Last weekend, Washington rolled out the red carpet for its politicos, their media watchdogs and Hollywood admirers at the White House Correspondents Dinner. And for the first time, Devex co-hosted one of the parties leading up to the big event.Devex and Foreign Affairs magazine, in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation, celebrated foreign affairs journalism on Thursday at a cocktail reception that quickly got dubbed #Wonkprom due to its somewhat more serious nature than the week’s main event on Saturday, which featured U.S. President Barack Obama and late night comedian Conan O’Brien cracking jokes and throwing jabs at their peers and each other.
From left to right: Margaret Warner of Public Broadcasting Service News Hour, Andrea Mitchell of Mitchell Reports, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, and Devex President Raj Kumar. Photo by: Jeff Mauritzen
Thursday’s event, titled “It’s a Big World, After All,” featured remarks by veteran television journalists Andrea Mitchell and Margaret Warner as well as Tony Blinken, the White House deputy national security advisor. Mitchell contributes to NBC News and hosts MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports; Warner is a senior correspondent for the PBS NewsHour. Guest spottings included Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Vincent De Paul, the actor.
During a week of famed parties celebrating political journalism, this was the first one celebrating foreign affairs reporting.
It is part of Devex’s mission to elevate the global development causes and connect the aid community with decision makers and opinion leaders far and wide. In an age when foreign affairs news coverage is on the decline, Devex is dedicated to shining a spotlight on what’s happening in global development.
Past Devex events have featured speakers such as then-World Bank President Robert Zoellick, political operative Gene Sperling and Chuck Hagel, the defense secretary who at the time was a senator.
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Music credit: “Dexterity” by Hugo ‘Droopy’ Contini
About the author
Caitlin Jolly
Caitlin Holliday serves as senior associate for programs and events at Devex. From organizing large happy-hour events to intimate round-table discussions, she enjoys bringing professionals together to exchange ideas, share resources and make the right connections to help the development community do good and do it well. Caitlin previously worked for the Global Health Council where she coordinated policy events and developed a heart for maternal and child health.