WASHINGTON D.C. – February 24, 2012 – Leaders from the business, media, and diplomatic community gathered this week at the Meridian International Center for a high level discussion on the future of U.S.-Spain relations. The keynote speakers, The Honorable D. Jorge Dezcaller de Mazarredo, Ambassador of Spain to the U.S., and The Honorable Alan D. Solomont, the U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, spoke of the strong and thriving U.S.-Spain relationship and on how the two countries could work together to address some of the challenges facing Spain in the coming months. Spain has been at the center of the European debt crisis and is implementing comprehensive austerity measures aimed at promoting economic stability and long term recovery.
Meridian’s President and CEO, Ambassador Stuart W. Holliday, welcomed the Spanish and U.S. Ambassadors and highlighted an upcoming Service Innovation Summit organized by Meridian International Center in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Spain and the Fundacíon Rafael del Pino from March 28-30, 2012 in Madrid, Spain. The Summit will seek to address two of Spain’s most pressing social challenges: unemployment and economic development. It will convene leaders from government, non-profit and corporate sectors in Spain, the U.S., and Europe to explore innovations in volunteerism and how they can be scaled to address the biggest societal challenges. Ambassador Solomont and Ambassador Holliday will be joined by such speakers as Arianna Huffington, President and Editor in Chief, Huffington Post; Alan Khazei, Co-Founder City Year & Service Nation; and Rosabeth Moss Kanter Ph.D., Harvard Business School among many others.
"The Global Service Innovation Summit will allow all sectors of society who have a stake in improving the quality of life in Spain to share best practice on harnessing the power of volunteer networks to address societal needs," said Ambassador Holliday. "We are delighted to have such a wide variety of participants confirmed and committed to this important project."
The summit will present successful solutions for addressing the issues and set the stage for future collaboration. In addition to panel discussions for global service leaders, the Summit will also include a half day service project in partnership with the Plataforma del Voluntariado, the national Spanish volunteer association, and the Real Madrid Foundation and to engage NGOs and local communities in Madrid. Summit participants will work side-by-side with Real Madrid’s ambassadors in service to the community. Conference participants will also be connected via Meridian’s Meridian’s Global Service Leaders Network to establish an ongoing mechanism for sharing best practice and exploring future collaboration. For more information on the Global Service Leadership Summit, please visit http://www.meridian.org/madridsummit2012.
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About Meridian: Meridian International Center's mission is to strengthen international understanding and serve as a center of innovation for engaging the public sector, private sector and diplomatic community in an exchange of people, ideas and culture. For more information, visit www.meridian.org
For press inquiries, please contact Priya Doshi at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 202-939-5559.
