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.
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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.
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.
Mahila Mobile
Mahila Mobile is a social enterprise that aims to create an Android operating system (OS) customized for illiterate women in Pakistan. We plan to work with local NGO partners over a 2-year time frame to provide women with access to education, health, and income opportunity through mobile phone technology.
Health Is Wealth Campaign
This project coordinates with volunteers and local physician groups at the Adeleke University School of Public Health to increase awareness about the detriments of the globalization of fast food and also the relationship between poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, and Type 2 Diabetes. Specifically, she plans to conduct community focus groups in Ibadan to gauge community perceptions of causes of Type 2 Diabetes, and also train young adults as community health advocates to promote primary prevention of diabetes and hypertension through lifestyle-change.
Interactive Living Landscape
In cities throughout the world, years of contamination have rendered large swaths of land unfit for habitation, development or food production. Interactive Living Landscape aims to demonstrate that vacant urban lots can be productively landscaped in ways that not only heal the soil, but also help improve the health of the wider community.
HPV Vaccines for Ugandans
This commitment plans to offer HPV vaccines for males and females, ages 9 to 26, in the Gulu District in northern Uganda. Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death among women in developing countries. Sun feels mass vaccination could have a profound impact.
Missouri Regional Science Bowl
The Missouri Regional Science Bowl seeks to facilitate a science education ecosystem in Missouri where resources and organizations from around the state collaborate, and to open the current Science Bowl program to middle school participants.
D*Serves (Design Serves)
D*Serve (Design Serves) aims to inspire youth who live in disinvested neighborhoods by providing them experience and education in design and civic leadership. The idea is to help teens first identify what exactly it is they want – and deserve – in their community, and then guide them toward reinvigorating culture, socio-economy, and physical spaces through sustainable innovations.
Development of Systems Thinking Curriculum in Schools
Madeleine Polk is developing a means of replicating and implementing Systems Thinking curriculum in schools to better equip the next generation of students to address the local, national, and global issues they face. Because of its broad applicability, Polk anticipates the designing of new materials will allow for more teachers to see the relevance of Systems Thinking for their students and consequently begin to use it to aid students in problem solving processes.
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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.
