Corporate, Nonprofit, Media, Entertainment and Government Leaders to Address America's Education Crisis in Get Schooled Conference Emceed by Comedian Stephen Colbert
Star-Studded Event Features Screening of Documentary Get Schooled: You Have the Right
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) will join other corporations and nonprofit organizations, as well as education thought leaders, policymakers and concerned entertainment industry professionals at the Paramount Pictures lot in Hollywood to formally launch the Get Schooled initiative and engage students, families and community members in efforts to reform the nation's public schools and provide American youth with a world-class education.
The back-to-school event on Sept. 8 will kick off with an afternoon conference featuring presentations by Bill Gates, Viacom President and CEO Philippe Dauman, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Tony Miller, filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, author and political columnist Arianna Huffington, New York City Department of Education Chancellor Joel Klein and Los Angeles area high school athletic director Stephen Minix. Stephen Colbert, host of the popular television show The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, will serve as the master of ceremonies for the conference.
The Paramount Pictures lot will also host a premiere of the special documentary, Get Schooled: You Have the Right, which highlights the education stories of three successful professionals who work with President Barack Obama, 2009 NBA MVP LeBron James and pop superstar Kelly Clarkson. At the event, the Gates Foundation and Viacom will welcome corporate partners AT&T, Capital One Financial Corporation and NYSE Euronext, which have each signed on to the Get Schooled initiative in order to promote education reform efforts and develop innovative ways of engaging communities and supporting students.
"Get Schooled brings together the immense creativity and ingenuity of leaders in business and the entertainment industries to inspire students to pursue an education that has real value in the global marketplace. We hope this conversation will inspire communities to fix our nation's public education system," said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation.
The conference presentations will address why it is vital that the public become more engaged in education now and will challenge conventional thinking about how to fix America's schools and how to ensure all young people, especially those from historically underserved communities, can gain the skills they need to succeed.
