Details have been announced for the seventh annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), where President Bill Clinton, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton will convene more than 1,000 student leaders from around the world at Arizona State University, March 21-23.
These undergraduate and graduate students will engage in developing solutions to some of the most pressing concerns of the Millennial generation, including human rights, women’s social and economic empowerment, and combating HIV/AIDS in the United States.
They will be joined by experts, entrepreneurs, and civically engaged celebrities such as Bill Drayton, Chief Executive Officer, Ashoka; Gabrielle Giffords, Former U.S. Representative and Founder, Americans for Responsible Solutions; Mark Kelly, Former Astronaut and Founder, Americans for Responsible Solutions; Jimmy Kimmel, Host and Executive Producer, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”; John McCain, U.S. Senator from Arizona; Cindy Hensley McCain, Founding Member, Eastern Congo Initiative; Reeta Roy, President and Chief Executive Officer, The MasterCard Foundation; María Elena Salinas, Anchor, Univision News; Jimmy Wales, Founder, Wikipedia; and Lauryn Williams, U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist in Sprinting and Silver Medalist in Bobsledding.
“Each year, the commitments and partnerships that come out of CGI University prove that young people are not only up to the task of working towards a safer, more sustainable world, but that they are eager to get started now,” said Chelsea Clinton. “Whether interested in starting a social venture to fight HIV/AIDS or increasing women’s interest in STEM in remote areas of the world, students come to CGI U to turn their ideas into action. We are thrilled to bring this meeting to ASU, which has the largest solar energy portfolio of any university in America and a strong commitment to positive social change and innovation.”
CGI U 2014 attendees will have access to more than $750,000 in seed funding to implement their Commitments to Action: new, specific, and measurable plans to address urgent challenges. The funding marks the largest sum in the meeting’s history, including $650,000 from the growing CGI University Network of more than 55 colleges and universities and another $100,000 through the Resolution Project Social Venture Challenge, a competition between aspiring student entrepreneurs with sustainable enterprises.
Over the past six years, students have made more than 4,000 Commitments to Action, including a CGI U commitment made by Harvard University student Jessica Matthews, which led to the creation of Soccket, a soccer ball that doubles as an eco-friendly generator for people in resource-poor regions. Dartmouth College student Ashifi Gogo made a CGI U commitment to use text messaging to combat the proliferation of counterfeit drugs in the developing world. This became Sproxil, a social business that has raised more than $1.8 million, secured major pharmaceutical clients, and has now been used nearly 8 million times.
The fourth annual CGI U Commitments Challenge launched March 10, featuring a national online competition of new commitment ideas from college and university students in the form of a “bracket.” This year, CGI is partnering with Crowdrise, one of the largest online platforms dedicated to raising money for charity and amazing causes, to power the competition and help student “teams” fundraise for their new commitments. The public now has the opportunity to donate to their favorite CGI U 2014 commitment here. The first qualifying round runs through this Thursday, with the top 16 teams being seeded into a bracket competition that begins on Friday, March 14. Last year’s winner, Arizona State University student Davier Rodriguez, created an award-winning CGI U commitment to develop DREAMzone, a program that will establish a national network of allies to support undocumented students in Arizona and beyond.
On March 23, students will gather in downtown Phoenix for the Clinton Foundation’s ninth Day of Action. The morning of community service will be in collaboration with PHX Renews, a partnership between the City of Phoenix and Keep Phoenix Beautiful that aims to transform previously vacant lots in the city into vibrant and sustainable public spaces. To kick off the Day of Action, Chelsea Clinton and President Bill Clinton will be joined by Mayor of Phoenix Greg Stanton, and Co-Founders of Americans for Responsible Solutions Former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and Former Astronaut Mark Kelly.
Building off the success of the Clinton Foundation’s Codeathon series, young people will have the opportunity to participate in a codeathon in the lead up to the meeting, on Thursday, March 20, and Friday, March 21. The codeathon aims to spur innovation in the technology space and increase the scope, reach, and impact of CGI U Commitments to Action. The two-day session will challenge student developers and designers to build unique digital prototypes inspired by CGI U commitments that address education, global health, and water quality issues.
Throughout the meeting, students will engage in various topic- and skill-based sessions, which will empower them to get involved with solving major global challenges while they’re still in school.
Featured participants at the CGI U 2014 meeting will include: Derrick Ashong, Host and Special Correspondent, Fusion; Tina Barseghian, Editor, MindShift; Ken Berger, President and Chief Executive Officer, Charity Navigator; Sujata Bhatt, Founder, The Incubator School; Kevin Bleyer, Emmy award-winning writer/producer for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “Dennis Miller,” and “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher”; Asi Burak, President, Games for Change; Lily Cole, Founder, impossible; Michael M. Crow, President, Arizona State University; Manjula Dissanayake, Founding President, Educate Lanka Foundation, Inc.; Bill Drayton, Chief Executive Officer, Ashoka; Jay Feely, Professional Football Player, Arizona Cardinals; Gabrielle Giffords, Former U.S. Representative and Founder, Americans for Responsible Solutions; Wahleah Johns, Co-founder, Black Mesa Water Coalition; Mark Kelly, Former Astronaut and Founder, Americans for Responsible Solutions; Jimmy Kimmel, Host and Executive Producer, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”; Adnan Mahmud, Chief Executive Officer, Live Stories; Ludwick Marishane, DryBath Inventor, Headboy Industries Inc.; Dulce Matuz, President, Arizona DREAM Act Coalition; John McCain, U.S. Senator from Arizona; Cindy Hensley McCain, Founding Member, Eastern Congo Initiative; Alicia Menendez, Host, Fusion; Maria Menounos, Host, “Extra!”, Founder, Take Action Hollywood!, Deogratias Niyizonkiza, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Village Health Works; Jamar Rogers, Musician, Dream On Productions and HIV/AIDS Activist; Reeta Roy, President and Chief Executive Officer, The MasterCard Foundation; María Elena Salinas, Anchor, Univision News; Amirah Sequeira, National Coordinator, Student Global AIDS Campaign; Greg Stanton, Mayor, City of Phoenix; Nancy Sutley, Former Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality; Michael Tubbs, Council Member, City of Stockton; Jimmy Wales, Founder, Wikipedia; Patrick Walsh, Co-founder and Chief Impact Officer, CLASSY Awards; Lauryn Williams, Olympic Gold Medalist in Sprinting and Silver Medalist in Bobsledding; Phill Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Black AIDS Institute; and more.
Find out more here.
