Leaders from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors will gather in New York City for the 2016 Concordia Summit

On September 19th and 20th, the 2016 Concordia Summit will convene some of the world’s preeminent thought leaders and decision makers to address today’s most pressing global challenges and to highlight the potential for effective collaboration between businesses, governments, and nonprofits. The Summit will take place at the Grand Hyatt New York and will address topics such as global migration and the refugee crisis, transnational responses to cybersecurity threats, global women’s empowerment, and the future of the European Union.

Concordia is proud to partner with established organizations for the Summit.

Featured organizations include:

• AmeriCares
• Institute for the Study of War
• National Democratic Institute
• Project Concern International
• Seleni Institute
• The Wilson Center
• U.S. Water Partnership
• Columbia University Global Policy Initiative
• International Organization for Migration
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Featured speakers include:

• Karen AbuZayd, Special Adviser on the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants, United Nations
• Luis Almagro, Secretary General, Organization of American States
• José María Aznar López, Former President of the Government, Spain
• Cherie Blair, Founder & Chair, Omnia Strategy
• Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, Former President, United Mexican States
• Kathy Calvin, President and CEO, United Nations Foundation
• Michael Crow, President, Arizona State University
• John DeGioia, President, Georgetown University
• Jeffrey DeLaurentis, Chargé d’Affaires, United States Embassy in Cuba
• Leonel Fernández Reyna, Former President, The Dominican Republic
• Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator of New York, United States Senate-Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
• Jane Harman, Director, President, and CEO, Wilson Center
• Fred Kagan, Director, Critical Threats Project, American Enterprise Institute
• Kim Kagan, President, The Institute for the Study of War
• Tom Kartsotis, Founder, Shinola
• Andrew Liveris, President, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, The Dow Chemical Company
• Carolyn Miles, President & CEO, Save the Children
• Nate Morris, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Director, Rubicon Global
• Michael Nyenhuis, President & CEO, AmeriCares
• Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, Former Archbishop of San Cristobal de la Habana
• Eduardo J. Padrón, President, Miami Dade College
• Beatriz Perez, Chief Sustainability Officer, The Coca-Cola Company
• Gen. David Petraeus, Chairman, KKR Global Institute
• Bill Richardson, Former US Secretary of Energy
• Thomas Ridge, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, RIDGE-LANE Limited Partners
• Salil Shetty, Secretary General, Amnesty International
• Peter Sutherland, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for International Migration, United Nations
• William L. Swing, Director General, International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Since its inauguration in 2011, the Concordia Summit has brought together over 3,000 participants, including 40 current and former heads of state, 450 international and Fortune 500 C-suite executives, prominent nonprofit leaders, and senior Congressional and Administration officials.

“A multitude of challenges face the world today, but never before have we had so many opportunities to identify actionable solutions. My hope for the 2016 Summit is for world leaders to convene in order to work together to put these ideas into action,” commented Concordia’s Chairman & CEO, Matthew A. Swift.

One of these challenges is the global migration crisis, which will be addressed in a private sector forum during the Summit. Concordia, Columbia University’s Global Policy Initiative, the International Organization for Migration, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, with the support of the Open Society Foundations and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, will host a series of high-level interactive discussions focused on the private sector’s role and responsibility in addressing global migration challenges and the current refugee crisis. This Private Sector Forum on Migration and Refugees will culminate in a plenary session, which will issue a Call to Action to all 1,000+ expected  Concordia Summit attendees on the need to combine efforts and partner across sectors to provide tangible solutions for forced migration.

“The issue of global migration and the refugee crisis is one of the most pressing challenges facing our world today. We believe that the private sector in particular can have a significant impact on this issue, and I am optimistic about the outcome of our Private Sector Forum,” remarked Concordia’s Chairman of the Board, Nicholas M. Logothetis.  

To conclude the two-day Summit, Concordia will host an Awards Dinner on the evening of September 20 at Cipriani 42nd Street to present the third annual P3 Impact Award and the first annual Concordia Leadership Award. The U.S. Department of State Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships, Concordia, and the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Institute for Business in Society created the P3 Impact Award to recognize effective highly  public-private partnerships that have led to positive social impact.

This year’s finalists include:

• Energize the Chain (Energize the Chain, American Tower Corporation Ghana, and USAID Ghana)
• MTV Shuga Campaign (MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Viacom International Media Works, U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Government of Nigeria, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and Cardno)
• Project Nurture (Coca-Cola Company, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and TechnoServe)
• SAPARM: Satellite Assisted Pastoral Resource Management (Project Concern International, Government of Ethiopia, Disaster Prevention & Food Security Coordination Office, Government of Tanzania, Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development, University of Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development, World Food Programme, USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures)
• Sustainable Living Beyond Borders-Transforming Lives via Health and Wellness (Unilever and Naya Jeevan Welfare Organization)

The Concordia Leadership Award, awarded for the first time this year, recognizes global leaders within the public, private, and nonprofit sectors who inspire others through their ability to turn vision into impact. The honorees are chosen by Concordia’s Leadership Council and include Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, Chairman of Yunus Centre and Founder of Grameen Bank.

Programming for the 2016 Summit is in development. Further announcements will follow at the beginning of August 2016. More information on the 2016 Summit can be found here.

For media inquiries please contact Concordia’s Communications Manager, Leni Kinzli, at  lkinzli@concordia.net.

Concordia enables public-private partnerships to create a more prosperous and sustainable future. It is a platform for leaders who are passionate about public-private partnerships (P3s). Through convening, research, and issue-based campaigns, Concordia raises the visibility of P3s and demonstrates how they can be used to help solve the world’s most pressing challenges. Nicholas M. Logothetis and Matthew A. Swift founded Concordia in 2011.