Photo by Paul Morse/Cilnton Global Initaitve on Flickr.

Bill Wetzel is director of Clinton Global Initiative University, which Knight Foundation supports to build the community of Miami’s entrepreneurs and innovators, while fostering talent and expanding opportunity.

From March 6-8, more than 1,000 young leaders from around the world will come to Miami for the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) 2015 meeting, where they will join President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and dozens of other social innovators and entrepreneurs to turn ideas into tangible action. President Clinton established Clinton Global Initiative University in 2007 to engage college students and the university community in addressing some of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century, and we’re excited to bring our eighth meeting to the University of Miami. RELATED LINKS

“Knight Foundation announces $200,000 support to Clinton Global Initiaive University meeting to be hosted by President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton in Miami” Press release, 02/23/15

Here’s how it works: Similar to the business, government and civil society leaders who attend the Clinton Global Initiative’s other meetings, CGI U participants must make a Commitment to Action: a new, specific and measureable plan to address a pressing concern on their campus or in communities across the world. The commitments model is the backbone of the Clinton Global Initiative: global leaders have used it to create more than 3,100 Commitments to Action, improving the lives of over 430 million people in more than 180 countries. And through CGI U, we are inviting young people to harness the commitments model to turn their ideas into action as well.

CGI U commitments have included ventures such as the SOCCKET, a soccer ball that doubles as a power source for off-grid communities, and Sproxil, a social business that uses text messaging to combat the proliferation of counterfeit drugs in the developing world. For CGI U 2015, student commitments will include coastal resilience efforts for Florida’s wetlands, affordable eyeglasses for the developing world, solar-powered cellphone charging units, reforestation efforts in Haiti, a social enterprise that provides jobs to victims of domestic violence, and a mentoring program for first-generation college students.

At the 2015 meeting, we’ll be addressing topics ranging from the globalization of chronic diseases to strategies for investing in urban green spaces.  On the first two days of the meeting, students will have the opportunity to participate in the Clinton Foundation Codeathon. The codeathon will challenge developers and designers from Miami and around the world to build unique digital prototypes inspired by CGI U commitments in the areas of education, global health, and environment and climate change. It will culminate with a presentation to a panel of expert judges working in technology and social innovation.

Students participate in the Clinton Global Initiative University service project at the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust’s homestead homeless complex. Photo by Marlena Skrobe/Clinton Foundation on Flickr.

By the afternoon of March 6, over 1,000 student attendees from over 80 countries will be onsite for the formal launch of the CGI U meeting. President Clinton will moderate an opening plenary focused on how technology can expand access to opportunity, particularly for the hardest-to-reach populations around the world.  We’ll also have a session on “The Power of Big Data,” hosted by Chelsea Clinton, which will explore how young people can use analytics to inform their work, whether they are monitoring disease outbreaks or designing STEM mentorship programs. There will also be a plenary session titled “The Future of Energy,” where participants will explore ways to effectively and more equitably meet the rising demand for affordable renewable energy solutions, while designing the next generation of low-carbon energy technologies.

Most importantly, this gathering is more than just a meeting.  Through the CGI University Network and a social venture pitch competition onsite, there will be over $900,000 in funding opportunities for select student attendees of CGI U 2015.  And CGI U will be working throughout the year to make sure that students have a wide range of resources and mentors to help them deliver on their commitments.  We’re excited to be able to bring these 1,000 young entrepreneurs and creative problem-solvers to Miami’s already vibrant innovation ecosystem, and look forward to seeing you in March.

For more about CGI U 2015, which will feature participants such as Masha Alekhina and Nadya Tolokonnikovaof Pussy Riot; America Ferrera, actor, producer and activist; Tawakkol Karman, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of Women Journalists Without Chains; Larry Wilmore, host of Comedy Central’s “The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore”; Aloe Blacc, Grammy-nominated artist; Hans Rosling, professor of international health and edutainer, Karolinska Institute, and founder, Gapminder Foundation, and more, visit cgiu.org. Plenary sessions will also be live-streamed during the meeting at live.cgiu.org/.

As director of Clinton Global Initiative University, Bill Wetzel oversees CGI’s efforts to engage university students and the higher education community in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Wetzel has worked with the Clinton Global Initiative since the launch of CGI U in 2007. Before joining the Clinton Global Initiative, Wetzel co-founded the Talk to Me Project, a civic engagement initiative that was featured in media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post and “This American Life.” He studied sustainable development at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.