| Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC September 27, 2002 State Department and Rotary International Co-Sponsor Landmine Conference: "Ending the Tragedy of Landmines Through Innovation and Cooperation" Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr., the Special Representative of the President and Secretary of State for Mine Action, will lead a U.S. State Department delegation participating in a two-day international landmine conference in Seattle, Washington, starting September 30, 2002. The conference, which is co-sponsored by Rotary International Zones 23 and 24 and the Department, will open with remarks by Mr. Bloomfield and a personal videotaped message by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.
"We are honored to work in partnership with Rotary International which has a distinguished record of civic mindedness and commitment to solving critical world problems," said Mr. Bloomfield. "By bringing Rotarians from around the world together with mine action experts and non-governmental organizations that are already partnered with us, we hope to create new cooperative initiatives to help make the world mine safe. We are grateful to Rotary District 5030 for hosting this important event." James Lawrence and Donald "Pat" Patierno, senior State Department officials in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs who manage landmine issues, will participate. They will be joined by Dr. Ken Rutherford, co-founder of the Landmine Survivors Network, Colin King, a renowned landmine expert, Ambassador Martin Dahinden, Director of the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining, Frank O'Dea, Director of the Canadian Landmine Foundation, Dennis Barlow, Director of the Mine Action Information Center, Jernej Cimpersek, Director of the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance, and other leaders in mine action. Her Majesty Queen Noor will also address the conference via videotape. Twenty-three non-governmental organizations ranging from the American Red Cross to Roots of Peace and the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation will have information stands there. The Marshall Legacy Institute will put on mine detecting dog demonstrations. To learn more, visit the Rotary International District 5030 conference website at http://landmineconf.rotary5030.org/ and the Mine Action Information Center website at http://maic.jmu.edu/conference/rotary/info.htm, or contact John Stevens, Office of Mine Action Initiatives and Partnerships at the U.S. Department of State at (202) 647-0676; Jeanne McKnight of McKnight & Co. at (206) 369-0458; or Imbert Mathee, Conference Planning Committee, at (206) 794-7516. |
 | |||
|
