Hillary Clinton to Appear at Women in the World Summit

The secretary of State and champion for women around the globe will introduce a reading of the documentary play SEVEN, starring Meryl Streep and Marcia Gay Harden, at the Women in the World summit, hosted by The Daily Beast, the Vital Voices Global Partnership, the U.N. Foundation, and Diane von Furstenberg on March 12.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is joining The Daily Beast’s Women in the World Stories and Solutions summit March 12, a three-day live event that also features Meryl Streep, Valerie Jarrett, Queen Rania of Jordan, and Clinton’s predecessor, Madeleine K. Albright, as well as dozens of other outstanding leaders who are on the forefront of fighting sex trafficking, child marriage, and other challenges holding back women and girls.

Clinton will introduce an ensemble reading of SEVEN, a documentary play that honors courageous women activists from seven countries. The play was created by a collaboration of seven women playwrights, and will feature Meryl Streep, Marcia Gay Harden ( Mystic River), Shohreh Aghdashloo ( The House of Sand and Fog), Tony-nominated Julyana Soelistyo ( Golden Child), Lauren Vélez ( Dexter), and Archie Panjabi ( The Good Wife).

“The play powerfully portrays the transformative way that seven courageous women have changed their societies for the better—from peace-building to fighting corruption to combating violence against women,” Clinton said in a statement.

Clinton has consistently spotlighted women’s issues as secretary of State—speaking out against atrocities against women in Guinea, promising to help “banish sexual violence” in Congo, and arguing that the most effective way to solve economic inequality is to empower women around the world. In 1997, Clinton co-established the Vital Voices Global Partnership, an organization that empowers emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs. Vital Voices is a co-host of The Daily Beast summit, along with Diane von Furstenberg and the U.N. Foundation.

“We are all delighted that Secretary Clinton, who has done so much throughout her career to further the goals and aspirations of women around the world, will be joining this remarkable gathering of inspirational voices,” said Daily Beast Co-founder Tina Brown.

Acclaimed Broadway director Julie Taymor will direct the ensemble reading of SEVEN that kicks off the event and dramatizes the extraordinary struggles of women in developing countries. Streep will play Irish activist Inez McCormack, who will also be attending the summit, along with the other women whose activism is featured in the play.

The summit will bring together 300 global leaders for discussion and problem-solving on issues ranging from sex slavery to girls’ education to how to protect women caught in the crossfire in war zones. Thomas Friedman, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour, Cherie Blair, anti-trafficking activist Sunitha Krishnan, Mika Brzezinski, the Acumen Fund’s Jacqueline Novogratz, former foreign-affairs minister of Somaliland and maternal and child-health activist Edna Adan Ismail, Women for Women International founder Zainab Salbi, and other leaders from government, media, social activism, business, and the arts will also be in attendance.

On the second night of Women in the World, co-host and Vital Voices board member Diane von Furstenberg will invite guests to a celebration at the United Nations of her first annual DVF Awards, where cash prizes are given to four women who have shown extraordinary leadership.

Since its launch in October 2008, The Daily Beast has been committed to reporting the powerful stories of women whose personal courage and pioneering energy is helping to raise the status of women and girls around the world. From the extraordinary women leading the Green Revolution in Iran, to Fatima Bhutto’s coverage of the shocking murder of a 12-year-old Pakistani maid by her rich employer, to the deaths of feminist activists in Haiti and the new generation of women charged with taking up their cause, The Daily Beast has stayed on top of important stories driven by women around the world.

Through interactive tools here on The Daily Beast, readers can discuss the issues right alongside the summit’s participants, whose profiles will be up soon. Readers can also watch video highlights and read reports from the summit, and find and donate to the causes that are being discussed, all here on the site.

The conference will take place at The Hudson Theatre at Millennium Broadway in New York City March 12-14 and is sponsored by HP, Exxon Mobil, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women.