CGI ‘09: Getting to the “how business”

Yesterday’s Opening Plenary Session featured a panel moderated by President Clinton and remarks by President Obama. The key word from this session was “how.”

Clinton set the frame for these meetings by stating, “This whole initiative is in the how business,” suggesting that #cgi09 (as it is known on Twitter) will go beyond definitions of the problems to discussions about solutions. President Obama continued with this theme; talking about developments in public service in the U.S., Obama outlined the objective of finding “community solutions that work.”

This emphasis on “how” and “what works” was extended into the second day of meetings. The morning Plenary Session on Investing in Girls and Women featured a diverse panel of representatives from government, business, international financial institutions, and non-governmental organizations:

• Edna Adan, Director and Founder, Edna Adan Maternity and Teaching Hospital
• Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and CEO , The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
• Zainab Salbi, Founder and CEO , Women for Women International
• Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO, ExxonMobil
• Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of State
• Robert B. Zoellick, President, The World Bank Group

Diane Sawyer, co-anchor of ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “Primetime,” moderated the session, suggesting at the outset that the discussion should focus on “what works and what doesn’t work” when it comes to solving the problems facing girls and women around the world.

While each speaker was a good advocate for the “what” — definitions of the problems and rationales for intervention — the panel largely steered clear of evidence for the “how.” Sawyer deserves credit, however, for trying to press the panelists for examples of what approaches have and have not worked. At one point, she asked Women for Women’s Zainab Salbi to describe a “biggest failure,” and when Salbi tried to reframe the conversation as a set of challenges, Sawyer pressed her by saying “yes, but what did not work?”

For the most part, the question.

Sawyer also tried to get Ambassador Verveer to discuss examples of what has not worked in the domain of human trafficking. Her response? A good summary of why human trafficking is a “very serious problem.”

Discussions of the problem are essential for conversations about potential solutions — and for awareness raising in general. A good example from yesterday’s Opening Plenary Session was the focus on water, an important issue that does not get enough attention. However, Clinton and the CGI team are correct to try to shape these discussions around the “how” when the “what” is clear.

When it comes to investing in girls and women, a good argument can be made that many places in the world still do not see the value of this investment — a rationale for continuing to frame the importance of this issue. But here at the CGI meetings, the audience gets it. This is clear from the female-focused commitments announced prior to this morning’s panel. I hope that future sessions get to the “how business” — and not just “how” to intervene but “how” to know that interventions are working and are the right interventions at the right time for the right people.

Sawyer’s invitation to discuss what has NOT worked should be embraced in a broader discussion about HOW to best realize the promises of the Girl Effect.