Invitation to telephonic press briefing for Earth Day 2016 with Aaron A. Salzberg, U.S. Special Coordinator for Water Resources (April 21, 13:00 pm GMT)

By Africa Regional Media Hub

EVENT:

Please join us on Thursday, April 21 at 13:00 (GMT) for a telephonic press conference with Aaron A. Salzberg, U.S. Special Coordinator for Water Resources Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science, to discuss the Water for the World Act prioritization of drinking water and sanitation access, U.S. Government policy and cooperation on water resources management, as well as information on its cooperation on shared (transboundary) waters.

DETAILS:

Speaker: U.S. Special Coordinator for Water Resources Aaron A. Salzberg

Time: 09:00 EST |13:00 GMT

* Please use Time Zone Converter to determine the start time of the event in your time zone.

Language: English. French and Portuguese interpretation will be offered.

Ground rules: On the record

Dial-in Info: To be provided once you RSVP

RSVP: RSVP to [email protected]. Please indicate if you will dial in (specify

English/French/Portuguese line), or request that we dial out to you (provide the phone number and language to be used).

Twitter: We will use #EarthDay2016, #ActOnClimate and #OurOcean as the hashtags for the call. Follow us on @AfricaMediaHub.

LOGISTICS:

Callers should dial-in to the conference call 10-15 minutes early. When an individual journalist dials-in, the operator will collect the caller's name, press affiliation, and location. When an embassy dials in, the operator will ask the embassy's name and location. The moderator will facilitate the Q and A among the connected callers. Journalists on the conference call will be instructed to press the “*” and “1” buttons on their phones in order to enter the question queue. NOTE: You can press “*1” at any time during the call to join the question queue, even before the moderator begins the Q and A portion. We ask that journalists limit themselves to one question and indicate to which speaker the question is directed. Journalists can also submit questions in English to [email protected] prior to or during the call.

BIO:

Aaron A. Salzberg, Special Coordinator for Water Resources, Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science

Aaron Salzberg serves as the Special Coordinator for Water Resources at the Department of State in the Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science Affairs. He is the first person to hold this title. He is responsible for managing the development and implementation of U.S. policies on drinking water and sanitation, water resources management, and transboundary water and leads the U.S. Government's response to the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005.

Aaron has been the lead representative or the lead water advisor for the United States at several major international events on water including the G8, the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the UN Commission on Sustainable Development and the World Water Forums. He also leads the Department of State's engagement on transboundary water issues in many regions throughout the world where water is, or may become a source of tension or conflict.

Aaron has a Ph.D. in Genetic Toxicology and a Master's degree in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also holds a Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland and has mediated more than forty civil disputes as a mediator with the Harvard Law School. He was recently awarded the 2010 Frank E. Loy Award for Environmental Diplomacy for moving water from the periphery to the center of U.S. government foreign policy.