CGI U at ASU: by the numbers
Here's a look at some of the successes that took place at Arizona State University and at the 2014 meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University, March 21-23, on ASU's Tempe campus.
• More than 1,000 students gathered at the seventh annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) at Arizona State University, hailing from nearly 300 colleges and universities, all 50 states and more than 80 countries.
• A total of 695 Commitments to Action – specific, measurable plans to address pressing global challenges – were made at this year’s meeting.
• This year, more than $750,000 in funding was available for CGI U attendees. The funding marks the largest sum in the meeting’s history, including $650,000 from the growing CGI U Network of more than 55 colleges and universities, and another $100,000 through the Resolution Project Social Venture Challenge – a competition between aspiring student entrepreneurs with sustainable enterprises.
ASU student Stephen Annor-Wiafe’s commitment Palm Oil Experts was one of the winners of The Resolution Project Social Venture Challenge. A MasterCard Foundation scholar from Ghana, Wiafe hopes to alleviate poverty in rural Ghanian regions by developing small-scale, organic palm-oil extraction facilities, thereby providing a sustainable source of food and biofuel, as well as income.
ASU students Nisarg Patel, Ryan Muller, Khateeb Hussain and Madeline Sands announced the progress report regarding their Commitment to Action, first made in 2013, during the opening plenary session on Friday, March 21. The team developed a user-friendly, cost-effective protein-based biosensor to detect contamination in water supplies of third-world countries.
• On Day 1 of CGI U at ASU, which was a zero-waste event, 99.1 percent of the trash generated at the event was diverted away from the landfill.
• Day 2 achieved a 94.6 percent trash diversion rate.
For more information on the Clinton Global Initiative University, visit cgiu.org.