House of Cards actor and Enough Project upstander Robin Wright wants you to join her for lunch on the set of the hit television series to talk politics, power, and maybe even Congo. It only costs $10 and the funds benefit Enough’s Raise Hope for Congo campaign.
Click here to enter before March 31st.
First Lady Claire Underwood is known for her poised politicking exterior and ruthless behind-the-scenes manipulative schemes. And while this characterization couldn’t be farther off base from the demeanor of Robin Wright, the actor who portrays Claire, sometimes their passions do in fact collide.
Early in the much anticipated season 3, Claire Underwood finds herself in a conversation with a Congresswoman who is testing Claire’s knowledge of a fictional “UN resolution 9142” concerning sanctions on the Democratic Republic of Congo for the “illegal mining and smuggling of mineral resources.” In response, Claire notes:
The DRC is already wracked with economic hardship, compounded by an unstable government. It ranks 192 out of 194 in GDP per capita. I think we need to encourage foreign investment, and develop new forms of economic growth, rather than make one of the world’s poorest countries even poorer. From a national security perspective, the United States maintains a strong interest in the success of the DRC.
In real life, Robin Wright also similarly defends the importance of Congo, and calls on U.S. citizens, politicians, and companies to work towards responsible investment in Congolese minerals. In 2011, Robin traveled to eastern Congo with Enough’s Raise Hope for Congo campaign, and has continued to be an outspoken advocate for peace in the region. Since 2011, she has joined the CEO of Intel in a conversation about conflict-free products containing minerals from Congo, delivered a 100,000 signature petition to the White House calling for the appointment of a Special Envoy to Congo, spoken on a United Nations panel focused on elevating the conversation on ending sexual violence in conflict, and now her character on House of Cards has made Congo a talking point on a hit television series.