Media Advisory

Youth04 Executive Director and West Virginia University Youth04 Chapter Leader to speak on National Mall

Monday, June 28 -- An event intended to mobilize young voters will occur on the National Mall on July 1st. Organized by Mobilizing America's Youth (MAY), the event will take place between 11:00 am and 9:00 pm between 3rd street and the Capitol. The event is being sponsored by Common Cause, Service for Peace and Youth04. The Youth04 representatives are expected to speak between 3 and 4pm.

The event on the Mall will serve to end the MAY's "March Across America," which is now visiting 15 cities across the nation. MAY, an all-partisan network, is using the March Across America as a way to "educate, empower, and energize young voters to increase civic engagement and political participation." The July 1st event will include performances by local bands, political speakers, voter registration, workshops, art and educational displays, and tables sponsored by various organizations.

Youth04 Executive Director, David Anderson, West Virginia University Youth04 Chapter Leader Brett White, and Youth04's MAY Coordinator, Dickinson College Senior Megan Shelley, will speak.

According to Anderson, "MAY is one of our key partners, and we are proud to be a co-sponsor of the July 1st finale event of the March Across America."

"Youth04," according to White, "is dedicated to providing facts, knowledge and resources for young people to get involved in Election 2004. We must raise our voice and educate the country. We must do our part. The March Across America has traveled the country showcasing the power of young people and the importance of political activism. We at Youth04 are honored to take part in their closing event."

Megan Shelley commented, "This is a very worthwhile event, and Youth04 is extremely excited to have had the opportunity to assist in preparations for the past three weeks."

Youth04 is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that is empowering 18-25 year olds in the 2004 election by synthesizing the best of the political internet and the best of traditional grassroots organizing. Youth04 is a joint project of the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, D.C. and Johns Hopkins Univerity Washington Center for the Study of American Government.

In the past several weeks, Youth04 has enjoyed vast growth. Currently there are 14 interns working 30 hours per week. Youth04 is fast approaching 30 chapters having started the summer with only 19 when the 14 interns came on board. Youth04 hopes to have 200 chapters by October 1, 2004.

W. W. Norton & Company has recently published David Anderson's short book, "Youth04: Young Voters, the Internet, and Political Power." The publisher is providing the book free of charge to all classes that use "We the People," by Benjamin Ginsberg, Theodore Lowi, and Margaret Weir, which is the most widely used political science textbook in America.

The Youth04 website was chosen as a Hot Site of the Week last spring by Politics Online.com. PoliticsOnline.com wrote, "Youth04.org could very well be the website that picks up on the Internet energy where Dean For America left off."

For more information about the July 1st event, please visit Mobilize.org.

Contacts:
Diane Pettit
Public Relations Coordiantor
diane@youth04.org

David Anderson
Executive Director
danderson@cdt.org
(202) 452-0781 (at Hopkins Washington Center)