MEDIA ADVISORY: Change.org to Announce Top 10 Ideas for Change in America at the NPC

Ianus · 01-15-2009, 06:15 PM

Nothing we don't really know already,but it is interesting that the advisory has already been sent out.

Quote:

What: Change.org press event to announce the winners of the Ideas for Change in America competition, followed by a panel of leading thinkers to discuss how the Obama administration and grassroots advocacy groups can use new online tools to deepen civic participation in America.

When: Friday, January 16, 2009
Light breakfast 8:30 a.m. ET
Press Event begins 9:00 a.m. ET (11:00 a.m. ET stop)
PRESS CREDENTIALS REQUIRED

Where: National Press Club
Holeman Lounge
529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
Washington, DC 20045
202-662-7500 (main number)

Speakers: Chris Hughes, director of My.BarackObama.com and co-founder
of Facebook

Jose Antonio Vargas, political reporter for the Washington Post

Joe Trippi, Senior Advisor to John Edwards' 2008 Presidential
Campaign; Campaign Manager of Howard Dean's 2004 Presidential
Campaign

Lee Brenner, Political Director at MySpace (available for on-site
and phone interviews)

Macon Phillips, Director of New Media, Presidential Transition
Team

Background: The Ideas for Change in America competition (www.change.org/ideas) was launched in the aftermath of the 2008 election in response to President-elect Barack Obama's call for increased citizen involvement in government. The initiative was launched in partnership with MySpace, techPresident, Netroots Nation, and more than 50 leading nonprofit organizations, and in the past two months people across the country have submitted more than 7,500 ideas and 600,000 votes for how they want to see the Obama administration and 111th Congress to change America. At Friday's event the top ten rated ideas will be unveiled and Change.org will announce the launch of a national advocacy campaign in partnership with leading organizations to use the grassroots energy behind each winning idea and translate them into national policy.

anitagreencard · 01-15-2009, 06:56 PM

i'm excited

dado123 · 01-15-2009, 07:02 PM

Good news, just e-mailed a couple more friends.

ECW · 01-15-2009, 07:20 PM

Is it going to be televised on any of the C-SPAN channels?

Ianus · 01-16-2009, 05:12 PM

There might be a video on youtube sometime in the future,but in the meantime they have put out an announcement.

Quote:

WASHINGTON, DC -- (Marketwire) -- 01/16/09 -- Change.org today announced the winners of its Ideas for Change in America competition at an event at the National Press Club and attended by nonprofit leaders, grassroots activists, and members of the Obama campaign and incoming administration.

The competition was the first nationwide grassroots response to President-elect Barack Obama's call for greater citizen participation in government, and since Election Day more than 650,000 votes have been cast for more than 7500 ideas for how the Obama administration and 111th Congress should change America.

The 10 winning ideas reflect the diverse interests of the millions of people calling for change across the country, including ideas for securing universal heath care, LGBT rights, and sustainable green energy. The list of winners also includes ideas often left off of the national agenda but with powerful grassroots support, including those for restoring civil liberties, ending the prohibition on medicinal marijuana, and advancing peace through new government institutions. All winning ideas can be viewed at www.change.org/ideas.

The ideas were accepted on behalf of the transition team by Macon Phillips, Director of New Media for the Presidential Transition Team, who spoke about the importance of citizen-led efforts like Ideas for Change in America for increasing civic participation.

Ben Rattray, founder and CEO of Change.org, followed the announcement by introducing the launch of a national advocacy campaign behind each winning idea in partnership with leading nonprofit organizations, including 1 Sky, Health-Care NOW, and The Peace Alliance.

"The crowd-sourcing of ideas through a nationwide voting process was only the first half of this project," explained Rattray. "The second half will focus on mobilizing the grassroots energy behind each idea to translate it into policy. Our intention is not for these to be mere suggestions for the administration, but to represent an agenda for change that we will help drive within the administration and Congress over the next year."

After the announcement, the event featured a panel of leading thinkers on how the government, nonprofit organizations, and grassroots groups can take lessons from the Obama campaign and initiatives like Ideas for Change in America to deepen civic participation. The panel was moderated by Jose Antonio Vargas of the Washington Post, and featured Chris Hughes, Director of Online Organizing for the Obama Campaign, Joe Trippi, political analyst and campaign manager for Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, and Lee Brenner, Political Director for MySpace.

MySpace was a lead partner in the competition, which launched in late November, and its members were able to post ideas for the competition directly through the site.

"It's exciting to be part of such an extraordinary initiative to engage the American public through MySpace and encourage our community to share their passions and ideas for change with our new presidential administration," Lee Brenner, Political Director for MySpace. "Our goal with this project is to truly democratize democracy and we hope that the Obama administration will continue to leverage tools like MySpace in order to keep a pulse on the American public."

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MEDIA ADVISORY: Change.org to Announce Top 10 Ideas for Change in America at the NPC