation of religious books and articles, facilitation of conversion when requested, and help with relocation to Israel if desired.

In honor of your commitment to and concern for equity and justice and your dedicated humanitarianism; And in recognition of your devotion to reconnecting the Jewish community globally