Netroots Nation amplifies progressive voices by providing an online and in-person campus for exchanging ideas and learning how to be more effective in using technology to influence the public debate. Within the campus, we strengthen community, inspire action and serve as an incubator for progressive ideas that challenge the status quo and ultimately affect change in the public sphere.

The third annual gathering of the Netroots (formerly known as the YearlyKos Convention) will be held July 17–20 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. Netroots Nation 2008 will include panels led by national and international experts; identity, issue and regional caucuses; prominent political, issue and policy-oriented speakers; a 26,000-square-foot interactive exhibit hall; a progressive film screening series; and the most concentrated gathering of progressive bloggers to date.

The origin of Netroots Nation is traced to a time when a tremendous and growing number of citizens gathered every day in the virtual world to raise their collective voice and proactively influence their government. That group is broadly called the Netroots and has since grown to include progressive organizations and politicians who use new media technologies to communicate with their constituents.

In June of 2006, progressive activists, representatives from progressive organizations, elected officials, candidates for office, and bloggers from all over the world gathered for the first YearlyKos Convention in Las Vegas to discuss everything from education to the future of energy resources. The second annual
convention, held in Chicago last August, included a Presidential Leadership Forum that drew seven of the eight Democratic candidates.

Netroots Nation is a project of Bloggerpower.org with the generous support of the Netroots Arts and Education Initiative (NAEI).

Quick links:

• Agenda
• Speaker List
• Register