Five minutes, 20 slides. What would you say?

At every Ignite, 16 artists, technologists, thinkers, and personalities will take the stage to answer this challenge.

Location:

Washington, D.C. 20001
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Ignite DC #3

Greg Bloom

S.O.S.

DC is in the midst of a major budget crisis: the recession has put us several hundred million dollars in the hole. Over the summer, in an emergency session, our elected leaders proposed to balance the budget by slashing funding for services that support poor DC residents (like child welfare, civil legal services, housing support, etc). In just a few days, a coalition of professional advocates and citizen volunteers built the website www.saveoursafetynet.com. Four days later, nearly two thousand people had called upon City Council for responsible investments and courageous leadership. We won support from Councilmembers, and restored some of the proposed budget cuts -- but this year, the budget crisis is worse. This presentation will show how we can use social media alongside traditional community organizing tactics to mobilize support for disempowered communities. We'll ask the audience to consider the challenges of advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and we'll show how we can hold our leaders accountable for the pursuit of an economic recovery that includes everyone.

About Greg Bloom:

Greg Bloom coordinates communications at Bread for the City (http://breadforthecity.org) and publishes the DC Food For All (http://dcfoodforall.com).