WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America, January 21, 2016/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
EVENT:
Please join us on Wednesday, January 27 at 13:15 (GMT) for a telephonic press briefing with U.S. Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons Randy Berry to discuss his visit to Malawi, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, January 18- 27, 2016. Special Envoy Berry will also discuss U.S. leadership in advancing the human rights of LGBTI persons across Africa and globally.
DETAILS:
Speaker: U.S. Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons Randy Berry
Date: January 27, 2016
Time: 08:15 EST |13:15 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 afmediahub@state.gov. 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: Follow the conversation with #LGBTI. Follow us @AfricaMediaHub and Special Envoy Berry on @RandyBerry
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 afmediahub@state.gov prior to or during the call.
BIO:
Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons
U.S. Department of State
On April 13, 2015, Secretary Kerry appointed Randy W. Berry as the U.S. State Department’s first-ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons. Prior to serving as the Special Envoy, he served as the United States Consul General in Amsterdam. He was United States Consul General in Auckland, New Zealand from 2009 to 2012, and prior to that, Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal from 2007 to 2009.
Mr. Berry’s career with the State Department has also taken him to postings in Bangladesh, Egypt, Uganda (twice), and South Africa, as well as Washington DC. Mr. Berry holds a State Department Superior Honor Award, and is a nine-time Meritorious Honor Award recipient. He speaks Spanish and Arabic.
Mr. Berry was raised on a family cattle ranch in rural Custer County, Colorado. He is a graduate of Bethany College of Lindsborg, Kansas, and was a Rotary Scholar at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. Before joining the Foreign Service in 1993, Berry worked as an international training manager for America West Airlines in Phoenix, Arizona.
