Home > News > MPIRG hosted annual Free Democracy Summit
MPIRG hosted annual Free Democracy Summit
BY DAYNA D. LANDGREBE
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
ISSUE: 78/29
Art. Education. Inspiration. This is what the 5th annual Free Democracy Summit (FDS) hoped to achieve last weekend as students, teachers and members of the Duluth community came together to discuss issues on local and global scales. The FDS, held over three days, consisted of panel discussions, workshops, a free concert, local vendors and a community picnic. The on-campus group, Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG), sponsors FDS.
On Friday night, approximately 40 people attended a discussion panel in UMD’s Chemistry 200, to listen to a discussion on “The State of Democracy and the Importance of Civic Engagement.” Among others, speakers included UMD political science professor Mary Currin-Percival, Duluth Mayor Don Ness and the League of Women Voters.
On Saturday, an all-day workshop event was held at Duluth Central High School. These panels ranged from organic farming and sustainability to the homelessness issue in Duluth and media in the northland. “We like having it off campus,” said UMD student and MPIRG member Cheyenne Stevens. She said having it [FDS] off campus gives the event more of a “sense of community.” “UMD is almost considered a separate community from Duluth. FDS is about this community, not the college. It’s about the people.”
The panels on Saturday went from 12-4 p.m., consisted of educators, professors and local government officials. “FDS is free and open to the public. It’s a way for educated people to come in and get the word out on the issues,” said MPIRG member Ellen Vaagen. “It’s letting people know what’s going on in their community and even on a national scale about issues that affect and are important to them.”
The FDS was originally conceived by UMD students who attended a conference in Miami, Fla., during the resistance of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) discussions in 2003. The movement was brought back to Duluth with the idea to organize a community event that would bring people and issues together. “Really, the idea of the whole weekend is to provide both educational opportunities and fun things. We use concerts and art as much as we can,” said MPIRG member Jamie Ebert.
The final day of FDS closed out with a speech by Minnesota state senator Becky Lourey on “How Technology and Politics Affect the Way We Grow Food.” “A lot of these education panels are about trying to provide people with an opportunity to learn something about a subject and then inspire people to take what they have learned to go and do something about it by making change in their societies,” said Ebert. When asked about the future plans of the FDS, Ebert said it was difficult to say. There have been discussions to make the FDS into a non-profit organization to facilitate summits like this one all over the country. Other ideas are to just keep hosting the FDS right here in Duluth.
“The community is particularly involved in the FDS and a lot of community organizations look forward to it every spring,” said Ebert. “It’s a lot of work but I’m excited to do this for other people. I want to provide these opportunities, information and a fun time.”
