CGI U Brings Service Driven Students to Foggy Bottom

Former President Bill Clinton kicked off the 5th CGIU conference in the Smith Center on Friday night. The conference, which hosted more than 1,000 students from around the world, spanned two days and encompassed various panels and speaker series.

A number of high-profile guests joined Clinton during the opening plenary session on Friday night, including: former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, singer Usher, University President Steven Knapp, and activists Rye Barcott and Sadiqa Basiri Saleem. Each spoke at length about the various service projects on which they have worked. The session also included a question-and-answer portion where the panelists gave the students advice about how they could become more active in serving the world. Usher closed out the event by singing "Greatest Love of All," by the late Whitney Houston.

During the weekend, other successful figures, such as Craigslist founder Craig Newmark and "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, told students about how they could make a difference in the areas of public health, education and the environment.

In addition to speaker sessions and workshops, the conference also featured a project challenge. Various Universities submitted projects, to be featured in a NCAA-style bracket, which could be voted on by the general public. Panda Cycles, a project submission from GW focused on providing sustainable bamboo bicycles, won the entire competition.

The conference finished on Sunday with a DC-centric community service event.