|
President Clinton Announces Expansion of Clinton Global
Initiative to College Campuses through CGI U
CGI U will Engage College Students in Service and Mobilize
Young Leaders to Take Action for Global Problem Solving
Students Encouraged to Apply Online to Attend
January 23, 2008
New York, NY
President Bill Clinton announced today that the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)
will expand its work to college and university campuses through CGI U, a youth-focused
meeting that will bring together students, academics, and social, political,
and cultural leaders to discuss pressing issues and ways to bring about global
action to solve them. The inaugural meeting of CGI U will take place March 14-16,
2008, at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Students who wish to attend
the meeting can apply online through www.cgiu.org.
There is no cost to attend CGI U and some travel assistance is available.
Similar to the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting held each year in New
York City, CGI U will inform and motivate a new generation of young people to
act on urgent challenges focusing on the following areas: energy & climate
change, global health, poverty alleviation, and peace & human rights. At
this meeting, CGI U will:
- Identify, cultivate, and engage college students to make tangible commitments
to tackle global issues;
- Challenge universities to organize research and service-oriented commitments
in targeted areas;
- Introduce and promote CGI’s work and mission to a new, younger audience;
and
- Connect students, organizations, and university administrators around the
world with others working on similar issues.
“Today’s college students have an unprecedented capacity to make
a difference, both in their communities and half a world away,” said President
Clinton. “They also have incredible enthusiasm, optimism, passion to learn,
and a desire to help others. The CGI model is about collective action to make
a difference, and it works because people who care come together not just to
talk, but to form partnerships to bring about change. It’s a model that
we know works, and by offering it to college students, I hope CGI U will give
them a new outlet to tackle problems and foster social change.”
CGI U will consist of plenary sessions and panel and group discussions that
will give students the opportunity to ask questions of panelists, develop ideas,
and form commitments. Before the event’s closing, students will be asked
to make a commitment to do something — big or small — to improve
the world. Students will also have the chance to participate in a day-long service
project sponsored by CGI U.
Students who are unable to attend CGI U will have the opportunity to view all
of the sessions through a live webcast via www.cgiu.org.
The website will also act as a portal for students to submit their commitments.
This section of the site will launch concurrently with the CGI U meeting in
New Orleans.
About the Clinton Global Initiative
The Clinton Global Initiative is a project of the William J. Clinton Foundation
that brings together a community of global leaders to devise and implement innovative
solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI has approximately
1,000 members, diverse and influential leaders from all over the world, who
make tangible commitments to create or support projects within CGI’s areas
of focus. During the three-day Annual Meeting, attendees participate in workshops
and meetings focused on four main topics: Global Heath, Education, Poverty Alleviation,
and Energy & Climate Change. Attendees are required to make specific commitments
to address one of the topics and report back to President Clinton on the progress
made throughout the course of the year. Attendees who do not make or keep their
commitment will not be invited to attend future meetings.
For more information, please visit: www.cgiu.org
or www.clintonglobalinitiative.org.
| 
