President Bill Clinton has announced the program and speakers for the fifth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), which will be held March 30 – April 1, 2012 at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
This year, more than 1,000 students will attend CGI U, representing all 50 states, more than 75 countries, and approximately 300 college and universities.
“CGI U gives students an opportunity to get involved and become more effective global citizens,” said President Clinton. “Since our first meeting in 2008, young leaders from around the world come together each year. Their passion and commitments continue to inspire me and each other. More than 1,000 students will attend the fifth annual meeting of CGI U to share ideas and take action to improve the world we all share.”
The CGI U program will feature sessions that will examine issues throughout its five focus areas: Education, Environment and Climate Change, Peace and Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health. The meeting will examine critical topics such as the transformation of the Middle East, the global economic crisis and its impact on young people, recruiting and retaining teachers, the famine in the Horn of Africa, cost-effective campus sustainability programs, and the youth movement for global health. These sessions will allow students to gain further insight into today’s pressing global challenges and acquire the skills needed to make progress on their own Commitments to Action.
On Saturday, March 31, Jon Stewart will join President Clinton for an exclusive conversation addressing some of the most pressing domestic and international issues facing the next generation. Stewart will open the conversation with a few questions for President Clinton and will then focus the majority of the session on a Q&A format between the President and CGI U students.
Additional program participants for CGI U 2012 include: Madeleine Albright, chair, Albright Stonebridge Group; Biz Stone, co-founder and chief creative officer, Twitter; Usher Raymond, chairman and founder, Usher's New Look Foundation; Abdilmalik Buul, chairman, Somali Youth League; Allison Basile, metrics officer, Grassroots Business Fund; Anita Ahuja, co-founder, Conserve India; Benjamin Lu, student, New York University School of Medicine; Cheryl Dorsey, president, Echoing Green; Christina Newman, founder, Hens for Haiti; Dana Mauriello, founder and president, Profounder; Daphni Leef, activist, Tent Movement, Tel Aviv; Deqo Mohamed, chief executive officer, Dr. Hawa Abdi Foundation; Esteban Bullrich, minister of education, City of Buenos Aires; Grace Ochieng, co-founder, New Vision Sewing Co-Op, Lwala Community Technology; Haile Debas, director, Global Health Sciences; Jeremy Kane, founder and CEO, LEAD Public Schools; Jesse LaGreca, blogger, Daily Kos; Lara Setrakian, foreign correspondent, ABC News and Bloomberg Television; Matt Severson, president, the School Fund; Matthew Morantz, director, Making Waves Canada; Maya Cohen, executive director, GlobeMed; Megan Chapple-Brown, director, Office of Sustainability at the George Washington University; Michael Gerson, columnist, The Washington Post and advisor, One Campaign; Mohammed Anwar, chief executive officer, Empathy Learning Systems Private Limited; Molly Katchpole, fellow, Rebuild the Dream; Rebecca Hamilton, author, Reuters; Robyn Allen, chief executive officer, ArcMetra; Roxanne Quimby, founder, Elliotsville Plantation Inc.; Slava Rubin, founder and CEO, IndieGoGo; Veronika Scott, founder and CEO, the Empowerment Plan; Vincent Ndebwanimana, advisor, Rwanda Village Concept Project; Wendy Hanamura, vice president of strategy and general manager, Link Media, Inc.; and Ziad Aly, founder and CEO, ALZWAD.
Previously announced speakers include: Chelsea Clinton, board member, Clinton Global Initiative and the William J. Clinton Foundation; Jon Stewart, executive producer and host, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; Rye Barcott, founder, Carolina for Kibera; Sadiqa Basiri, co-founder, Oruj Learning Center; Robin Chase, chief executive officer, Buzzcar; Ashifi Gogo, founder and chief executive officer, Sproxil, Inc.; Cynthia Koenig, chief executive officer, Wello; and Kathryn Schulz, author, Being Wrong.
CGI U 2012 will conclude with a day of service on April 1, mobilizing nearly 800 attendees and volunteers who will work alongside local veterans to give back to the D.C. community. This year, the service project will be held in partnership with Rebuilding Together and the United Service Organizations (USO), and will include remarks by President Clinton and other special guests at the Kelly Miller Middle School, located in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Participants will be assigned to one of the two partner organizations’ projects, including participating in a wide variety of home repair activities to low-income homeowners in need and assembling packages that will be sent to military units who are either about to deploy or are currently overseas. In total, CGI U participants will contribute more than 2,500 hours of service for Rebuilding Together and the USO.
Building on the successful model of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), CGI U brings together students, national youth organizations, nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, and celebrities engaged in efforts to create positive change.
The full agenda for CGI U 2012 can be found here.
