Co-founder of ‘Invisible Children’ to Speak at UC San Diego Graduation Celebration

Keynote speaker at June 11 campus event is former UC San Diego student Laren Poole, the inspiration behind the congressional passage of bill to end the war in Uganda

May 20, 2010

By Christine Clark

Laren Poole, a former UCSD student, spent more than six years documenting the plight of young children in Northern Uganda. Courtesy of Invisible Children

For Laren Poole, the congressional passage of the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery (LRA) Act— legislation that will enable the U.S. State Department to help end the conflict in Uganda—is a groundbreaking achievement in a journey that began seven years ago. In 2003, when Poole was a student at the University of California, San Diego, he created the documentary “Invisible Children,” a film that exposed the tragic realities of northern Uganda’s night commuters and child soldiers.

President Obama is expected to sign the LRA legislation into law next week.
Poole will share his inspirational story with graduating students June 11 as the keynote speaker at the university’s All Campus Graduation Celebration. For the last three years, this annual event has given graduating students at UC San Diego’s six colleges, as well as alumni, an opportunity to commemorate graduation in a large-scale celebration.

“We feel Laren Poole exemplifies UC San Diego’s spirit for innovation and service,” Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Penny Rue said. “This year’s All Campus Graduation Celebration gives students an opportunity to celebrate a momentous transition in their life and learn how one person, with integrity and determination, can make a huge impact on the world.”

On June 11, Poole will share his inspirational story with graduating students as the keynote speaker at the university’s All Campus Graduation Celebration

Poole, 28, is co-founder of Invisible Children, a nonprofit organization named after the movie that uses the power of media to inspire young people to help end the Ugandan conflict, the longest running war in Africa.

“Speaking to this year’s graduating class is a very exciting opportunity,” he said. “It’s like coming full circle. I left UC San Diego seven years ago and went on this path to Africa unexpectedly. Coming back to the university, right after the bill was passed by Congress, means so much to our organization and Uganda.”

Poole added, “I hope to inspire the students to not be nervous about graduating in this economy. There is so much opportunity out there, including public service. This generation is capable of making change to improve the lives of future generations.”

The All Campus Graduation Celebration is open to graduating undergraduate and graduate students and alumni of UC San Diego. The ceremony will include speeches from Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, Vice Chancellor Penny Rue and Poole.

“Poole is an excellent example of the amazing global citizens UC San Diego produces,” All Campus Graduation Celebration co-chair Katie Hall said. “He has a perfect story to tell seniors—if you follow your passions, you can do amazing and fulfilling work even if it is something you never imagined possible.”

Invisible Children initiated U.S. legislation to put an end to the conflict in Uganda. The organization rallied youth to enlist the help of Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wisc., and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, who co-authored the bill requiring the Obama administration to determine a way to stop the fighting in Northern Uganda. Congress passed the bill May 12, which primarily targets the removal of Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, the rebel group that is responsible for kidnapping children and forcing them to be soldiers, raping women, pillaging and destroying villages and killing civilians.

The all-campus event ends with fireworks.

“The congressional passage of the bill really shows the power of activism—hundreds of thousands of young people came together and said that we need to put an end to the genocide … and legislators listened,” Poole said. 

“I’m so proud that in a politically divided climate both sides came together and agreed that the injustices in Uganda have to stop.”

Invisible Children helps Ugandan refugees living in internally displaced persons camps in Africa find employment and educational opportunities. The organization sends more than 700 Ugandan students to high school and 100 women to college each year.

Poole said his time at UC San Diego and especially his experience at Thurgood Marshall College, which inspires students to be philosophically committed to the development of both the scholar and citizen helped ignite his interest in social justice. He chose to go to Africa because he felt the need to meet the people who were experiencing social injustice in other parts of the globe.

UC San Diego has more than 500 student organizations and some 68 of them are service-based. For more information about the All Campus Graduation Celebration, go to http://seniors.ucsd.edu/acgc.php

Media Contacts:

Christine Clark, 858-534-7618 ceclark@ucsd.edu