“Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton [on Thursday] hosted over 200 representatives from business, non-governmental organizations, and civil society groups to celebrate the power of collaboration,” Melanne Verveer, ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues, and Kris Balderston, the special representative for global partnerships, write in the State Department’s “DipNote” blog. “We are particularly excited about several new partnerships that Secretary Clinton announced” at the event, they state (1/31). “These new initiatives include: efforts to advance women’s clean energy entrepreneurship; a global partnership to promote affordable Internet access in poor communities; a new commitment to the Global Equality Fund which aims to protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons worldwide; and new investments in the clean cookstoves sector,” according to a State Department press release (1/30).