World Resources Institute, 10 G Street NE Suite 800, Washington D.C.
- Jon Talbot, Manager of Communications for Governance
Madeleine Albright, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Commission for the Legal Empowerment of the Poor
Jonathan Lash, President, World Resources Institute
Naresh Singh, Ph.D., Executive Director, Commission for the Legal Empowerment of the Poor
Beverly Wright, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
Please join WRI’s Institutions and Governance Program and the Commission for the Legal Empowerment of the Poor, hosted by the United Nations Development Programme for a presentation of the Commission’s findings by Dr. Madeleine Albright, Co-Chair of the Commission; and Dr. Naresh Singh, the Commission’s Executive Director. Dr. Beverly Wright, Founder and Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, and WRI president Jonathan Lash will address the relevance of the Commission’s messages to empowering the poor and to promoting fair and effective environmental policy in the United States.
PROGRAM
8.30-9:00 AM Reception and light breakfast
9.00-10:30 AM Panel
Jonathan Lash, President, World Resources Institute: Welcome and overview of the relevance of the Commission’s findings to WRI’s mission
Keynote speaker Madeleine Albright, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Commission for the Legal Empowerment of the Poor
Naresh Singh, Ph.D., Executive Director, Commission for the Legal Empowerment of the Poor: Overview of the Commission process and findings
Beverly Wright, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice: A view from an empowerment practitioner
10:30-11:00 Discussion
The social safety nets and legal protections available to Americans are far more robust than elsewhere in the world. Yet millions of poor people in America continue to confront both formal and informal barriers to participation in fundamental aspects of civic and economic life. These barriers have denied them access to secure property rights, access to the judicial system and access to financing necessary to building sustainable livelihoods and resilient communities. What lessons can this country learn from the Commission’s global survey that includes the planet’s poorest? How can empowering poor and marginalized communities to participate more effectively in legal processes help prevent the environmental and social injustices exposed by Hurricane Katrina and endured in the Cancer Alley of the Deep South? What lessons can a new administration learn as it turns to address the profound socio-economic challenges posed by climate change, water scarcity and rising food and fuel prices?
RSVP required by June 13th at jtalbot@wri.org
