Foundation for the Future Executive Committee Visits WashingtonWashington, September 22-25, 2006: The executive committee of the Foundation for the Future convened in Washington for its first business meeting, as well as a series of meetings to introduce the foundation to people who support reforms advancing greater freedom and opportunity for the people of the Middle East. This was the first executive committee meeting following the committee’s selection by the foundation board of directors in Doha. Foundation chairman Anwar Ibrahim, former deputy prime minister of Malaysia, gave opening remarks at a roundtable discussion with other non-governmental organizations, foundations, think tanks, U.S. and foreign government officials, congressional staff, and journalists. Ibrahim said the foundation was created in response to civil society's calls for freedom and democracy in the region, growing out of the Forum for the Future and G8 process that began in 2004 in conjunction with Middle Eastern governments. He noted the board members' rich experience and said foundation funding comes from the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S. At the roundtable discussion, executive committee member Sandra Day O'Connor welcomed input on potential reform projects and approaches and said the foundation values partnership and collaboration with other organizations working in the Middle East. Executive committee members Rahma Bourqia of Morocco and Cornelio Sommaruga of Switzerland, pictured with foundation president Bakhtiar Amin of Iraq, congratulated governments such as the U.S. government for supporting the creation of a foundation and for contributing to its launch. They also noted the foundation’s independence and highlighted potential work in women's empowerment, civic education, and freedom of association, supporting the reform already underway in the region.
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