President
Bill Clinton, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and
Chelsea Clinton to Bring Together More Than 1,000 College Student
Leaders for 2014 Meeting of CGI University, March 21-23 at Arizona State
University
Featured participants include U.S. Senator John
McCain, Bill Drayton, Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly, Jimmy Kimmel,
Cindy Hensley McCain, Reeta Roy, María Elena Salinas, Jimmy Wales, and
Lauryn Williams; students to take action on some of Generation Y’s
biggest social, economic, and environmental concerns
Chelsea Clinton to mobilize students for Day of Action March 23 with PHX Renews in downtown Phoenix
NEW YORK – Today, details were 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 combatting 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 at http://www.cgiu.org/challenge. 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.
Sessions at CGI U 2014 will include:
- The Age of Participation, which will
bring together students, entrepreneurs, and celebrities to explore
promising new opportunities to affect change in the 21st century;
- Coming in Second: Scaling What Works,
which will highlight how social innovators can avoid reinventing the
wheel by aligning with organizations that have already achieved strong
results; and
- The Future of Higher Education: Redefining Learning As We Know It,
in which entrepreneurs, innovators, and educators will address how
colleges can better boost learning outcomes, prepare students of all
socioeconomic backgrounds for the job market, and cultivate the skills
necessary for becoming productive global citizens.
For the complete schedule, visit http://cgilink.org/1ckXpVr.
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.
Follow us on Twitter at @CGIU and @ClintonGlobal or on Facebook at Facebook.com/CGIUniversity for
meeting news and highlights. The official meeting hashtag is #CGIU.
Plenary sessions will also be live streamed during the meeting at live.cgiu.org.
Support for CGI U 2014 is generously provided by: American Association of University Women; Andy Nahas and The Prospect Fund; Laureate International Universities; MasterCard Foundation; Microsoft; Peter G. Peterson Foundation; Pederson Group, Inc.; and the Ramsey Social Justice Foundation.
About Clinton Global Initiative University
The Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), a program of the
Clinton Global Initiative, brings together college students to address
global challenges with practical, innovative solutions. CGI U
participants do more than simply discuss problems – they take concrete
steps to solve them by creating action plans, building relationships,
participating in hands-on workshops, and following up with CGI U as they
complete their projects. Since 2008, students have made more than 4,000
Commitments to Action. Previous CGI U meetings have taken place at
Tulane University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of
Miami, the University of California at San Diego, the George Washington
University, and Washington University in St. Louis, and have convened
more than 5,500 students from over 800 schools, 130 countries, and all
50 states. To learn more, visit cgiu.org.
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global
Initiative (CGI), an initiative of Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton
Foundation, convenes global leaders year-round and at its Annual Meeting
to create and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most
pressing challenges. CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on
collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States. To
date, members of the CGI community have made more than 2,800 Commitments
to Action, which are already improving the lives of more than 430
million people in over 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented,
these commitments will be valued at $103 billion. For more information,
visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.
About Arizona State University
Arizona State University is one of the
nation’s leading public research universities and is ranked among the
top 100 universities in the world.
Known for innovation and entrepreneurism, ASU has pioneered the model
for a New American University with a focus on accessibility and quality
education, training students to learn for a lifetime. According to its
mission, ASU will be measured not by who we exclude, but rather by who
we include and how they succeed; pursuing research and discovery that
benefits the public good; assuming major responsibility for the
economic, social, and cultural vitality and health and well-being of the
community.
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