Lessig to Launch beta of Change Congress Project in Sunshine Week Lecture

March 6, 2008

Contact: Gabriela Schneider 202-742-1520 ext 236

WHAT
Professor Lawrence Lessig, renowned expert in intellectual property, has a new mission: to combat the influence of money in American democracy. Bolstered by the recent “Draft Lessig” movement that almost convinced him to run for Congress, Lessig will further his mission by launching a new “Change Congress” project in a Sunshine Week lecture sponsored by the Sunlight Foundation and Omidyar Network.

In this lecture, Lessig will describe his decision to focus his academic interests on the issue of the systemic corruption of American democracy. He will explore the ways in which our democracy is threatened by corruption and ways we, as citizens, can respond.

Lessig recently joined the Advisory Board of the Sunlight Foundation, which is on the vanguard of using technology to promote transparency and positively change the culture in Congress. Omidyar Network recently invested $2 million in Sunlight Foundation, and is actively supporting efforts to increase governmental transparency and community engagement.

WHEN
1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 20, 2008

WHERE
National Press Club, Murrow, White and Lisagor Rooms
529 14th Street, NW Washington, DC
The event will also be Web cast.

WHO
Lawrence Lessig, Law Professor and Director, Stanford Center for Internet and Society
Ellen Miller, Executive Director, Sunlight Foundation

Reporters interested in attending, please register by sending email to media [at] sunlightfoundation.com

The Sunlight Foundation supports, develops and deploys new Internet technologies to make information about Congress and the federal government more accessible to the American people. Through its projects and grant-making, Sunlight serves as a catalyst to create greater political transparency and to foster more openness and accountability in government.

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