I strongly believe that, through CGI U, we can harness the energy and power of today’s

young leaders to improve the lives of people around the world and build a stronger future for us all.

President Bill Clinton

One of the best things about CGI U is that it puts a lot of big thinkers together and it inspires them to collaborate to actually

create a better sum than the individual parts.

Blake MyCoskie , Founder and ChieF shoe Giver, toMs

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inspiring action. delivering results.Building on President Bill Clinton’s lifetime in public service, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) reflects his belief that collaboration among leaders from all sectors of society is essential to affecting positive global change. To harness the potential of the next generation of leaders from campuses around the world, President Clinton launched CGI University (CGI U) in 2007.

Every CGI U member – including students, youth organizations, and university officials – develops a Commitment to Action: a specific plan that addresses a social or environmental challenge on campuses, in local communities, or around the world. Commitments are made in one of five CGI U Global Challenge Areas: Education, Environment & Climate Change, Peace & Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health.

Each year, President Clinton convenes the CGI U commitment-makers, global luminaries, and renowned experts to come together to turn ideas into action. Through the CGI U Meeting and year-round commitment development support, CGI U catalyzes action, facilitates partnerships, and builds knowledge to help a growing community of global citizens work toward innovative solutions that improve lives around the world.

2,000 Commitments to Action 26,000 university students and 2,000 university faculty and staff mobilized to promote clean energy,

mitigate climate change, alleviate poverty, improve global health, and promote human rights and peace 70,000 people granted access to health care and social services 3,800 recycling containers placed on college campuses and surrounding communities 2,500 refugees receiving psychological aid and material assistance

Two Years of Results

CGI U Members1,595 students82 university presidents70 national youth organizations

Representing388 campuses53 countries50 states

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turning ideas into action: the CGi u MeetingCGI U Meeting sessions and special events provide a variety of knowledge-sharing, networking, and commitment development opportunities. Whether bringing together members of all sectors or facilitating small group discussions among campus leaders, the program allows CGI U members to discuss global issues, develop practical skills, identify partners, and formulate plans of action.

Plenary SessionsPlenary sessions convene the entire CGI U membership to hear from experts and key practitioners working in various fields. These sessions feature successful student commitment-makers, celebrities, representatives of nongovernmental organizations, and university presidents. The panel discussions allow prominent leaders with diverse perspectives to share project results and establish priorities that will inspire and inform subsequent breakout sessions.

Working SessionsWorking sessions bring together topic experts within each of the Global Challenge Areas to help CGI U members develop a knowledge-base for their commitments. Based on the themes presented in panels, these facilitated discussion sessions allow participants to share ideas on how initiatives can best be implemented, replicated, and scaled-up.

Skill SessionsSkill sessions provide an opportunity for members to gain practical knowledge in putting their commitments into action. Members who attend these sessions are able to share their commitment ideas and experiences, discuss common challenges, and receive guidance from leaders in the field. Previous session topics have included marketing tools, organization models, and commitment implementation strategies.

CGI U ExchangeCGI U Exchange is a forum for CGI U attendees to learn about innovative student commitments and explore the work of various youth organizations. The Exchange allows members to showcase their own accomplishments and provides partnership-building and networking opportunities for members with shared interests.

University President and NGO DiscussionInstitutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations play a key role in developing innovative research, cutting-edge curricula, and service initiatives to address global problems. This session brings together university presidents and nonprofit leaders to identify strategic opportunities for collaboration in these areas.

Service ProjectThe service project is an opportunity for students to make a difference on a local level and take part in hands-on activities to give back to CGI U’s host community. In 2008, CGI U partnered with Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation to assist in the reconstruction of New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. In 2009, members including Austin Mayor Will Wynn and actor Matthew McConaughey assisted in the revitalization of the Rosewood Community Center in East Austin.

Office HoursOffice hours at the CGI U Meeting provide students with an opportunity to directly engage with various speakers present at the meeting. Through informal discussions, panelists share their experiences and offer their advice and opinions to small groups of students.

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Annie Bryant, House a Hero

In researching and writing a paper for a class, Annie Bryant was horrified to learn that about a third of the US homeless population consists of combat veterans. Identifying social isolation as a major factor contributing to homelessness, Annie developed the House a Hero program to provide family-style transitional housing to recently discharged combat veterans. This model allows veterans to live with a host family for up to a year and receive assistance including mental health services, employment, and education.

