Posted by DipNote Bloggers on Dec 01, 2008 - 03:58 PM
![Youth hold sign demanding release of those kidnapped by FARC, Cali, Colombia, Nov. 28, 2008. [AP]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_1201_youth_colombia_bh_m.jpg)
We'd like to invite you to participate digitally and to help build the online community to support this initiative. As an online participant, you will be able to watch the summit streamed live from Dec. 4-5 on Howcast.com and participate in community forums to comment on the proceedings and upload your own thoughts and experiences via video and wiki guides.
You do not need to login to watch the proceedings or to view the wikis and videos of conference participants. If you would like to participate, you can either login by creating a Howcast profile or via your Facebook account. On the Howcast banner, you will see the "Facebook Connect" logo. Login with your Facebook user id and password, and you will automatically be able to interact.
The summit agenda will be posted very shortly to Howcast.com, so you can either choose to watch the entire proceedings or only those panels that would be of interest to you.
Speakers at the Summit will include:
• Whoopi Goldberg, Host of ABC’s “The View”
• Dustin Moskovitz, Co-Founder, Facebook
• James K. Glassman, Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• Oscar Morales, Founder, One Million Voices Against the FARC
• Luke Russert, MSNBC
• Matthew Waxman, Associate Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
The gathering was inspired by the success of the One Million Voices Against the FARC, a group started on Facebook.com by young people in Colombia. Aided by social networking technologies, the organization inspired 12 million people in 190 cities around the world to take to the streets in protest against the FARC, an extremist group that has been terrorizing Colombia for more than 40 years. The magnitude of the marches illustrated once and for all that the FARC lacked a strong support base. Within days of the protests, the FARC witnessed massive desertions from their ranks. The Colombian group will share their ideas with leaders of other groups that use social and mobile technologies to promote freedom and justice and oppose violence, extremism and oppression.