Building on the successful model of the Clinton Global Initiative, which brings together world leaders to take action on global challenges, President Bill Clinton launched the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) in 2007 to engage the next generation of leaders on college campuses around the world.
CGI U Meeting
Each year, CGI U hosts a meeting where students, university representatives, topic experts, and celebrities come together to discuss and develop innovative solutions to pressing global challenges. The meeting will bring together more than 1,000 students to make a difference in CGI U’s five focus areas: Education, Environment and Climate Change, Peace and Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health.
The next CGI U meeting will occur in the April 2020 at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
CGI U Commitments and Community
But CGI U is more than just an event. It is a growing community of young leaders who don’t just discuss global challenges—they take real, concrete steps toward solving them. Throughout the year, and as a prerequisite of attending the CGI U meeting, students develop their own Commitments to Action: new, specific, and measurable initiatives that address pressing challenges on campus, in local communities, or around the world. Commitments range from manufacturing wheelchairs for developing countries to establishing campus bike share programs, from creating free vision clinics to developing e-learning applications for mobile phones.
Throughout the year, students are also invited to apply to become CGI U Campus Representatives. Colleges and universities can engage with CGI U by joining the CGI University Network to support and mentor innovative student commitment-makers from their respective campuses by providing seed funding for new projects and initiatives. We also encourage CGI U alums to apply for our CGI U Alumni Ambassadors to help us engage our growing network of more than 10,000 alumni.
CGI U is proof that young people have the power to make a significant impact by confronting some of the world’s most urgent challenges. Since 2008, more than 10,000 students around the world have Commitments to Action, and more than $3 million in funding has been awarded to these commitment-makers through the CGI U platform, including the University Network, Innovation Fund, Commitments Challenge, and Resolution Project.