Annie is working with two faculty mentors and local organizations to interview and recruit potential families, conduct risk assessments, and develop educational and safety plans.

The goal of Annie’s Commitment to Action is to reduce social isolation among veterans, ease transition to noncombat life, prevent homelessness, and strengthen the veteran community. Annie also received a grant through the CGI U Outstanding Commitment Awards, funded by the Pat Tillman Foundation, to help support her work.

CGI U Stories

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Lucky Gunasekara, FrontlineSMS:Medic

After Lucky Gunasekara heard President Bill Clinton’s call to action in a commencement speech, he began to think seriously about what he could do to address public health challenges around the world. Building off FrontlineSMS, created by CGI alum Ken Banks, Lucky and his partners founded FrontlineSMS:Medic, a free, open source software program designed to help health workers in developing countries meet the challenge of caring for the billion people living on less than $1 a day.

Community health workers frequently make long trips between centrally-located clinics and peripheral villages. This commitment will build on existing technology to develop innovative healthcare modules that will utilize a cell phone to provide basic electronic medical records, allowing clinics and their CHWs to securely communicate patient information in real time. Additionally, the software will tag patient data, allowing health care workers to visualize local health burdens and perform critical diagnostics in seconds via cell phone.

For his innovative work, Lucky was recognized by former President Bill Clinton on stage at the CGI U Meeting in 2009. He also received a grant from the Pat Tillman Foundation as part of the 2009 CGI U Outstanding Commitment Awards. Despite his own achievements, Lucky marveled at the talent and commitment of his peers at the CGI U Meeting in 2009. “The students at CGI U represent the future of global health,”he remarked.

CGI U Stories

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Beyond the MeetingCGI U is more than a meeting – it is a community of young leaders, institutions, and organizations taking action to affect positive change. Through year-round partnership building, commitment development, and networking efforts, CGI U and its members work to implement commitments, build awareness, and generate support for the work of students, youth organizations, and universities around the world.

CGI U Outstanding Commitment AwardsThe CGI U Outstanding Commitment Awards were launched in 2008 to provide financial support to innovative, student-driven commitments. To date, a total of $900,000 has been awarded through the Wal-Mart Foundation and the Pat Tillman Foundation to support high-impact student commitments. These have included improving access to education for children of migrant farm workers in Texas and the construction of a new theater in the resource-poor region of Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.

Commitment DevelopmentThroughout the year, CGI U offers commitment development services in order to provide students with additional guidance in designing and implementing their commitments. CGI U draws upon a network of experienced CGI U members to mentor current CGI U student commitment-makers. CGI U members are also provided opportunities to connect with other individuals who have ongoing commitments in similar topic areas or geographic regions. Select CGI U commitments are featured in various press and media outlets through CGI U and CGI marketing efforts.

Campus RepresentativesCGI U campus reps are a dynamic network of student leaders who work at their colleges and universities to conduct outreach, develop and raise funds for commitments, organize events, work with university administrators, and provide feedback to CGI U. The campus rep network also enables students to obtain greater support for their CGI U commitments by establishing ties with administrators, relevant staff, and other existing student organizations on campus.

I met students from all walks of life that gave me insightful methods of how to solve problems in my own backyard.

I believe that the interaction with students is what stood out the most, aside from the excellent feedback from

panelists and President Clinton.”

Chris raMirez, university oF texas – Pan aMeriCan

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Global Challenge areasCGI U focuses the work of its members within five Global Challenge Areas: Education, Environment & Climate Change, Peace & Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health.

EducationEducation systems all too often replicate existing societal and economic inequalities. 72 million children will not see the inside of a primary school classroom this year, and 57 percent of these will be girls. Today, a new generation of leaders is launching initiatives to expand access to education, better integrate technology into classrooms, expand curricular innovation, and provide higher education opportunities to economically disadvantaged groups. These movements are defining and improving the central role that schools and universities play in providing academic knowledge, values, and skills for economic development.

Environment & Climate ChangeIn both the developed and developing world, CO2 and methane emissions continue to rise, hundreds of coal plants and superhighways remain on the drawing boards, and international consensus on a new global climate agreement appears elusive. Building on an increasingly global movement, many students & universities worldwide have rallied together to find common solutions to our climate crisis. Throughout the world, a groundswell of eco-entrepreneurs and young climate leaders are expanding the renewable energy economy, creating green jobs, and accelerating progress towards a sustainable future.

