Sean Carroll, Club of Madrid Program Director since 2004, will be leaving the organization to take up a post in the Obama Administration as Chief of Staff at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), effective March 1.

CALL FOR CVs FOR DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS

High Level Mission to Nairobi (Kenya) with our Members Birkavs and Bondevik

The Club of Madrid's Shared Societies Project documented the best inclusion practices in Madrid, supporting its decision makers in their pioneer action to promote social inclusion

Shared Societies Project language helps to strengthen UN resolution on social inclusion

Complex and decisive negotiations took place at the UNFCCC’s COP 15 in Copenhagen during the past two weeks. Mobilizing political will and leadership to achieve a comprehensive, global and equitable climate agreement became more urgent and critical than ever before and thus the role of those Club of Madrid Members actively engaged in our Global Leadership for Climate Action (GLCA) Initiative present in Copenhagen. 

Valdis Birkavs led a high level mission to Djibouti (8-10 Dec) to enhance processes to foster African women’s participation in conflict resolution and peace building. During the mission, the Club of Madrid and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa agreed further cooperation on the Women, Peace and Security Project.

More than 110 Yemeni stakeholders – including 70 women – from all political parties participated in a joint discussion led by Member Kumaratunga and UNDP Technical Advisor Jackie Weatherspoon on the role of women in politics (6-9 Dec). Club of Madrid’s final activity of this project also included high-level meetings to discuss project findings and recommendations with Yemen’s Vicepresident, Speaker of the Parliament; Speaker of the Shura Council; and Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

Former Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1994-2002), Wim Kok, to preside over world's largest forum of former Heads of State, after being elected by the Club de Madrid's General Assembly on 12 November 2009. Two new Vice Presidents were elected for the period 2009-2012: Jennifer Shipley (New Zealand) and  César Gaviria (Colombia).

The main annual event of the organization, held in Madrid on 12-13 November 2009, concluded with a call for more and better democracy that delivers.

The organization has added four new Members, growing its total number of former democratic Heads of States to 74. Former Presidents John Kufuor (Ghana), Festus Mogae (Botswana), Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria) and Ferenc Mádl (Hungary) were voted into the organization during its 2009 General Assembly in Madrid held last 12 November 2009.

Organised in Addis Ababa with the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union Commission and the CdM partners (Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa, Isis-WICCE and the Institute for Security Studies) on 6-9 Oct 2009, with Members Kim Campbell and Mary Robinson.

11 Aug 2009 - The Club of Madrid voices its deep concern over the recent decision to continue and prolong the prison sentence of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. We believe that continuing to deny her freedom is harmful not only to her health and well-being, but to the health and future of Burma/Myanmar's people and nation as well. We call on the country's rulers to work with the opposition towards dialogue and reconciliation, and offer our support to the international community towards such a process. In particular, we support the petition submitted on behalf of Suu Kyi’s family to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and we call on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to continue steadfastly in his efforts to secure an unconditional release of Suu Kyi, and a restoration of inclusive, participatory, democratic discourse and electoral processes in the country.