Millennium Campus Network - Millennium Campus Conference

Millennium Campus Conference

The MCN hosts the Millennium Campus Conference annually to bring together 1,000 students and educators around the issues of sustainable development and extreme poverty. The event features prominent speakers, as well as workshops and networking sessions designed to help students learn about the issues surrounding the UN Millennium Development Goals. Some of the keynote speeches from recent MCCs are posted online on the MCN's YouTube page, and some talks have gained particular interest; the talk with singer-songwriter K'naan and entrepreneur Sol Guy has generated over 10,000 views to date.

The inaugural Millennium Campus Conference was hosted by the Global Poverty Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from April 18-20, 2008.

Each MCC brings together more than 1,000 students from across the country and around the globe over three days to discuss, debate, and become engaged in issues of sustainable international development. Notable speakers have included:

  • MCN Advisor Dr. Paul Farmer of Partners in Health
  • MCN Advisor Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
  • MCN Advisor John Legend, nine-time Grammy Award-winner and founder of the Show Me Campaign
  • MCN Advisor Minister Emilia Pires, Finance Minister of Timor-Leste
  • MCN Advisor Professor Steve Radelet (Georgetown University, former Chief Economist, USAID)
  • MCN Advisor Professor Paul Romer of Stanford University
  • MCN Advisor Professor Amy Smith of the International Development Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Other notable speakers include Leymah Gbowee (2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner), singer-songwriter K'naan, Dr. Vanessa Kerry of the Global Health Service Corps, Eliza Dushku (actress and activist), Ira Magaziner of Clinton Global Initiative, Ambassador Augustine P. Mahiga of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations, Ms. Henrietta Fore, Administrator of USAID and Director of United States Foreign Assistance, John Wood of Room to Read, Scott Harrison of charity: water, and over 100 other experts.

The Millennium Campus Conference 2008 also included the Millennium Campus Concert featuring Braddigan, the former lead singer of the band Dispatch, which raised money for AIDS treatment in Zimbabwe. The 2008 conference also featured the Millennium Action Challenge, which gave students an opportunity to showcase their ideas about creating sustainable fresh water systems in developing countries.

Millennium Campus Conference 2010 took place September 14-16, 2010 at Columbia University, on the eve of the UN's major ten year review of the Millennium Development Goals in New York City. Millennium Campus Conference 2011 took place September 16-18, 2011 at Harvard University, and was planned and coordinated by five core host organizations on campus. The annual weekend also featured the inaugural Global Generation Awards, honoring US Secretary of State John Kerry and other global leaders. Millennium Campus Conference 2012 took place on September 14-16 at Northeastern University. The event details are online at http://www.mcc2012.org.

Millennium Campus Conference 2013, the fifth annual MCC, will take place in October 2013. Details will be announced in the beginning of 2013.

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