GENESEO, N.Y. — Four Geneseo students will be presenting their projects at the annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) meeting, including senior Benjamin Conard, whose submission has been named a semifinalist for Resolution’s Social Venture Challenge at the CGI U.
The CGI U yearly meetings started in order to provide more than 1,000 student leaders with the opportunity to come together and foster solutions to current global challenges. This year’s meeting will take place April 1-3 at the University of California-Berkeley in the San Francisco Bay Area.
President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton are hosting the ninth annual gathering of the network comprising more than 70 colleges and universities, including Geneseo, focused on providing seed funding to leading student innovators and entrepreneurs on their campuses.
The four Geneseo students who will be attending are seniors Matthew McClure — who also represented Geneseo at the CGI U 2015 meeting — and Conard; sophomore Kristine Chauncey; and freshman Mary Rutigliano. Of the four, Conard and Chauncey will be presenting their project as partners.
At the meeting, the students will create their own “Commitments to Action” plan. These plans are designed to offer solutions to such worldly issues as the CGI U’s five focus areas, which are education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation and public health. According to CGI U’s website, students have made more than 5,500 commitments since 2008, resulting in nearly $2 million being funded to the plans.
“By bringing some of the most motivated and passionate students together, I believe we can truly help and support numerous ventures set out to, well, change the world,” said Conard. “While I have never attended the CGI U before, I am excited for and know that the energy amongst the students will be riveting.”
“I am extremely excited to share my social venture with like-minded, hardworking, accomplished students,” said Conard. “Presenting my idea at a conference like the CGI U, I know, will prompt new ideas and bring to light issues I never knew existed. This is invaluable in launching a company.”
Conard and Chauncey’s project — titled “Five North” — is committed toward alleviating poverty, fighting child labor and promoting gender equality in the workforce. The company will manufacture candy by using ingredients from South America and Africa, which will impact the surrounding communities’ economy greatly. Furthermore, the ingredients will be purchased under fair trade standards, which will eventually help those communities around the world that rely on agriculture for their livelihood.
“I hope to receive positive and critical feedback as I share my idea with more people. I want to learn how I can best connect my social venture with today's ‘hottest,’ socially just movements,” said Conard. “No matter how important my social mission is, if it is not easily understood, relatable and easily supported in our fast-paced, culturally-aware world, the impact we ultimately hope to drive will never happen.”
“Five North” was selected as a semifinalist for Resolution’s Social Venture Challenge at the CGI U. The Resolution Project will sponsor social venture proposals by undergraduates or undergraduate student groups at the CGI U meeting through the Resolution Social Venture Challenge. Those selected will be able to present their business plans and investor pitches to a panel of judges for The Resolution Project in order to receive the seed funding.
After attending the CGI U meeting in 2015, McClure had the opportunity to work with Haiti Outreach Pwoje Espwa (HOPE) — a non-governmental organization in Borgne, Haiti — to develop the first community library as a part of his Commitment to Action. McClure currently works with HOPE now, too. At this year’s meeting, McClure hopes to expand the library by creating a virtual space where library-based community organizations and new, global partners can collaborate and maintain projects with his plan “Rural Haitian Library: A Center for Intercultural Exchange.”
Additionally, Rutigliano will work to get seed money for her project “La Casa de Cultura: Promoting Indigenous Artistic Traditions.” Taking place in El Sauce, Nicaragua, her project includes an arts council that will promote local musicians and artisans by providing the people with such things as classes.
This year, over $900,000 will be funded to select projects. There will also be such activities as plenary sessions and working sessions at the meeting, in order to allow students to network with their peers, to build various skills and to meet potential partners.
“I have no doubt that attending CGI U will pivot my venture,” said Conard. “I fully plan to be shocked and enlightened in discovering an issue or opportunity of which I have not yet considered or taken advantage of.”
News release written by College Communications intern Alexandra Ciarcia.
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