South by Southwest (SXSW), deemed “one of the largest and most influential gatherings on the planet'“, returns to Austin, TX March 10-19, 2023. Launched in 1997, SXSW has featured countless disruptive tech innovations, groundbreaking music and film, and influential keynotes, from Lady Gaga to President Obama. But what does this have to do with democracy? That depends on you!
You can play an integral part in shaping SXSW 2023 programming. Community voting is now open, and votes from the general public will make up 30% of the final programming decision. There are a number of panels in the running this year focused on democracy, public policy, civic engagement and social impact, many of which feature our very own LNP members. See below for the highlights and cast your vote by August 21!
Navigating the Current Political Climate
Description: Business leaders today face many challenges, including consumer and employee demands to respond to the headlines and today’s polarized political environment. We’ll share tools and case studies used by top crisis communication experts and hear from a diverse group of speakers. The workshop will introduce the origins of our political discontent and conclude with non-partisan actions businesses and individuals can take to address partisan discord and promote a strong democracy.
Speakers: Marjorie Clifton, Chief Communications Officer, Leadership Now Project; Rawi Abdelal, Herbert F. Johnson Professor of International Management at Harvard Business School and the Emma Bloomberg Co-Chair of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, Harvard Business School; Katherine Cousins, President, Sperry (plus Keds & PRO-Keds)
Can Innovation & Entrepreneurs Save Our Elections?
Description: Our democracy has been ravaged by a two-party system that leaves voters apathetic, or forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. Whether you’re concerned about the climate, privacy, inequality, or individual freedoms, solutions seem impossible when they’re caught up in dysfunctional partisan politics. It’s no wonder that a majority of eligible voters, including more than half of Millennials and Gen Z, say the major parties don’t represent them and they’re looking for systemic fixes to repair our election process. Join us for a frank conversation among community organizers and nonprofit leaders building or advocating for innovative tools for election reform. Learn how you can help change the rules and disrupt the current broken system, creating a brighter future for all!
Speakers: Todd Connor, CEO, Veterans for Political Innovation; Farhad Mohit, Founder, Good Party; Nathan Lockwood, Executive Director, Rank the Vote; Danielle Allen, Principle Investigator, Democratic Knowledge Project at Harvard University
Risk vs. Reward: When Bold Brands Take a Stand
Description: Your business is operating in an increasingly complex social and political environment where both action and inaction on hot topics like abortion, democracy, and equity pose real risks. But by approaching these issues with a strategic business lens, you can minimize the threats of employee dissatisfaction, consumer boycotts, investor pressure, and political retribution, while maximizing the opportunity to do good for people and the planet. This session gives you the proven frameworks, bold case studies, and access to the network of change agents needed to launch or enhance your corporate social impact efforts. Specifically, we’ll help you determine the “right” causes; launch meaningful philanthropic, political influence and communications programs; and measure your impact.
Speaker: Deirdre Walsh, CEO, IGC
Corporate Activism: Speaking Out and Taking Action
Description: Corporate social responsibility has become mainstream, ESG practices have reshaped business approaches, and, more recently, diversity, equity, and inclusion have become foundational efforts. Civic engagement is both a natural evolution of this trajectory and an urgent response to threats to democracy. Amalgamated Bank, Ben & Jerry’s and Patagonia serve as models for how businesses can use their platform to speak out for social justice and leverage their relationships (investors, customers, employees, board members, vendors, stakeholders) to have an impact on those issues.
Panelists will discuss how corporations have the opportunity, and responsibility, to join with other corporate and nonprofit leaders and other stakeholders in addressing social issues.
Speakers: Priscilla Sims Brown, President and CEO, Amalgamated Bank; Corley Kenna, Head of Communications and Policy, Patagonia; Christopher Miller, Head of Global Activism Strategy, Ben & Jerry's
The Future of American Democracy: What’s At Stake
Description: Under our current electoral rules, candidates are rewarded for extreme, anti-democratic views that put them in positions of power. Something must change, but what? The Electoral College, gerrymandering, zero-sum ballots and winner-take-all rules are all breaking our democracy and we deserve bold solutions. Congressman Jamie Raskin, Harvard’s Danielle Allen, and FairVote’s long-time CEO Rob Richie will discuss the problem and propose bold, yet viable solutions - from a comprehensive constitutional amendment to statutory changes like the Fair Representation Act, Ranked Choice Voting and the National Popular Vote plan. Attendees will hear Raskin’s powerful personal story, learn more about the challenges we face, and hear how to make powerful changes on the local, state and national level.
Speakers: Rob Richie, CEO and President, FairVote; Jamie Raskin, Congressman, House of Representatives; Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University/Director of Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University
Postmortem: Voter Suppression & the 2022 Election
Description: In response to the massive turnout in 2020, some state legislatures passed aggressive voter suppression legislation that closed polling locations, shortened the window for early voting, and eliminated drop box locations. These bills in states like Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and Ohio target black and brown communities, young people, and poor people so that voting will be more difficult in the 2022 midterms. Without national voting rights legislation, we are left to out-organize even more in red and purple states. Join our panel of voting rights experts and organizers for a conversation about how these voter suppression tactics impact ongoing elections and the 2022 midterms, and how we can all advocate for more fair elections to protect our democracy.
Speakers: Liz Walters, Chairwoman, The Ohio Democratic Party; Marcus Bass, Executive Director, Advance North Carolina; Jeremy Smith, CEO & Founder, Civitech; Kendra Cotton, Chief Operations Officer, New Georgia Project
The New Actionists: Brands Driving Social Impact
Description: The New Actionists is a discussion that will lead attendees through the dynamics of how brands are leveraging their own platforms, communities, data and technology to take stands and drive impact. Not five years ago, corporations stayed away from hot-button issues, encouraging employees to keep their politics at home. Today, more companies are compelled, even required, to pursue ESG platforms and take stands that matter to their employees, customers and mission. This discussion features organizational leaders who have had unique opportunities to pursue global-policy-shifting, triple-bottom-line outcomes, and even advocacy, as part and parcel of their day jobs.
