AUM to host regional conference featuring human rights activist Derreck Kayongo

AUM’s Experiential Education and Engagement Center (EEEC) will host the 2024 Southeast and Mid-South Joint Regional Conference February 23-25.

The conference’s theme is “Stories for Change” and will feature Derreck Kayongo, the former CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, as the event’s keynote speaker. Kayongo is also a social entrepreneur, founder of the Global Soap Project, Max Award winner for best innovative entrepreneur.

In 2011, he was recognized as a CNN Hero for his work on the Global Soap Project, a humanitarian aid organization that collects discarded and unused soap from thousands of hotels worldwide, reprocesses it, then distributes it to in-need populations around the world.

A Ugandan refugee, Kayongo took an inspiring path in life that led him to become a successful entrepreneur, CEO, and renowned human rights activist. He will share his visionary ideas for harnessing the power of observation and creative problem solving, applicable to any organization or community. Key factors of his personal and professional success are identified with the memorable acronym S.E.L.F.: Service, Education, Leadership and Faith. He calls upon his dynamic experiences to empower audiences, inspiring an entrepreneur spirit made possible only through creative problem solving.

Currently, Kayongo serves on the board of advisors at Sharing Sacred Spaces, an organization devoted to building local, sustainable interreligious communities working together for peace and civic change.

AUM faculty, staff, and students may attend the conference for free by completing the online registration form.