Bill Clinton plans big changes for Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting

Former President Bill Clinton plans big changes for this year’s Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting “by necessity” to address the changing landscape for global development and increasing needs driven by war and climate disasters.

“We need to redefine how we show up, how we work, and how we find ways to honor our common humanity,” Clinton wrote in a letter to the CGI community released Thursday. “This September, our goal will be to connect dots across issues, expose the consequences, and confront the complicated issues in front of us.”

Since its launch in 2005, the CGI annual meeting has served as a platform for political, business and philanthropic leaders to announce new initiatives or new financial support for existing programs addressing the world’s problems. At the 2024 meeting, former First Lady Jill Biden announced $500 million in new annual spending for women’s health research, while Prince Harry outlined his plans to help children and their parents navigate cyberspace better.

This year’s meeting — held once again during United Nations General Assembly week and led by Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton — will also include Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, as well as Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O’Day, Pinterest CEO Bill Ready, and Open Society Foundations President Binaifer Nowrojee. However, the focus this year will be on forging new solutions for economic, health, climate and humanitarian issues.

“The CGI community is built for moments like this,” Clinton wrote. “This year marks two decades of our community convening and responding directly to global crises.”

In previous years, CGI helped organize responses to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Caribbean hurricanes in 2017, and the COVID-19 pandemic. CGI estimates it has helped more than 500 million people in 186 countries over the past two decades.

President Donald Trump’s administration has swiftly dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, arguing that many programs did not advance American interests. A number of philanthropic funders have stepped in to replace some support of humanitarian programs and public health initiatives, but many gaps remain.

CGI hopes to close those gaps with a series of “Leaders Stage Sessions,” where representatives from a wide range of organizations – including GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan, Center for Disaster Philanthropy CEO Patricia McIlreavy, AFL-CIO President, and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten -- will work together to create new initiatives.

“Now is the time to stand up and roll up our sleeves — and do our part to reverse the trend lines and begin charting a brighter future,” Clinton said in a statement.

On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as part of its Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation. Organizers declined comment on what impact, if any, the subpoenas would have on planning for the CGI annual meeting. Former Secretary Clinton has been called to provide a deposition on Oct. 9, while former President Clinton has been called to offer a deposition on Oct. 14.

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FILE - Bill Clinton, Founder and Board Chair of the Clinton Foundation & 42nd President of the United States, speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative, on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)

DODOMA, Tanzania (AP) — Tanzania’s president has, for the first time since the disputed October election, commented on a six-day internet shutdown as the country went through its worst postelection violence.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday expressed “sympathy” to diplomats and foreign nationals living in the country, saying the government would strive to ensure there is never a repeat of the same.

Hassan won the October election with more than 97% of the vote after candidates from the two main opposition parties were barred from running and the country’s main opposition leader remained in prison facing treason charges.

Violence broke out on election day and went on for days as the internet was shut down amid a heavy police crackdown that left hundreds of people dead, according to rights groups.

Hassan blamed the violence on foreigners and pardoned hundreds of young people who had been arrested, saying they were acting under peer pressure.

Speaking to ambassadors, high commissioners and representatives of international organizations on Thursday in the capital, Dodoma, she sought to reassure envoys of their safety, saying the government would remain vigilant to prevent a repeat of the disruption.

“To our partners in the diplomatic community and foreigners residing here in Tanzania, I express my sincere sympathy for the uncertainty, service restrictions and internet shutdowns you experienced,” she said.

Hassan defended her administration, saying the measures were taken to preserve constitutional order and protect citizens.

“I assure you that we will remain vigilant to ensure your safety and prevent any recurrence of such experiences,” the president told diplomats on Thursday.

Tanzania has, since the October elections, established a commission of inquiry to look into the violence that left hundreds dead and property worth millions of shillings destroyed in a country that has enjoyed relative calm for decades.

Foreign observers said the election failed to meet democratic standards because key opposition figures were barred.

FILE - Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan delivers remarks during a campaign rally ahead of the general elections in Iringa, Tanzania, Oct. 5, 2025. (AP Photo, File)