National Children’s Campaign and American University to Host Children-Focused Forum with 2020 Presidential Candidates
Media Contact:
Kimberly Gutzler
202.476.9141
kimberly@nationalchildrenscampaign.org
WHAT: The National Children’s Campaign and American University will host the Children and Youth Presidential Forum with 2020 Presidential candidates.
All the declared 2020 candidates have been invited to participate in this one-of-a-kind event. The issues discussed will include the climate crisis, gun violence prevention, immigration, healthcare, education, LGBTQ+ rights, child welfare and the foster/adoption system, and economic security. All of the questions will be posed by children asking how they will be impacted by each candidate’s policy prescriptions.
The Children and Youth Presidential Forum will take place on the American University’s main campus on Sunday, September 15, 2019. Each candidate will be asked questions by the moderator, Jonah Gottlieb, Executive Director of the National Children’s Campaign, and other children and young people.
Jonah Gottlieb: “Young people have the most political power of any voting block, even though the majority of us cannot vote. That’s because there are 74 million of us under the age of 18 and every single one of us knows someone who cares about them who can vote. Everyone, parents and politicians alike, says they care about children, but they don’t vote like they have our interests in mind. I don’t know how you can say you care about children if you turn around and vote in line with the NRA, big oil, and other dark money groups instead of protecting our well-being, our lives, and our future. Our nation’s leaders need to stop posing with children in their campaign ads and start implementing policies that ensure a bright and successful future for every American child. The Children and Youth Presidential Forum is a great opportunity for the 2020 presidential candidates to demonstrate their commitment to America’s young people by sharing their plans to make children’s issues a top priority and speaking with us directly about the things that most impact us and our future.”
Join the conversation online by using the hashtag #NCCForum. Please stay tuned for additional information to be shared on our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
WHEN: Sunday, September 15, 2019
WHO: All the declared 2020 Presidential candidates have been invited
Young activists (elementary to college-age) will ask all questions
ATTENDING PRESS:
RSVP for the event by contacting Kimberly Gutzler at kimberly@nationalchildrenscampaign.org. Interviews with the Forum moderator Jonah Gottlieb can also be arranged.
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ABOUT THE NATIONAL CHILDREN’S CAMPAIGN:
The National Children’s Campaign is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization to serve as a catalyst to inspire, encourage and empower to make America’s children & youth a national priority by promoting health, education, safety, economic & environmental security through the power of strategic media and internet partnerships, experts, business and community leaders, celebrity spokespeople and grassroots effort.
Goals:
• Making America’s children and youth a national priority
• Amplifying the voices of America’s 74,000,000 children and youth
• Ensuring that every adult who cares about children register and come out to vote on their behalf (parents, grandparents, teachers, pediatricians, social workers, coaches, religious leaders, etc.)
• Turning out young voters and pre-registering 16 and 17-year-olds to vote
ABOUT THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATIONS & THE CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL FILMMAKING:
The American University School of Communication (SOC) and the Center for Environmental Filmmaking (CEF) are official partners of the National Children’s Campaign. The American University School of Communication empowers undergraduates and graduates in its programs to tell stories that influence change, inspire action, and transform our communities and our world. The Center for Environmental Filmmaking, a division within the SOC, is one of the leading environmental and wildlife film programs in the world.
ABOUT JONAH GOTTLIEB (@jonahgottlieb on Instagram and Twitter)
Jonah Gottlieb, a 17-year old from Petaluma, California, is a political activist, organizer, and the Executive Director of the National Children’s Campaign. He has worked with dozens of presidential candidates to empower young people to take action and get involved in politics. Jonah is also the Digital Media Intern for Rep. Mike Thompson, a Zero Hour team member, a One Planet Living Youth Delegate and Captain, and the Co-Founder and President of Global Awareness, an organization within his local community aimed at increasing youth political involvement and educating the next generation of American voters. After wildfires devastated his community in northern California in the fall of 2017, Jonah became the Director of Schools for Climate Action, an initiative of the National Children’s Campaign that works with school boards, student councils, and other education-sector organizations to demand that Congress takes action to combat the climate crisis. In March 2019, he organized the Schools for Climate Action Advocacy Summit on Capitol Hill, at which hundreds of students, teachers, parents, and allies visited all 541 Congressional offices over three days to discuss solutions to the climate crisis. He is particularly concerned with the tangible effects of natural disasters exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change on students and young people, such as housing insecurity, lung health, mental health issues, impact on education, and much more.
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