COMMUNITY & CULTURE
JCI MAKING POSITIVE CHANGE
JCI (Junior Chamber International) will hold its
Symposium on Social Equality: The Search for Human
Dignity in the 21st Century on July 23, halfway through
the organization’s anniversary year celebrating a century
of existence.
The event will bring together local, regional, national
and international leaders and experts to provide
conversations on sustaining social equality for all people,
to empower active citizens and inspire community action
to ensure human dignity.
The all-day interactive event offers panel discussions
with 16 expert panelists discussing Health and
Wellness, Education and Economic Empowerment, and
Peace, Prosperity and Sustainability. Speakers for the
symposium include Kennedy Odede, founder of Shining
Hope for Communities; Dr. Jason Purnell, assistant
professor at Washington University; Betsy Cohen,
executive director of St. Louis Mosaic Project, Gilian
Sorenson, former United Nations assistant, Jennifer
Kushell, founder and CEO of Young and Successful
Media and YSN.com, and Liz Forkin Bohannon, founder
of Sseko Designs.
The expo area features 40 exhibiting organizations
providing attendees the chance to discover community
efforts to ensure human dignity in the St. Louis
community and beyond.
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JCI’s anniversary also launches the collaborative campaign
to “Stand for Social Equality” in 2015 and beyond. JCI
was started in St. Louis in 1915 by Henry Giessenbier Jr.,
who envisioned a world where the differences of humanity
unite us in common purpose for a brighter future. JCI
is now a global organization of 200,000 young active
citizens taking local action for global. JCI members around
the globe collaborate on projects ranging from assisting
refugees, providing medical care and advancing education,
to promoting equality.
The Symposium on Social Equality will be held from 10
a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday, July 23 at Blanche M. Touhill
Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri
– St. Louis campus, One University Boulevard, St.
Louis, Missouri 63121. It is free and open to the public.
Registration is recommended. For more information or to
register, visit www.jci.cc/symposium.
GAZELLE WEST