As President Clinton said in his first inaugural address, “Our greatest strength is the power of our ideas.” By bringing together a select group of the world’s most innovative and accomplished leaders for a series of workshops September 15-17, 2005, in New York City, the Clinton Global Initiative provided discussion and debate on four of our most pressing global challenges:

• The Escape from Poverty: Forging a New Deal Between the Developed and Developing World
• Religion, Conflict and Reconciliation
• Climate Change: Business Opportunity, Business Challenge
• Governance, Enterprise and Investment

Guided by expert panelists, each workshop focused on what worked successfully in the past and how these proven strategies can be adapted for post-conference action. The goal was to identify and apply practical, non-partisan responses to the issues addressed in each workshop, and to encourage and assist all participants in undertaking specific follow-up actions in at least one of the topic areas.