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PRESENTERS

Tony Banbury    www.wfp.org

TBA

Ryan Hreljac www.ryanswell.ca

At the age of 17, Ryan Hreljac is a compelling voice for those impacted by the water crisis throughout the developing world and his story has inspired many of all ages to take responsibility for their world, whether in their own communities or, like Ryan, in far away places.  He is the founder of the Ryan’s Well Foundation, an organization supporting activities to BUILD safe water sources, EDUCATE individuals, schools, corporations and other service organizations to create awareness of water related issues and those with limited access to resources and MOTIVATE present and future leaders to realize their own global citizenship.

In 1998, 6-year-old Ryan Hreljac was shocked to learn that children in Africa had to walk many kilometers every day just to fetch water, the most basic element for human survival. Ryan decided he needed to build a well for a village in Africa. By doing household chores and public speaking on clean water issues, Ryan’s first well was built in 1999 at the Angolo Primary School in a northern Ugandan village. The well continues to serve thousands of people. Ryan’s determination grew from the $70 collected by doing simple household chores to the Ryan’s Well Foundation that today has contributed a total of 441 wells in 16 developing countries bringing clean water services to 583,040 people.

Ryan has received many awards for his work including the Order of Ontario (youngest ever recipient), the Canadian Meritorious Service Medal, Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers, Canadian Peace Award – Youth,  World of Children Founders’ Award, the Top 20 Under 20 Youth Award, and the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Volunteers. His message has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show (twice), CNN, and CBC.  Numerous books, magazines and newspapers have profiled Ryan including Christian Science Monitor, People, Reader’s Digest, Time, Times of London and Watervoices. He is recognized by UNICEF as a Global Youth Leader.

The Ryan's Well Foundation works cooperatively with partners around the world.  The latest partnership to be announced by the Ryan’s Well Foundation is with an organization called H2O Africa, was founded by actor Matt Damon.  The Ryan’s Well Foundation and the H2O Africa Foundation have established a partnership to further their shared goal to provide clean water, improved sanitation and hygiene education for children and families in the water scarce regions of Africa. This partnership, based on the ideal of clean water for all, engages and mobilizes youth to become global citizens for clean water, develop greater awareness and raise economic resources to aid the water crisis in Africa. Through a $700,000 matching funds initiative, Ryan's Well and H2O Africa are investing in water and sanitation projects to improve health and well-being, to provide educational opportunities - and to save lives in Africa.

 

Khun Lek http://elephantnaturefoundation.org/

TBA

 

John Liu www.pda.or.th

John D, Liu is an American who has lived in China for more than 25 years. Initially helping to open the CBS News bureau in Beijing at the time of normalization of relations between the U.S. and China, Mr. Liu has concentrated on ecological film making since the mid-1990s. He has written, produced and directed films on Grasslands, Deserts, Wetlands, Oceans, Rivers, Urban Development, Atmosphere, Forests, Endangered Animals, Poverty Reduction, primarily for EARTH REPORT and LIFE series on the BBC World. In 2003, Mr. Liu wrote, produced and directed "Jane Goodall - China Diary" for National Geographic.

Currently a Research PhD candidate in the School of Human and Environmental Affairs at the University of Reading, Mr. Liu consults with the World Bank & the United Nations Environment Programme. Mr. Liu has been awarded fellowships from the University of the West of England, The Rothamsted Research Institute and the Asia Society.

Jean Francois Rischard
(“High Noon 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them”) via video

Jean-François Rischard is a national from Luxembourg, with a US green card, and is married, with three children. He is 57 years old. He has graduate and post-graduate degrees in Economics (University of Aix-Marseille, licence and DES, 1971 and 1973), a Law Doctorate (Luxembourg, 1971), and a Masters in Business Administration (Harvard Business School, 1975, with first and second year honors). He speaks and writes fluent English, French and German. From 1975 to 2005, he worked at the World Bank, and became Vice-President of the institution from 1992 on.

He lives in Paris, after having spent more than 20 years in the United States and especially Washington D.C., where he maintains a home and many links. He has straddled the Atlantic for much of his student and working life, and is well versed in both U.S. and European ways of doing business and corporate governance bents.

He has worked in some 60 developed and developing countries, and maintains – beyond Europe – an extensive network of relationships with government and business leaders throughout North America, Latin America, the Middle-East, Asia, and parts of Africa. He is an avid reader with a broad range of interests in finance, business and markets, world events and trends. He likes skiing and golf.

Dr. Mechai Viravadya http://www.pda.or.th/eng/

Mr. Mechai Viravaidya is the Founder/Chairman of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), one of Thailand's largest and most successful private, non-profit development organizations. Since 1974, PDA has initiated community-based family planning services, poverty reduction, rural development and environmental programs, as well as HIV / AIDS prevention activities throughout Thailand. Mr. Mechai played a large role in the success of Thailand's national family planning program, which resulted in one of the most rapid fertility declines in the modern era as the rate of annual population growth declined from over 3% in 1974 to 0.8% in 2002, and the average number of children per family fell from seven to under two.

Mr. Mechai was appointed to the Thai Senate in 1987 and again in 1997; each term for three years. Then in 2000, under Thailand’s new constitution, he was elected to serve a six year term. He was appointed as a Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister in 1991 and 1992, when he assisted Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun as the chief architect in establishing a comprehensive national HIV I AIDS prevention policy and program. This initiative is regarded as the most outstanding national effort by any country, and by 2004 Thailand had experienced a 90% reduction in new infections of HIV.

He has also served as Government Spokesman, Deputy Minister of Industry, CEO of the Provincial Waterworks Authority, Chairman of Krung Thai Bank and the Telephone Organization of Thailand. He was appointed as the Ambassador for UNAIDS in 1999.

Mr. Mechai has received numerous awards including 1997 the United Nations Population Award, the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service in 1994, the Paul Hoffman Award and the United Nations Gold Peace Medal in 1981. He has been granted decorations from the Governments of Thailand, Australia and the Federal Republic of Germany. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Institute of International Development in 1988-89, and holds several honorary doctorate degrees from Universities in Thailand and abroad. Mr. Mechai Viravaidya was born on January 17, 1941