Conference to Examine Social Media’s Role in Politics

The political and social changes sweeping across the world will be the focus of an annual global issues conference at the University of Central Florida.

“People Power, Politics and Global Change” will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union. The conference, hosted by the UCF Global Perspectives Office in partnership with the National Conference of Editorial Writers, is part of a yearlong series of presentations on the power people have through formal and informal means to effect political change.

Speakers will include Sam Graham-Felson, a global emerging media strategist and former chief blogger for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. He will explain how social media can contribute to social and political movements.

Fiona Hill, director of the Center on the United States and Europe at The Brookings Institution, will discuss the role social media played in the Russian presidential elections.

Other presenters include Stephen McDowell, director of the School of Communication at Florida State University, who will focus on telecommunications and social media in South Asia, and Ted Reynolds, of the University of St. Andrews and UCF, who will examine political radicalism and the Internet.

The public is invited to attend the conference, and attendees must register by Thursday, Oct. 6. Registration is $50 per person. The fee, which can be paid at the conference, includes breakfast, lunch, refreshments and conference materials.

To register, contact the UCF Global Perspectives Office at 407-823-0688 or global@mail.ucf.edu.