New York - Arabstoday
Lady Gaga will lead an A-list concert at the Hollywood Bowl Saturday night honoring former President Bill Clinton’s charitable work and achievements since leaving the White House.The “Decade of Difference” fundraiser is part of a weekend of festivities, including a $6,500 per couple gala tonight belatedly celebrating Clinton’s 65th birthday (Aug. 19) at the Hollywood Palladium.Also scheduled to perform at the Hollywood Bowl are U2’s Bono and the Edge, Usher, Somali-born rapper and singer K’Naan, Colombian singer-songwriter Juanes, Kenny Chesney and special guests, said Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna.“We have helped establish a global network of givers,” Clinton said in a recent phone interview about his Clinton Global Initiative. “These are people of a wide variety of means and assets who have decided to work together to fill gaps in the social fabric between what the private sector can produce and what the government can provide.”The William J. Clinton Foundation organized the event to raise money to support its charitable giving and philanthropic activities. It’s perhaps best known for launching the Global Initiative, the annual meeting that pairs companies and philanthropists with nonprofits to tackle issues such as affordable AIDS and HIV treatment, climate change and improving access to health care.Since leaving the White House, Clinton has had a hand in funding and shaping global issues through his Little Rock, Arkansas-based foundation. With an annual budget of more than $200 million, it has given about 4 million people HIV/AIDS treatments and helped cut greenhouse gases by getting businesses to change energy practices.The Global Initiative, which serves as a matchmaker for nonprofit and nongovernmental programs, has secured more than 2,000 pledges by attendees to tackle problems affecting more than 300 million people in 180 countries.Clinton also serves as the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Haiti, and he helped form the nonprofit Clinton Bush Haiti Fund to raise money for the Caribbean nation to repair damage from last year’s 7.0 earthquake.“I had this sense that people were hungry to get beyond talking about things to doing them even if they fail,” Clinton said. “We can’t be right all the time, but we’ve got to figure out how to address these problems, and there’s got to be a way to do it together.”