The organization of CGI U is amazing—things actually get done. [CGI U] is about commitments, ideas, and what you have learned. luke russert, CorresPondent, nBC

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Peace & Human RightsWar, genocide, and other multinational conflicts have killed or displaced millions of people in recent decades. Yet human rights abuses extend far beyond geopolitical and military conflicts alone. In times of both war and peace, violence against women and girls occurs at an alarming rate globally, with six out of every ten women experiencing physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. Many young leaders are taking action to address these issues and strengthen the foundations for peace around the world. Students are spearheading awareness campaigns on human rights issues and building communities of dialogue on and off campus, bringing together diverse ethnic, religious, and political groups to share ideas, find common solutions, take part in community service projects, and even play sports.

Poverty AlleviationToday, nearly 3 billion people in the world live on less than $2 a day despite billions of dollars in foreign aid and multinational initiatives. This poverty is both a cause and consequence of inadequate education systems, social exclusion, political instability, violent conflict, food insecurity, and human migration. Students, youth organizations, and universities are working tirelessly to develop and scale new innovations in the fields of economic empowerment, affordable technologies, and agricultural development that will enable millions around the globe to climb out of poverty. Despite the current global economic distress, universities are inspiring the technological innovation and cross-sector collaboration that is integral to sustainable economic security for all.

Public HealthOur increasingly interconnected world enables health risks to spread quickly across national boundaries, linking the health of the world’s communities more closely than ever before. Exposures and risks from shifting environmental conditions disproportionately effect disadvantaged groups, particularly young children. And chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes continue to rise as global demographics shift. Students have been at the forefront of the movement to expand access to essential services and medicines, particularly in developing nations. Emerging leaders in the field are exploring solutions through simple mobile technology, community-based care provision, and infrastructure development. These efforts are improving the quality, availability, and affordability of health services around the globe.

The organization of CGI U is amazing—things actually get done. [CGI U] is about commitments, ideas, and what you have learned. luke russert, CorresPondent, nBC

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Commitments to actionCGI U asks every member to develop a Commitment to Action. Commitments are initiatives that translate practical goals into meaningful results within the five CGI U Global Challenge Areas. Varying in size and duration, commitments are diverse in issues addressed, approaches employed, and geographic scope of work.

Reduce Student Carbon Footprints (2009)Commitment By: Andy Frank, Executive Director, America’s Greenest CampusGlobal Challenge Area: Environment & Climate Change

America’s Greenest Campus has committed to launch a nationwide contest that enables colleges and universities to compete against each other in reducing their carbon footprints. AmericasGreenestCampus.com will offer personalized advice on how participants can reduce their carbon footprint, track the collective carbon reductions of participating students, faculty, staff, and alumni at campuses across the country, and provide cash awards to winning schools.

A Center for Democratic Citizenship and a New Liberal Arts (2008)Commitment By: Elizabeth Coleman, President, Bennington CollegeGlobal Challenge Area: Cross-Cutting

Bennington College has committed to developing Design Labs, a new problem-based curriculum that engages students and faculty to work together in designing solutions to urgent, real-world problems. Bennington is also planning on breaking ground for the Center for Democratic Citizenship and a New Liberal Arts in 2010 to develop and support young global citizens and improve the odds that Bennington graduates are committed to – and capable of – effective action in addressing pressing issues of our time.

Creating a Joint Sport Program for Jewish & Arab Youth in Jerusalem (2009)Commitment By: Ohad Ish Shalom, Student, Ben Gurion UniversityGlobal Challenge Area: Peace & Human Rights

Undergraduate student Ohad Ish Shalom will create a sports program for Jewish and Arab children living in Jerusalem, Israel to overcome the barriers of language, politics, and religion within the region. Select Jewish and Arab schools will recruit students of ages 8-10 to participate in an after-school sports program that will include coached sports activities as well as dialogue sessions in order to emphasize teamwork and meaningful interaction among players.

The 2009 CGI U Meeting was a source of inspiration to Dominican and Haitian youth, guiding them towards a strengthening of their commitment

to social causes within their communities and universities.

Pilar sandoval , exeCutive direCtor, the united nations assoCiation oF the doMiniCan rePuBliC

CGiu.orG

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