press release

THE WHITE HOUSE
statement by the press seccretary 
President and Mrs. Bush to Host White House Conference on the Americas

June 18, 2007

The President and Mrs. Bush will host a White House Conference on the Americas on July 9, 2007.  The Conference will bring together voluntary organizations, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and foundations to discuss and highlight the vast array of societal interaction between the United States and its neighbors to better the lives of the region’s citizens.

In his March 5, 2007, speech on the Western Hemisphere, President Bush said, “Today the most important ties between North and South America are not government to government, they are people to people.  And those ties are growing.  These ties are growing because of our churches and faith-based institutions, which understand that the call to love our neighbors as ourselves does not stop at our borders.”

The theme of the one-day conference will be “Advancing the Cause of Social Justice in the Americas” and will include representatives of approximately 150 regional-based organizations and 100 United States-based groups.  Topics will include investing in education, meeting health care needs, expanding economic opportunity, and building public-private partnerships.

 

 

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