Central College alum Harry Smith will be the keynote speaker at the annual event Called to Climate Action: Uphold and Upheave. The virtual event, co-hosted by Central College and Iowa Interfaith Power & Light, is at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 24. Smith, who graduated from Central in 1973, is an award-winning national television news journalist currently working as an NBC News correspondent. He will share his experience as a journalist covering environmental stories from all areas of America and his coverage of climate change in the leadup to the 2020 Iowa caucuses. Smith was a recent guest on Charity Nebbe’s Talk of Iowa, sharing some of his own story and his reflections on climate change in Iowa.

The event also will feature Iowa college students who have organized action for climate justice on campuses across the state, including Central College Class of 2023 student Tiffany Van Gilst. Van Gilst, of Pella, recently published a commentary, “Young activists like me need support from older generations.” In preparation for the event, Iowa student leaders have drafted an Interfaith Statement on Climate Change, which they invite all Iowans of faith and conscience to sign.

To register for the event, visit iowaipl.salsalabs.org/calledtoclimateaction2020. After registering, an email will be sent containing the Zoom link for the event.