Samantha Power, USAID administrator & former U.S. ambassador to United Nations, to take stage at IRF Summit next week
WASHINGTON — Administrator Samantha Power will speak Wednesday, February 1, at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit — the world’s premier annual gathering of religious freedom advocates and activists. Administrator Power is the current head of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and a former United States ambassador to the United Nations.
Former U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback and former United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, the Summit’s co-chairs, had this to say about the announcement:
“Administrator Power is a stalwart defender of freedom of religion and belief with a vibrant record of advocacy for the rights that touch all of humanity. We’re pleased to welcome such an ally to the IRF Summit stage this year.”
Administrator Power delivered remarks remotely during IRF Summit 2021, stating:
“Central to every major religion is a yearning for connection to the divine and the sacred practices that bring us closer to it. The potential for true freedom rests upon the ability of governments to uphold universal human rights, regardless of how their people worship or to whom they pray, whether they are Coptic Christians in Egypt, Baha’is in Iran, Rohingya Muslims in Burma or Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia.”
More information about USAID Administrator Power is available here.
The IRF Summit will be held January 31 and February 1 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., and is supported by more than 70 diverse partners. It aims to bring greater attention to religious freedom violations and to create a powerful coalition of groups to advance the cause of religious freedom around the world.