On April 1 – 3, 2011, three NOW! Organization members had the opportunity to attend the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) 2011 Conference, held in San Diego, California, USA. We were selected to apply after compiling together both a group and individual application for CGIU, in addition to conceptualizing and laying out concrete steps to fulfilling a quantifiable Commitment to Action for NOW!’s cause.
CGIU 2011 was a 3-day conference that was hosted by the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), in conjunction with the Clinton Global Initiative, in La Jolla/San Diego. This is the 4th annual CGIU conference, and brought together nearly 1200 attendees from around the world to San Diego for an intense 3 days of networking, learning, and collaborating.
CGIU strives to engage the next generation of leaders and change makers from college campuses from around the world, and bring them together to connect, learn, be inspired, and raise awareness for their efforts on an international stage. It builds upon the successful model of the Clinton Global Initiative, launched by former United States President Bill Clinton, by bringing together students, national youth organizations, experts, and celebrities to discuss solutions to issues that are part of the five focus areas of CGIU: Education, Environment and Climate Change, Peace and Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health. However, CGIU is not just another conference that discusses problems- it also acts upon them by taking real, concrete steps to create a better world through the Commitments to Action.
The NOW! Organization’s Commitment to Action focused on the areas of Education and Environment & Climate Change. We committed to raise awareness of problems and solutions to sustainability through the performing arts, and to do so through our flagship program, the Act NOW! International Performance Writing Festival.
Keep reading below for a brief trip report on what happened at CGIU 2011!
NOW! Organization members at CGIU 2011 (from left to right): Ivan Liu, Janny Ke, and Denise Chau.
Friday, April 1, 2011
By Friday, all 3 NOW! members attending had arrived at UCSD. After having some free time in the morning to explore the local area around the UCSD campus, we made our way to registration at the UCSD RIMAC Arena. Afterwards, the Student Networking Event and Dinner took place in the Price Centre Ballroom West, where Mandy Moore, an actress and Ambassador for Population Services International, gave opening words to the assembled delegates. The Opening Plenary, entitled “What’s the Big Deal? Powering Innovation on Campus and Beyond” closed off the night and kick-started the conference on a high note, with an opening address by former US President Bill Clinton, and a focus on powering innovation that was moderated by President Clinton, and had a panel of speakers that included one of the co-founders of Youtube, as well as one of the co-founders of sOccket.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
We gathered for a quick breakfast before heading off to the first event of the day, the Morning Plenary, “The Urban Planet: Solutions for a Crowded World”. Afterwards, we then attended a skills session on utilizing Social Media to engage and innovate, where we had the opportunity to hear about the success and ideas of Alexis Ohanian, one of the founders of Reddit. The lunch session was next, where boxed lunches (in sustainable packaging!) was served alongside the CGIU Exchange Fair, where we explored the many booths that introduced to us the many initiatives and ideas that fellow students and corporate institutions were putting into action. Afterwards, we headed to the Afternoon Plenary session, “Financial Aid: Innovation for Affordability”, an engaging and relevant panel discussion moderated by Chelsea Clinton. We continued our packed day with a Working Session on “Scarcity and Crisis: Food, Water, and Energy as a Right and a Conflict Driver”, which featured Mandy Moore as its opening speaker. Following that, we then headed to the Closing Plenary, “A Conversation with President Clinton”, which also featured the actor Sean Penn, who shared with us his experience living and working in Haiti after the devastating earthquake and its efforts to rebuild. After a high-spirited and lively discussion, all the CGIU attendees went to the Closing Party for some dinner and to network in a more casual setting.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
The day started out bright and early, as we boarded buses to head to the Service Project at the San Diego Food Bank. We were treated to an early-morning bout of excitement when not only President Clinton addressed us, but also Drew Barrymore, a Hollywood actress, and Irwin Jacobs, founder of Qualcomm. At the project, we assisted in doing a variety of tasks that included sorting and distributing food, as well as assisting local families in obtaining much-needed supplies. After a quick lunch, the conference was officially over as all our new friends started heading their separate ways back to their homes across the world.
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Attending CGIU 2011 was a great opportunity to not only network and connect with hundreds of leaders and change-makers from around the world, but also a fantastic learning experience. We incorporated many of the inspiration and ideas that we had from CGIU into our Commitment to Action, the Act NOW! Festival. We have not only made it more innovative, but expanded our reach and scope, especially with this being our first year opening up the Festival to international submissions. In addition, we also moved further to fulfilling our Commitment to Action by holding our first community performance of the Act NOW! winning plays at the CBC Studio 700 on May 17, 2011. It was our first time doing the performances outside of a school theatre setting, and it proved a very rewarding and successful experience, as over 100 people came to see the performances, resulting in a full house!
