City and suburban high school students from around the region will converge for a daylong conference on writing, innovation, and “Ubuntu”

WHO: About 150 high school students in the We, Too, Are Connecticut initiative hosted by Connecticut Writing Project-Fairfield. Schools participating are: Staples High School (Westport), Joel Barlow High School (Easton/Redding), Central and Bassick high schools (Bridgeport), Darien High School (Darien), and the Center for Global Studies at Brien McMahon High School (Norwalk).

WHAT: 2015 Writing Our Lives: Digital Ubuntu Conference

WHEN: Friday, May 22, 2015, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

WHERE: Dolan School of Business, Fairfield University, 1073 N. Benson Rd., Fairfield, CT

DETAILS: This conference is the culmination of a semester-long digital learning project funded by a highly competitive LRNG Innovation Challenge Grant from National Writing Project in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation and singer John Legend’s Show Me Campaign. About 150 young people will share their digital projects, including blogs, websites, podcasts and TedTalks, during the day. In addition, they will hear a lunchtime talk from Matt De La Peña, author of “We Were Here,” a young adult novel distributed to all participating schools. “Ubuntu” is a South African philosophy, which translates to “I can be me because of who we are together.” Students composed original work in response to the questions, “Why are you here?” and “How are you, too, a part of Connecticut?”

CONTACT: Members of the media are invited to attend this event. Please contact Meredith Guinness, integrated marketing manager, Marketing and Communications, at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2950 for more information.

Posted On: 05-11-2015 03:05 PM

Volume: 47 Number: 248