FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Third annual gathering of the Netroots to be held July 17–20 in Austin, TX

June 18, 2008--Netroots Nation organizers announced today that Van Jones, an advocate for social justice and shared green prosperity, confirmed his participation in the third annual event, to be held at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX. The founder of Green for All will address convention attendees at a morning keynote on Sunday, July 20 at 10 a.m.

“While some of our leaders in Washington are pushing for more drilling to ease economic strain, we know that our future needs a progressive vision with long-term solutions and realistic strategies for achieving it,” says Mary Rickles, Netroots Nation media director. “Van embodies that vision.”

Jones has worked years to combine solutions to two of America’s biggest problems: social inequality and environmental destruction. His Green for All organization fights both poverty and pollution by advocating for local, state and federal commitment to green job creation, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

In 2007, Jones worked successfully with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA), and U.S. Rep. John Tierney (D-MASS) to pass the Green Jobs Act of 2007, which authorized millions in funding for green-collar job training.

“The movement that will rescue America will be built at the intersection of the information technology revolution and the green technology revolution,” says Jones, who also co-founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. “I am excited to attend the conference in search of allies who can help Green For All build an online community, committed to building an inclusive green economy.”

The conference agenda will include other sessions that address realistic solutions for environmental change, including:

• Energizing America: Setting an Agenda for Progress
• Debunking the Issue Silo Myth: Why the Broader Progressive Movement is Green
• Bloggers and the New Green Economy

Netroots Nation 2008 will feature panels led by national and international experts, including keynotes with Gov. Howard Dean and technology pioneer Lawrence Lessig; identity, issue and regional caucuses; prominent political, issue and policy-oriented speakers; and the most concentrated gathering of progressive bloggers to date.

Netroots Nation rebranded in August of 2007 in an effort to more accurately reflect the makeup of its audience and mission of implementing programs that teach and empower Netroots communities to affect change in the public sphere. The 2007 gathering last August included a Presidential Leadership Forum that drew seven of the eight Democratic candidates.

Jones’ keynote is open to the media.

For more information about Netroots Nation or to request credentials, please visit www.netrootsnation.org/press.

About NETROOTS NATION
Netroots Nation amplifies progressive voices by providing an online and in-person campus for exchanging ideas and learning how to be more effective in using technology to influence the public debate. Within that campus, we strengthen community, inspire action and serve as an incubator for progressive ideas that challenge the status quo and ultimately affect change in the public sphere.

 NN 2008, Speakers