Tina Brown, editor in chief of The Daily Beast along with Dr. Jane Aronson, Founder and CEO of Worldwide Orphans Foundation, Deborra-lee Furness, Isabella Rossellini, Vera Wang, Alfre Woodard and Urban Zen will co-host a breakfast event to draw attention to the global orphan crisis. The event will take place on November 17, 2010, at New York's Urban Zen.
Forgotten Children: International Adoption and the Global Orphan Crisis forms part of The Daily Beast's Women in the World salon series, and will bring together 100 world-class experts, innovative thinkers and child advocates to brainstorm solutions to the crisis. Actor Hugh Jackman will also participate in the event.
With an estimated 163 million orphaned children worldwide, Forgotten Children will spur an international dialogue and commitment for meaningful action on how to respond to the enormous needs of children orphaned by the loss of one or both parents through disease, poverty, conflict, or abandonment. Convened during National Adoption Month, the event will engage influential decision-makers in clarifying the role of international agencies to care for and protect orphans as well as governments responsibility during natural disasters, such as the recent catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. Discussions will revolve around strengthening international adoption policies and encouraging world governments to honor the Rights of the Child, as agreed to by all United Nations signatory countries.
Said Tina Brown, "The Daily Beast's Women in the World Salon Series is dedicated to covering pressing issues affecting women and communities in all corners of the globe. We are thrilled to partner with Dr. Jane Aronson and her Worldwide Orphans Foundation to create a vibrant and informative breakfast conversation on the global orphan crisis, and the proper role of international adoption in finding healthy, happy, and permanent homes for children."
" The Daily Beast's Forgotten Children breakfast could not have come at a more urgent time", said Aronson. "The number of parentless children around the globe dramatically rises every single year. The international community must come together with sustainable solutions to give millions of children permanency and a future. There's no time to waste; action is needed now."
Added Deborra-Lee Furness, "I am excited that The Daily Beast is facilitating a forum to bring educated, informed people to the table to put energy and expertise into what I conisder to be our most important agenda and responsibility as grown-ups...caring for our most vulnerable citizens, our kids. I am hoping that with creativity and passion we can continue to come up with methodologies that will assist orphaned children worldwide."
Cynthia McFadden, co-anchor of ABC News' Nightline will moderate the conversation, with a panel featuring Susan Bissell, UNICEF's Chief of Child Protection, Dr. Sophie Mengistu, a leading Ethiopian pediatrician and Country Director for Worldwide Orphans Foundation.
Acclaimed filmmaker Deann Borshay, will discuss her documentary In The Matter of Cha Jung Hee, chronicling her deeply personal journey to her native Korea where she searches for Cha Jung Hee, the mysterious girl who was supposed to be adopted in to her American family. Instead, identities were switched and Borshay went in her place.
Full video coverage of Forgotten Children: International Adoption and the Global Orphan Crisis will be available on thedailybeast.com
