Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will be the keynote speaker at the third annual Campus Progress National Student Conference. The event will be held on June 26, 2007, at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
“We are honored that Speaker Pelosi will address the Campus Progress conference this summer,” said Madhu Singh, conference coordinator for Campus Progress. “Young people are increasingly making their voices heard on issues from Iraq and Sudan, to college affordability, to global warming. They know that past approaches have failed, and we need change urgently. They want to hear from Speaker Pelosi about how government — and our generation — can step up and address these challenges.”
Other confirmed speakers include Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin (who has introduced key legislation to redeploy U.S. troops from Iraq); journalists Seymour Hersh and Asra Nomani; public interest leaders Wade Henderson, Van Jones, and Maria Teresa Petersen; and hip-hop artist M1. Campus Progress will announce additional speakers in the coming weeks.
The theme of this year’s Campus Progress conference is “Our Time Is Now,” highlighting increased youth participation in setting the course for the country. Young people today are voting in record numbers and launching their own successful issue campaigns and publications.
The one-day program, free to all 1000 student attendees, has become a central hub of youth organizing. Each year the conference features remarks by leading elected officials, activists, journalists, artists, and policy experts; issue discussions; training sessions on policy, communications, media, and other skills; and opportunities for students to make connections for progressive change. Senator Barack Obama was the conference’s keynote speaker in 2006, and President Bill Clinton was the keynote in 2005.
College and university students can learn more and apply to attend the June 26 conference by visiting http://campusprogress.org/common/1474/2007-campus-progress-national-student-conference-home .
Campus Progress, part of the Center for American Progress, works to help young people — advocates, activists, journalists, and artists — make their voices heard on issues that matter. Through an on-line magazine and student publications, public events, and grassroots issue campaigns, Campus Progress acts to empower new progressive leaders as they develop fresh ideas and communicate in new ways. The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan progressive think tank dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through ideas and action.