The White House Office of Public Engagement and the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation at The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Communication will host a White House Youth Town Hall from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 10 at KLRU Studio 6A, 2504-B Whitis Ave.
Having attended the Strauss Institute’s New Politics Forum in November, Ronnie Cho associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and the president’s liaison to young Americans chose The University of Texas at Austin as one of 17 U.S. universities to host his Young America Series event. The town hall will provide a forum for 300 Texas residents between the ages of 16 and 30 to discuss current issues and work together toward actionable solutions.
The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation began accepting applications for event participants and audience members in early March. Applicants who would like to present are asked to highlight issues or problems that they wish to address. Through the event, Cho hopes to identify solutions to problems and highlight examples of how youth leaders are improving their communities. Find more information on applying online.
The Young Leaders Forum will highlight the great work of young Americans who are making a difference in Texas. Following the forum, audience members will be invited to speak briefly about the issues most important to them and their visions for the country. Those who do not have a chance to speak can share their thoughts through social media. Issues that are raised will direct the agenda for discussions to follow.
The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation thanks the U.S. Department of Education and the Millennium Momentum Foundation Inc. for their support.
Before joining the White House, Cho served as editor at the Newsweek/Daily Beast Co. in New York. He also worked on the Federal Communications Commission team that wrote the National Broadband Plan and as associate director of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He served on Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano’s 2006 gubernatorial race and most recently on the Obama for America campaign that began in Iowa in 2007.
About the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation
The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation was established as an organized research unit at the University of Texas at Austin in 2000 to respond to growing political cynicism and disaffection in the United States. The Institute’s mission is strictly non-partisan, working within communities to engage people in the political process, teaching them about the nation’s democratic heritage and encouraging them to take leadership roles.
About The University of Texas at Austin College of Communication
One of the nation’s foremost institutions for the study of advertising and public relations, communication sciences and disorders, communication studies, journalism and radio-TV-film, The University of Texas at Austin College of Communication is preparing students to thrive in an era of media convergence. Serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students, the College is nationally recognized for its faculty members, research and student media.
