Kayode Sesan
Immediate-Past President Goodluck Jonathan has been chosen to present the keynote address at the 2016 Hope Global Forums conference.
The programme is scheduled to hold in the second week of January in Atlanta, United States.
President Bill Clinton performed a role similar to that of Jonathan at the 2015 event which gathered over 3,000 leaders from 40 countries.
The letter of invitation was jointly signed by Andrew Young, Operation Hope global spokesman, Kasim Reed, mayor of Atlanta and John Hope Bryant, Operation Hope chief executive. They urged the former president to lend his support to an entrepreneurship mentoring programme, by sharing his experience in office with a wider global audience.
“As some one recognised for his leadership and vision in Nigeria and abroad, we are personally requesting your attendance. It is important for us that your influential voice and perspective be included as we drive a global conversation,” the letter read.
“We invite you to join Fortune 500 CEO’s, private investors, financial leaders and government officials to connect and collaborate on this vision.
“With the theme ‘Reimagining the Global Economy: Inclusive Economics’, the annual meeting is set against the backdrop of the Martin Luther King Holiday weekend and gathers leaders from government, community and the private sector to outline a vision for the modern global; economy.
“A vision where the undeserved, working poor and struggling middle class are viewed as untapped assets for economic growth, entrepreneurship and job creation.
“The powerful history of Atlanta as the ‘Cradle of the Civil Rights Movement’ serves as a catalyst for our gathering, highlighting the unfinished work of economic self-reliance launched by Dr. King prior to his death. We will honour that legacy with a series of activities for our guests, including ‘white glove’ viewing of Dr. King’s papers.”
Among the guests expected to attend the programme are: Tim Cook, Apple chief executive; Jack Lew, US treasury secretary; Robert Rubin, former treasury secretary, and Clinton Foundation vice-chair Chelsea Clinton.
The Hope Global Forum is an annual event that convenes thousands of thought leaders, business professionals and public policy officials from many countries to brainstorm on ways of advancing the social and economic well-being of all people around the world.
According to the organisers, the 2016 meeting focuses on broadening inclusiveness for global economies.
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