WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will hold its third annual Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG) Forum at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC June 21-22, 2012.

The two-day event will bring together government officials and international experts in the field of democracy, human rights and governance. The theme of the DRG Forum is Advancing the Dignity Agenda: New Approaches to Protecting Human Rights and Expanding Democratic Participation and will focus on innovative approaches to the promotion of human dignity in the wake of the Arab Spring, atrocity prevention, political participation of women and girls, citizen empowerment, and government empowerment among other issues.

Tawakkol Karman, recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work in Yemen, will give the keynote address. Confirmed panelists include Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer on Public Policy at Harvard University, and many leaders of innovative organizations involved in the promotion of democracy, human rights and good governance. 

The forum agenda and an event  livestream are available at www.usaid.gov/drg.

WHAT: USAID’s Democracy, Governance and Human Rights Forum

WHEN: June 21 - 22, 2012

WHERE: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1779 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20036

*** Interested media must register in advance of the event.  For more information and to register, contact Lisa Hibbert-Simpson LHibbertSimpson@usaid.gov ***