WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Agency for International Development will unveil its Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance, at a ceremony on Monday, February 27, at 4 p.m. in the Ronald Regan Building's Point 4 Conference Room.

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) Nancy Lindborg will deliver remarks.

The Center will serve as a model for USAID's transformation into an evidence-based learning organization, focused on advancing best practices in the democracy, rights and governance field. It will be housed in DCHA, replacing the Office of Democracy and Governance.

With the momentous events in the Arab world and beyond, the Center will focus on lessons learned - working closely with the Agency's missions around the world to systematically generate and compile knowledge of what does and does not work in supporting democracy, rights and governance.

Date: Monday, February 27

Time: 4 to 5 p.m.

Location: USAID, Ronald Reagan Building Point 4 Conference Room, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004

Members of the news media interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP to Lisa Hibbert-Simpson at lhibbertsimpson@usaid.gov or 202-712-5114.

For more information about USAID, please visit www.usaid.gov.