Our Commitment to Action
Washington University is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 22% by 2020. To advance this goal, the university has established an Energy Conservation Investment of $30 million.
CGI U 2013 was at Washington University in St. Louis from April 5-7, 2013, bringing together nearly 1,200 attendees 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.
WUSTL volunteers pave the way for CGI U large-scale service project
More than 250 students, faculty, staff and friends from across the university gathered at Gateway STEM High School last Saturday, March 30, to help lay the groundwork for this weekend’s… Keep reading →
Photos
To download hi-res images please visit the WUSTL Flickr account.
Why Washington University?
Public service and global leadership are at the heart of the mission of Washington University in St. Louis. Our students, faculty and staff are leading the way to address urgent global challenges in the CGI’s five focus areas: education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation and public health.
View All »
Student Commitments
Commitments to Action are new, specific, and measurable initiatives that address social or environmental challenges on campuses, in communities, or in different parts of the world. Proposed by an individual or a group, commitments translate practical goals into meaningful and measurable results. WUSTL is proud of all 200 of our students who have made a commitment to action through CGI U. Here is a sample of the projects our students are working on.
Barbershop-based health education study
Almost everyone finds time to get a haircut. This project aims to train barbers as peer educators to promote healthy lifestyle changes and to explain metabolic syndrome — a cluster of risk factors linked to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes — to their clients.
Sickle cell education
This plan seeks to address St. Louis' significant prevalence of sickle cell disease through visits to high schools to educate students about how the disease is passed from parent to child and to encourage meetings with genetic counselors.
Bringing Sight to Villa El Salvador
This plan aims to outfit a community health clinic in Villa El Salvador, Peru with a basic eye-care unit as a solution to the community's unaddressed visual health needs. To ensure the sustainability of the program, the clinic will be provided with 500 adjustable-prescription glasses and several of the clinic's nurses will be trained in performing eye exams.
Addressing Civic Education in St. Louis
The Washington University Marshall-Brennan Project places law students in St. Louis high schools to teach a semester-long course on students’ constitutional rights in order to address a fundamental civics gap in American education. The commitment “Addressing Civic Education in St. Louis” will expand the Project to reach hundreds of St. Louis high school students within five years, and ultimately aims to make the Project a permanent institution for educational progress in the St. Louis area.
Green Light St. Louis
Green Light St. Louis, an extension of Green Light New Orleans, replaces incandescent light bulbs with compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs) in low-income households for free. By installing CFLs in homes that could not afford to switch otherwise, Green Light St. Louis shows that a movement of individual actions can significantly impact families’ lives and the environment.
Promoting Sustainable Health Education in the Provincial Regions of Kathmandu Nepal
This plan seeks to address the issue of both over- and under-nutrition in Nepalese youth by teaching children and adults living on the periphery of the Kathmandu Valley Region of Nepal, the importance of basic health and physiology.
U.Y.N.T Urban Youth Nation of Tomorrow
In urban communities around the world, young people all too often find their lives circumscribed by poverty, crime and a lack of education. U.Y.N.T (Urban Youth Nation of Tomorrow) aims to provide young people from these communities chances to experience higher education, travel and mentorship.
Teaching Philanthropy – Empowering Youth Through Volunteerism
This project aims to bring a service-learning curriculum to three St. Louis-area schools and encourage underprivileged children to take a more active role in serving the community.
View All »
Join the Conversation
We are using Storify to curate the preparations, applications, and energy leading up to CGI U at Washington University in April, 2013. Be a part of the conversation! Tweet, post to Facebook and Tumblr, or send us links to blogs. Help us build the story for Washington University and CGI U.
Find Us Online
Participate
While CGI U sessions are not open to the public, everyone has the opportunity to engage in a number of ways. You can:
- Watch sessions live at cgiu.org,
- Follow us on Tumblr to get the the WUSTL Eye View of CGI U,
- Share your thoughts by using #CGIU on Twitter and Tumblr, and
- Participate in WUSTL sustainability efforts.
Campus Viewing Parties
Everyone is welcome to attend a live feed of the CGI U sessions featuring President Bill Clinton and TV personality Stephen Colbert in Tisch Commons on the DUC movie screen. Additional sessions will be presented in the DUC Fun Room.
April 5, 6:30 p.m.
Opening Session by President Bill Clinton
April 6, 3:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks by Stephen Colbert
Media Access
Press registration is now open to members of the media. To apply, please complete the press access form on the CGI U website.
Schedule of Events
CGI U 2013 Meeting Agenda
For the complete participant details and meeting agenda, including plenary sessions, skill and working sessions, and the service project, visit cgiu.org.
