Thursday, August 21, 2008

Guam Blogger Headed to Democratic National Convention

PRESS RELEASE
August 20, 2008

CONTACT:
Michael Lujan Bevacqua
mlbasquiat@hotmail.com

Guam Blogger Headed to 2008 Democratic National Convention

As part of the Democratic Party’s emphasis on courting America’s “netroots,” at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, this August 25th-28th, bloggers will have unprecedented access to delegates and elected officials. More than 120 blogs have been given full press credentials in Denver, whereas only 30 received the same access four years ago in Boston. 55 of the blogs this year were chosen as part of the Democratic Party’s “State Blogger Corps,” with slots allotted to one grassroots blogger each, representing the 50 states and 5 territories. These bloggers will receive full press access to the convention floor, and be seated with their state/territorial delegations at Senator Barack Obama’s historic speech accepting the nomination of his party for President.

Michael Lujan Bevacqua was chosen to represent Guam at the convention. His blog, No Rest for the Awake – Minagahet Chamorro, which he started in August 2004, is dedicated to “Chamorro issues, the use and revitalization of the Chamoru language and the decolonization of Guam,” and aims to inform “people around the world about the history, culture and language and struggles of the Chamorro people.”

Bevacqua received an undergraduate and graduate degree from the University of Guam, and is currently enrolled as a graduate student in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego. He has been involved in Guam’s decolonization movement for the past decade, by helping in the organizing of conferences and forums on Guam and Chamorro issues, and making presentations, both in Guam and in the United States, to facilitate greater education and awareness about issues pertaining to Guam’s political status.

During the convention, Bevacqua is scheduled to interview Congresswoman Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands), Congressman Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa), Congressman Ike Skelton (D-Missouri), Senator Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), Congressman Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) as well as former Congressman Norman Mineta (D-California). The interviews will focus on issues important to Guam and Chamorros, such as the environment, voting rights, war reparations, the imminent military buildup, Federal-Territorial relations, and the decolonization of Guam. He is also slated to speak to Obama surrogates who can speak to the Senator’s positions on foreign/military policy in the Asia-Pacific region, national service programs, and Native American and Native Hawaiian affairs.

These interviews, as well as general updates from the Convention, will be available at http://minagahet.blogspot.com starting Monday, August 25th. For more information, Bevacqua can be contacted at mlbasquiat@hotmail.com

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For More Info:
No Rest for the Awake – Minagahet Chamorro – http://minagahet.blogspot.com
Decolonize Guam - http://decolonizeguam.blogspot.com
Full List of 2008 DNC Credentialed Blogs - http://www.demconvention.com/credentialed-blogs/
Senator Barack Obama Campaign Website – http://www.barackobama.com
Democratic National Convention Website – http://www.demconvention.com

1 comment:

Harry Knopp said...

Have a great time! This looks like it could be one FUN convention. There's a great set of links for it on http://www.USAMediaGuide.com. It includes links to the official convention site, the host committee's site, the "protest" site, places to watch it live online and other convention-related sites.