by Allison Woods | Apr 23, 2010 | News Slider
Clinton Global Initiative University brings college students together to discuss the problems plaguing the modern world. This year’s conference was April 16-18 at the University of Miami. The closing panel of the conference addressed the continuing problems in Haiti. Michele Norris, of NPR’s All Things Considered, presided over discussion of the sensitive situation in Haiti after the earthquake. Three panelists were Haitian, including an author, a football player, and a student. Former President Bill Clinton joined them. He has played a major role in efforts to provide aid since the earthquake. Clinton was named special envoy to Haiti last year, and he and fellow former President George W. Bush are spearheading humanitarian relief efforts through the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. Norris adopted the adage “grace in the rubble” as a theme for the panelists to discuss in relation to the ongoing efforts in Haiti. She focused on the positives coming out of such a crippling situation. Clinton said his ideas about revitalizing Third World countries now differ from those he had when he was president. He acknowledged he was wrong in his earlier assumptions that helping the Third World meant industrializing the countries. Now, he says, developing agriculture and helping a country become self-sufficient fixes the root of the problem. For example, Haiti imports one million eggs a day, a product that could easily be produced in-country. Clinton’s goal is to help Haiti focus on such self-support methods. Stanley Clermont, a Haitian student who experienced the earthquake, reluctantly shared his story from the day of the earthquake with the crowd of about 1,500. “It was the most terrifying day, but also the best day,” Clermont said. “This is that day that...
by Allison Woods | Apr 23, 2010 | News Slider
Clinton Global Initiative University brings college students together to discuss the problems plaguing the modern world. This year’s conference was April 16-18 at the University of Miami. John Podesta, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, moderated a panel on change in the American community. The Center for American Progress’ Campus Progress has a web magazine covering the issues important to college students and allowing their voices to be heard. And these were the types of initiatives discussed during this panel. A variety of panelists spoke about their causes and the importance of community change, starting where you live. Marisol Becerra — a Chicago college student — worked with an environmental justice organization called Little Village while still in high school. As a college student, she raises awareness in her community about pollution and toxins emitted by local factories. Tim King started an all-boys public school in 2002 called Urban Prep in downtown Chicago. His goal was to address the college education rates for African-American young men. One in 40 African American men will complete college, he said, but Urban Prep has a 100 percent acceptance rate into college for its students. “We don’t want college to be a way to get out of the hood,” King said. “We want it to be a way to come back and work to fix the hood.” Bob Dixson, the Mayor of Greensburg, Kan., spoke of what has happened in the rebuilding efforts since his city was flattened by a tornado in May 2007. In rebuilding, the city is using all green technology and sustainable methods. “Green to me meant 1968, tie-dye shirts,...
by Allison Woods | Apr 23, 2010 | News Slider
Clinton Global Initiative University brings college students together to discuss the problems plaguing the modern world. This year’s conference was April 16-18 at the University of Miami. The Clinton Foundation started Clinton Global Initiative for world leaders to gather and address common issues, and three years ago a conference was added to include college students and their concerns. Former President Bill Clinton started Clinton Global Initiative University to bring college students together to address global issues through commitments to action. Groups submit projects aimed at tackling pressing issues, either in their community or even globally. The Wal-Mart Foundation provides grants for projects in conjunction with the conference. Projects can be submitted in five areas: education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation and public health. The highlights of the weekend were the plenary addresses, each on a specific topic. Clinton opened with his address on social imagination and innovative leadership. “The most important thing is an idea and a strategy to implement that, turning good intentions into positive changes,” Clinton said. Clinton said he is aware of the gap between what the private sector can do and what public institutions can provide. And trying to figure out how to fill the gap is a major reason for Clinton Global Initiative University. “The goal is to create global networks for the public good by private citizens,” Clinton said. “You aren’t intimidated by complexity,” Clinton said, noting how he believes college students can make the difference. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin then describe how she was influenced to practice medicine by working her way through college, providing health care in a small clinic in her hometown of...
