July 6, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Bud Evans
(805) 541-6770
eevans@calpoly.edu

Lauren Batchelder,
Student Publicity Contact
(805) 544-0844
lbatchel@calpoly.edu

Cal Poly to Host Global Student Conference July 18-24

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly will host the first Student World Assembly
convention July 18 -24, bringing students from countries around the
world to campus to discuss the global environment, war, and democracy.

All of the students attending the conference are delegates of Student
World Assembly, an Internet project sponsored by the nonprofit Raynault
Foundation. The foundation aims to create a nongovernmental student
organization with ties to universities from around the world.

“The goal,” said Raynault Foundation President and Canadian entrepreneur
Paul Raynault, “is to build a nongovernmental representative world
assembly to represent people in much the same manner as the United
Nations represents governments.”

Cal Poly’s Political Science Department is serving as the headquarters
for the Student World Assembly organization. It currently includes more
than 600 students at 138 universities and colleges in 52 countries who
communicate via the Internet.

Students attending the conference have already participated in on-line meetings, debates and policy votes, and some gathered in New York March 26 for a student campaign kick-off.
Cal Poly students in political Science Professor Bud Evans’ Global Political Issues class traveled to the New York meeting and have been coordinating events and publicity for the organization and summer
conference.

Evans expects some 30 international students to attend the July conference at Cal Poly. Student delegates from Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, China, Ecuador, France, Ghana, Guyana, Iran, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Romania, Senegal, St. Vincent, Turkey, the United
States and Venezuela are scheduled to attend. For more details on SWA, visit the organization web site at www.studentworldassembly.org/.

- # # # -

Editors please note: Student World Assembly welcomes media coverage. For
a conference schedule of events, contact Teresa Hendrix in the Cal Poly
Public Affairs Office at thendrix@calpoly.edu or (805) 756-7266.