2012 CGS Annual Conference

Event Description

Members of Congress hear from few ordinary citizens in person, and fewer still about global issues. The 2012 Citizens for Global Solutions annual conference met in Washington, DC, on Thursday 15 March 2012, alongside a lobby day and a White House visit. The recording above is the keynote address, which opened with a hope that the morning’s lobbying meetings had gone well.

Margaret Groarke of Manhattan College gave the keynote and argued that the moment favored activists. The Arab Spring, the Occupy movement and communications technology still in its early years had opened a window of opportunity, she said, and movements succeed when long-time organizers are ready for them, from the Solidarity strike in Poland and Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia to the NAACP before the civil rights movement. She closed with a list of lessons: be persistent, educate yourself and others, be creative, be brave, learn from others and recognize that you are powerful.

See the upcoming CGS events and what CGS runs for young people.

Speakers

Margaret Groarke, Manhattan College and the Peace and Justice Studies Association: “Lessons in Activism: Opening the Doors to Power in 2012”, on what activists can learn from the recent past as they organize for the year ahead. A political scientist who studies how people use their vote, voice and activism, Groarke serves on the board of the Peace and Justice Studies Association.

Other CGS conferences with recordings: 2010 · 2011 · 2012 · 2019 · 2020 · 2021 · 2022.