Next week, USAID is excited to be hosting DRG 2.0: Promoting Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance in 2011, and we’d like you to participate. What is DRG 2.0? Our own David Yang, Director of our Office of Democracy & Governance, says it best.

With the exciting emergence of the Arab Spring, USAID experts in Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance are taking stock of the challenges and opportunities presented by current events.  DRG 1.0 can best describe USAID’s history of efforts in response to the great wave of democracy preceded and accelerated by the fall of the Berlin Wall.  We’ve been working in support of democratic and human rights activists around the world for a good two decades.  But with the transformative events of the Arab Spring, we’re thinking about what we need to do differently in 2011 and beyond.

To do so we’re meeting with experts from around the world, including you, next Monday and Tuesday.  You’re invited to watch and participate at www.livestream.com/usaidlive (available 6/20, 8:30am) and via Twitter @USAID #drg2011. We’ll be covering everything from interpreting the Arab Spring, to promoting the rights of women, the disabled, and the LGBT community, and our panelists will be taking your questions. So tune in next week!

See below for a full schedule of events:

Monday, June 20th

9:00    Welcoming Remarks: Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, USAID

Opening Remarks: Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator, USAID

10:00    Panel: “Comparing the Challenges and Opportunities of 1989 and 2011”

Moderator:  David Yang, Director, Office of Democracy and Governance, USAID

Panelists:

  • Thomas Carothers, Vice President for Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • Morton Halperin, Senior Advisor, Open Society Institute
  • Sarah Mendelson, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict,and Humanitarian Assistance, USAID

11:30    Panel: “Interpreting the Arab Spring”

Moderator:  Donald Steinberg, Deputy Administrator, USAID

Panelists:

  • Hady Amr, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for the Middle East, USAID
  • Lorne Craner, President, International Republican Institute
  • Michele Dunne, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • Robin Wright, Senior Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace

2:00    Remarks: “Coordinating Diplomacy and Development in Support of Democracy and Human Rights”

  • Maria Otero, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs

2:30    Keynote Address:  “From the Fall of the Wall to the Arab Spring:  Taking Stock of the U.S. Promotion of Democracy and Human Rights”

  • Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Maryland), Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Chair, Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs and International Protection; Co-Chairman, Helsinki Commission

4:00    Panel: “Supporting New and Fragile Democracies to Deliver to Their Citizens”

Moderator: Sarah Mendelson, USAID

Panelists:

  • Nancy Boswell, President, Transparency International – USA
  • Paul Grove, Republican Clerk, Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and

Related Programs, Senate Appropriations Committee

  • Jeremy Weinstein, Director for Democracy, National Security Council
  • Kenneth Wollack, President, National Democratic Institute

Tuesday, June 21st

9:00    Panel: “Developing New Tools to Prevent Human Rights Abuse”

Moderator: Sarah Mendelson, USAID

Panelists:

  • Patrick Ball, Vice President for Human Rights Programs, Benetech
  • Douglas A. Johnson,  Executive Director, Center for Victims of Torture
  • Timothy Rieser, Democratic Clerk, Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and

Related Programs, Senate Appropriations Committee

  • Oren Yakobovich, Director, Videre

11:00    Panel: “Promoting the Rights of Women, the Disabled, and the LGBT Community”

Moderator: Carla Koppell, Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, USAID

Panelists:

  • Mark Bromley, Chair, Council for Global Equality
  • Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo, Coordinator, Office of Disability and InclusiveDevelopment, USAID
  • Michael Stein, Professor, College of William & Mary Law School; and Executive Director, Harvard Project on Disability, Harvard Law School
  • Lisa VeneKlasen, Executive Director, JASS (Just Associates)

2:00    Panel: “Integrating Democracy, Human Rights & Governance across All Development Goals”

Moderator: Nancy Lindborg, USAID

Panelists:

  • Larry Garber, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Africa, USAID
  • Paul O’Brien, Vice President for Policy and Campaigns, Oxfam America
  • John Sullivan, Executive Director, Center for International Private Enterprise
  • Graham Teskey, Senior Advisor for Public-Sector Governance, World Bank

3:30     Closing Remarks: Nancy Lindborg, USAID