The attacks of 9/11 left a permanent mark on the psyche of the American people. For those who were in middle or high school or just starting college in 2001, their lives and worldviews were changed by the attacks in a way that no other event could compare in the most formative years of their young lives. How do they view the role of America in the world? Did they see a change in the culture and temperament of this country? And did the attacks change what it meant for them to be an American? From the media they consume to the career paths they choose, the 9/11 Generation will shape American policy and identity in the coming decades, just as they were shaped by that fateful day.

Please join the Center for American Progress for an expert discussion of the potential and perils of the Obama administration's new initiative aimed at reducing the inventory of foreclosed homes for sale.

The administration's Request for Information expressed interest in one promising approach: fixing up and converting to affordable rental a large number of properties. The aim would be to improve the government's recovery of losses, help stabilize neighborhoods and local home values, and, where appropriate, increase the supply of affordable rental housing. The administration seeks responses by September 15. CAP experts have written before about many benefits to this approach, which could potentially also help address rising rental demand and even offer an opportunity to make a dent in reducing the energy consumption of our housing stock. But there are potential pitfalls as well. Sometimes investor ownership of single-family homes has been a detriment to communities. And "scattered site" rental housing has proven difficult to do at scale.

How can this approach be designed to realize the benefits and overcome the challenges? The Center for American Progress is bringing together a group of experts for a conversation about how this concept can be made to work.

Despite the successes of the Obama administration at the United Nations, the United States faces political and budgetary pressures that could restrict, diminish, or condition U.S. engagement in this crucial international institution. In the current climate, the need to maintain, leverage, and bolster our multilateral partnerships in order to advance U.S. interests and address a range of critical national security priorities couldn’t be more evident.

Please join keynote speaker Dr. Esther Brimmer, Assistant Secretary for International Organizations Affairs, for a discussion of the critical role the United States plays at the United Nations to ensure the organization can continue to address the broad and growing range of global challenges. Assistant Secretary Brimmer will also discuss ongoing administration efforts to ensure the United Nations and its institutions are more effective, efficient, and transparent.

There is an alternate universe where most of the Twentieth Century violates the Constitution—and a growing number of lawmakers live in it. Sen. Tom Coburn believes that Pell Grants, federal student loans and all other federal education programs violate the Constitution. Justice Clarence Thomas would strike down the national minimum wage and the ban on whites-only lunch counters. Senator Mike Lee believes that child labor laws, federal disaster relief, food stamps, the Food and Drug Administration, Social Security and Medicare are all forbidden.

Yet many of the same lawmakers who claim America is powerless to help students, workers, the jobless and the elderly imagine that the Constitution gives them sweeping power to trample on the rights of women and immigrants. In their vision, everything they oppose is forbidden, and much of what they support is mandatory.

Please join the Center for American Progress for a discussion of how America will change if the Tea Party succeeds in implementing its constitutional vision, and of why their imagined constitution cannot be squared with the document itself.

Jezebel's sexual lasciviousness, Mammy's devotion, and Sapphire's outspoken anger—these are among the most persistent stereotypes that black women encounter in contemporary American life. Such representations force African American women to navigate a virtual crooked room that shames them and shapes their experiences as citizens. Many respond by assuming a mantle of strength that may convince others, and even themselves, that they do not need help. But as a result, the unique political issues of black women are often ignored and marginalized.

In this groundbreaking book, Melissa V. Harris-Perry explores black women's political and emotional responses to pervasive negative race and gender images. Not a traditional political science work concerned with office-seeking, voting, or ideology, Sister Citizen instead explores how African American women understand themselves as citizens and what they expect from political organizing. Harris-Perry shows that the shared struggle to preserve an authentic self and secure recognition as a citizen links together black women in America, from the anonymous survivors of Hurricane Katrina to the current First Lady of the United States.

Copies of Sister Citizen will be available for purchase at the event.

Millions of Americans have lost their homes since the start of the Great Recession. By the middle of 2010, 4.6 percent of U.S. home mortgages were in foreclosure, three times the rate seen at the height of the Great Depression. In light of proposed regulations and the president’s proposal to revive the housing market, the conversation about the critical needs for the industry and individuals is vital to turning knowledge into policy that will rebuild a system that preserves access to credit while ensuring lenders can continue to do business.

The Center for American Progress, Brookings Institution Press, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Center for Community Capital invite you to join an esteemed panel for a deeper exploration of how the relationships between the lending industry, government, and borrowers worked in the past decade and how it can be revived and reformed for coming generations.

America’s new arrivals have always been one of our nation’s greatest sources of strength and, at times, challenge. When newcomers arrive to a community, they bring great assets, but their presence can also cause tension within the receiving communities, particularly those who do not have the institutional support to facilitate integration.‬

‪Though widely experienced, the challenges of integration are largely ignored and too little attention is given to how local communities can help facilitate, or impede, the process of integration of new arrivals.‬

Please join us for a fascinating two-part event that breaks new ground in a phenomenon as old as our nation—how communities sometimes cower, but more often conquer fears and grow stronger by embracing differences. First, an abridged screening of a soon-to-be-aired PBS documentary entitled “Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness” that gives a clear-eyed view how the town of Patchogue, New York, reacted and rebounded after an immigrant was killed in a hate crime attack by local teenagers.‬

Following the screening, experts from across the nation will discuss the importance of focusing on what receiving communities can do to help integrate new arrivals, and what others can learn from communities that have taken the lead in creating a dynamic process of integration. The discussion will draw heavily from a two-day gathering of experts on integration and a soon-to-be-released CAP report.

Adult learners, mobile learners, and other nontraditional students often come to postsecondary education with learning acquired outside of the traditional classroom. They have learning that comes from noncredit programs, corporate or military training, workplace-based learning, volunteering, and other activities. But these students often end up paying for and taking courses in subjects that they already know—wasting both their money and time.

There are upstart leaders in higher education who are blazing a trail in the effective use of Prior Learning Assessments, or PLAs, which help students succeed in college by rewarding learning wherever it occurs. Our session will take an in-depth look at these solutions at both the systemic and individual institution level. How did they get started? How are they demonstrating effectiveness? What models do they suggest for best practice replication? Please join us for a lively discussion on these questions.

How can we close the achievement and opportunity gaps that plague our nation’s public schools? How can we improve the thousands of schools in high-poverty communities that are failing to prepare students for long-term success? Expanding learning time and redesigning the school day is one promising solution.

Join us for a discussion tackling these important questions, as Secretary Duncan, Commissioner King, and experts in the field of time and learning highlight successful models and outline how expanded-time schools across America are improving teacher quality, deepening and broadening instruction, and preparing students for high school, college, and workforce success.

Additionally, NCTL will release a new report, "Time Well Spent: Eight Powerful Practices of Successful, Expanded-Time Schools" at this event.