Speakers: Bart Myers, Founder and CEO, Countable; Corley Kenna, Head of Communications and Policy, Patagonia; Rob Jekielek, Managing Director, The Harris Poll; Jennifer Warren, VP, Global Brand Marketing, Indeed
Participatory Democracy in the Age of Polarization
Description: We are living in an era of rampant polarization, disinformation, and institutional mistrust that has created unprecedented stakes for the future of democracy. We need solutions that bridge divides while furnishing new frameworks for resilient participatory governments. In this panel, we speak with the architects of America in One Room (A1R), a landmark democratic reform effort that has brought together record-setting samples of the American voting electorate to participate in respectful political discourse. Lauded by Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, A1R has radically reduced polarization and increased civic engagement among participants. This panel will explore the power of Deliberative Polling, the mechanism behind A1R, to catalyze democracy for the people, by the people.
Speakers: Henry Elkus, CEO and Founder, Elle Communications; Jim Fiskin, Director, Center for Deliberative Democracy; Alice Siu, Associate Director, Center for Deliberative Democracy
2023: Democracy Is Worth The Fight
Description: We are at an inflection point in American democracy. As people demand more from their government and push for a vibrant and bold democracy, far-right movements that do not represent the majority of Americans have gained outsized political power in states, communities, and even at the Supreme Court, seeking to prevent positive change and reverse progress. What we do now will determine the future of people and democracy. While the playbook for this moment remains to be written, history provides a roadmap of how people have fought against long odds for democracy and won. This panel will feature a discussion about the fight for democracy’s future in the states-and the courts-in the face of the political realities of 2023 and the legacy of the late Rep. Barbara Jordan.
Speakers: President and CEO, Democracy Forward; Tayhlor Coleman, individual, individual; Shawn Thierry, Representative, Texas House of Representatives Elected Official
Imagineering American Democracy 2050
Description: Forget the 2022 elections or even 2024. How can we rethink American democracy to create a 21st century version that works well for the populous, diverse, multiracial country that we have become? The United States today is a gigantic country (only China and India have more people) and a highly heterogenous one at that. Unfortunately, our existing systems of electing those who represent us increasingly don't seem to do a very good job of producing people who actually represent us or our interests. Are there alternatives such as proportional representation or multi-member districts or top 4 primaries (or others) that would do better? And how do we get there when faced with an uninterested and often hostile political class, not to mention openly antagonistic courts?
Speakers: Michael Li, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law; Moon Duchin, Professor, Tufts University; Lee Drutman, Senior Fellow, New America; Todd Henricks, Data & Research Analyst, NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund
How Our Democracy Impacts Our Health
Description: The American Medical Association recently affirmed Voting as a Social Determinant of Health. How did they get here and what does this mean? How can strengthening our democracy improve the health of our country? And how can doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals innovate within their roles to contribute to the foundations of trust in our political systems? Join to learn more.
Speaker: Aliya Bhatia, Executive Director, Vot-ER
Redefining Corporate Leadership to Meet the Moment
Description: The past few years have given rise to critical moments in our society that have birthed social movements. Corporations have very publicly committed themselves in those moments to furthering social progress. But how can companies successfully embed themselves in the work of doing good for the long-run, while moving from commitments to measurable impactful outcomes? Hear from a panel of experts about the opportunities and hurdles to advancing stakeholder-centric approaches that help companies maintain relevance and be a force for good, long-term.
Speakers: Ashley Marchand Orme, Director, Corporate Equity, JUST Capital; Lisa Osborne Ross, Chief Executive Officer, U.S., Edelman; Kelly McGinnis, Senior Vice President & Chief Communications Officer, Levi Strauss & Co.; Julia Boorstin, CNBC Senior Media & Technology Correspondent and Author of "When Women Lead", CNBC
Beyond Philanthropy: CSR in the Social Justice Era
Description: Gone are the days when companies could just cut a check to an executive’s favorite non-profit and check a box to say that they are “doing good.” In today’s complex social environment, employees, customers, investors, and other corporate stakeholders are more closely scrutinizing how companies give back to the community and address social issues. To make a true impact, companies must look at the issue they’re addressing holistically, and be willing to engage in an authentic, meaningful way with comprehensive programs, spanning internal policies, philanthropy, and public policy engagement. This session will provide you with the best practices on how to create a robust, meaningful, and defendable corporate social impact program.
Speaker: Jackie Padgett, COO, IGC
Entrepreneurship for Good: The New Competitive Edge
Description: The future economy isn’t just about quarterly profits. It’s centered on products and services that meet societal needs and contribute to the greater good. As businesses transform and new entrepreneurs emerge, they must prioritize issues like sustainability, responsible stewardship, and more equitable corporate structures. These are things that today’s consumers don’t just expect — they demand them. We must empower our youth with entrepreneurial skills to become leaders who solve complex problems that spark social change, creating value for shareholders, employees, and society. This new wave of entrepreneurs is crucial to a thriving economy.
Speakers: Stacey Ross Cohen, CEO, Co-Communications, inc; Marc Steren, Co Founder and Co-CEO, University Startups; Craig Vezina, Co Founder and Co-CEO, The Spaceship, President & Founder, The Z-17 Collective, The Spaceship; Z-17 Collective; Arooj Sheikh, CEO, Covo.io