Today, Ambassador Bass invited representatives of Georgian civil society and the NGO community to participate in the launch of a world-wide "Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society" initiated by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Ambassador and participants will join the Secretary and civil society leaders from more than 20 countries via an interactive, internet webcast. The public can view the dialogue via an English language stream on Facebook starting at 19:00 by using the following link: http://bit.ly/CONXlive.
The Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society underscores the USG commitment to protect and defend civil society around the world and will serve as a forum for cooperation on issues of common interest. During the launch event in Washington D.C., Secretary Clinton will introduce via webcast the chairs of the three initial working groups: Governance and Accountability, chaired by Under Secretary Robert Hormats, Democracy and Human Rights, chaired by Assistant Secretary Michael Posner, and Empowering Women and Girls, Chaired by Ambassador Melanne Verneer. The dialogue is planned to run for 18 months.