Netroots Nation
Netroots Nation is a progressive organization that networks progressive ideas and people. It has an annual convention and regional salons throughout the year. Netroots Nation convention used to be known as the YearlyKos Convention.[1]
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. The convention rebranded to Netroots Nation in 2007 in an effort to more accurately reflect the makeup of its audience and mission of implementing programs that teach and empower Netroots communities to affect change in the public sphere. Past gatherings have included a Presidential Leadership Forum that drew seven Democratic candidates, a surprise visit from Al Gore; an interactive Ask the Speaker session with Nancy Pelosi; and hundreds of panels, roundtables, training sessions, workshops and keynotes. Netroots Nation is committed to fostering a legacy of environmental stewardship. We believe we have a responsibility to not only green our event, but to use our gathering to educate others about sustainability issues. Netroots Nation 2009 will be held at the first and largest certified “green” convention center in the world (Gold LEED certified) and will incorporate green practices such as minimizing waste and donating leftover food to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible. Netroots Nation is a project of Bloggerpower.org, a non-profit non-partisan organization, with the generous support of the Netroots Arts and Education Initiative (NAEI) [2]
Convention
The 2009 convention was held August 13–16 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA. It included panels led by national and international experts; a progressive film screening series; practical training sessions and workshops; and the most concentrated gathering of progressive bloggers to date.