In the lead up to the critical 2016 U.S. presidential election, Democrats Abroad Switzerland will be hosting a series of events to inform, energize and assist U.S. voters abroad. Over the next two months, members of Democrats Abroad Switzerland will be active in Geneva, Zurich, Basel, Bern, Lausanne and Lugano among other cities across the country. These efforts are targeted at mounting a get-out-the-vote drive to support Hillary Clinton for President 2016 campaign and all Democratic Party campaigns.
As the first of these Fall 2016 pre-election events, Democrats Abroad Switzerland is proud to host two speakers: the Honorable Eileen Donahoe, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva and Caitlin Kraft-Buchman, head of Women@TheTable, a Swiss NGO dedicated to making women visible on the global stage (see speaker biographies below). Both speakers will address campaign goals as well as international issues at stake. After Ambassador Donahoe and Ms Kraft-Buchman make informal remarks, guests will have the opportunity to meet with the speakers, register to vote, and sign up to volunteer for the Hillary for President 2016 campaign.
This exciting and informative kick off event is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 from 6:00 to 8:00pm at the Cercle des Bains, 10, rue des Vieux-Grenadiers, 1205 Geneva, in the heart of Geneva’s Plainpalais arts quarter.
Anne-Shelton Aaron, Chair of Democrats Abroad Switzerland said that both speakers will discuss the high stakes involved in the upcoming election and the importance of ensuring that the vast majority of the nearly 7 million voters abroad cast their ballots and participate in the Democratic process. “We’ve seen a surge in voter engagement this year beyond anything anticipated. Voter registration has only accelerated since the Democratic Convention, and our get-out-the-vote drive will ensure that this momentum continues. The number of votes cast by Americans in Switzerland looks set to break records even exceeding the totals of 2008 and 2012.”
Anne-Shelton Aaron went on to emphasize, “Hillary Clinton, as a former Secretary of State, has a mastery of policy unmatched by any nominee in decades. Secretary Clinton understands the needs of Americans both at home and abroad. Her election is critical to maintaining and building upon President Obama’s legacy as well as to electing Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate. This is why she is poised to capture the majority of votes cast by Americans abroad.”
Speaker Biographies
Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe is a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, having been appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009. (She was the first ambassador following the referent UN body changing from the predecessor United Nations Commission on Human Rights.) After serving her term as ambassador, Ms Donahoe was appointed as Director of Global Affairs for Human Rights Watch. In 2014, she was also appointed to the board of International Service for Human Rights.She is also a former affiliate of Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation.
Caitlin Kraft-Buchman runs the Swiss NGO Women@TheTable which makes women visible on the global stage and women leaders a point of reference in cultural conversations that extend past 'women’s issues' into the larger debate on the economy, governance, technology, sustainability, and peace. She is one of the three co-founders of the International Geneva Gender Champions movement. A former Chair of Democrats Abroad, Switzerland (2004-2009), she proudly represented Democrats Abroad at the Democratic National Committee, (2008-2016), where she served on the DNC Women’s Caucus Board. She was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Hillary Clinton’s now historic candidacy.