Annie Leonard's Keynote | SXSW Eco 2012 Following up our announcements of Keynote Adam Werbach and Distinguished Speakers Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. and Daniel Katz, our first major round of programming announcements will be released this Thursday, June 20th. We'll be announcing session themes, panels and speakers, including a keynote and multiple distinguished speakers. Similar to our two previous years, 2013 programming is shaping up to highlight a diverse array of systems experts who are capable of drawing connections between the many issues examined at SXSW Eco. Sign up for our newsletter in the sidebar of this page to receive announcements first, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You'll be hearing from us soon!

We're ecstatic to announce our newest Place by Design juror Mike Lydon, Founding Principal of The Street Plans Collaborative. Over the past few years Mike has established himself as the foremost expert on tactical urbanism, writing two popular guides on the subject and leading salons devoted to the topic across the globe. Place by Design will highlight tactical urbanism projects as well as other forms of placemaking intiatives. Mike's knowledge and expertise bring an exciting perspective to our jury of design experts, and is sure to be a benefit to PXD applicants and SXSW Eco attendees. View Mike's full bio and all of the Place by Design jurors and learn more about the competition here.

Want to get your vision for a better place in front of our jurors and conference attendees? Apply to Place by Design now.

The Wildflower Center is seeking volunteers to help sow the seeds of Bastrop’s recovery. As part of the Bastrop County Community Reforestation Program, the Wildflower Center is growing loblolly pine trees to help replace those lost in the 2011 fire that burned over 34,000 acres of woodland in the Lost Pines area of Bastrop county. They need your help sowing 350,000 seeds of loblolly pine into containers in their expanded tree nursery. Once sown and grown, the seedlings will be used in large-scale community planting efforts in the fire-ravaged community. No special knowledge or skills are required and training will be on-the-job with our Nursery staff. Volunteer shifts are Tues-Friday 8:30am–12:30pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am–1pm in June, or until all trees are planted.

If you would like to help Bastrop, contact the Wildflower Center’s Volunteer Manager, Carrie McDonald.

See Who You'll Meet in October! // JW WalthallOne of the biggest requests from 2012 SXSW Eco Attendees was a way to network with fellow attendees before and after October–you asked for it, we answered.

We're excited to introduce SXSW Eco Social- the one stop place for you to meet fellow registrants and make your plans for SXSW Eco 2013. When you register for SXSW Eco you'll receive an activation code that allows you to create a profile, search users by tag and industry and add people to your personal network. Eco social will also be the place where you book your hotel and create your personalized conference schedule after our full program goes online. Register now and sign up for Eco Social to make the most of your SXSW Eco 2013 experience.

Cardboard Cattails // Landry McMeans This past weekend we visited local Austin art studio Pump Project for the opening of "New Found Glory," an exhibit showcasing a range of artworks made from found objects and/or trash. Curated by Bob McGivney of Balcones Resources, the show consisted of an inspiring and diverse array of visions centered around reuse. Included in the show was Jason Mecier's trash mural created during SXSW 2013 at South Bites, stunning cardboard cattails from Landry McMeans and wood and metal sculptures from our very own SXSW Eco programmer Leslie Uppinghouse. New Found Glory will be on display until June 15 at Pump Project, 702 Shady Lane.

Image Courtesy of OkayCityNate

Scrambling to finish your Startup Showcase application? We're extending the deadline for all of you procrastinators out there! App submissions will now close this Monday, June 3 at 11:59 PM CST. So use the weekend to get 'er done. Email questions to our Startup Programming Coordinator, Carolyn Harrold, at carolyn@sxsw.com. Good luck!

Apply now!

Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. Daniel Katz We're excited to announce the addition of two Distinguished Speakers to this year's conference. Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., President and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, and Daniel Katz, Co-Founder and Board Member of the Rainforest Alliance and Senior Program Director at The Overbrook Foundation. Both of these men are experts and advocates in human rights and social justice and are sure to make an impact in October. Daniel will also be a Judge of the Social Impact category of the Startup Showcase. Stay tuned for more speaker announcements coming your way in June.

Media Partners and Supporters are a crucial component of making our event successful. This partnership opportunity is great for organizations wanting to connect with the leaders and innovators who annually attend SXSW Eco. Supporters help to spread the word about various aspects of our conference most relevant to their networks and communities–from energy to food to design. They also are given the opportunity to get their work and missions to our community, through pre-event coverage and/or a presence at SXSW Eco in October.

Emily Chan is a sustainability strategist with GreenOrder, a management consulting group that helps companies gain a competitive advantage through environmental innovation. Read the description of "The Sustainability Health Nexus: Consumers Rule," the panel Emily submitted to Eco 2013 here.

What are you reading right now?

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain. She points out that introverts make up at least one half to one third of the world’s population. I see smart companies, particularly in tech, art, design, and innovation creating new workplace and human capital strategies that go beyond 20th century-style group brainstorming to foster a higher level of creativity as we move to the knowledge economy. Did you know that Harvard is refreshing their admissions approach to better favor introversion? Top business schools like Wharton are teaching people how to be more introverted as a tool for leading the next gen workforce. It’s crazy because this all nods to a market demand for introverts.

What has been the best moment of the past month for you?

Meeting the founder of thredUP a week after reading about him in Fast Company. San Francisco’s great like that.

Amy Price If you haven't had time to go through all of the excellent panel submissions for SXSW Eco 2013 we've got good news for you: we're extending the voting period until Monday, May 27 at 11:59 PM CST. There are a ton of exciting sessions on the diverse array of topics that we cover each October, from biomimicry to energy to urban agriculture. Also this year for the first time, we're adding workshops to our program as well as other break-out events such as mentor sessions, an entrepreneur/investor ping pong tournament, the Place by Design competition and more. This year is poised to be the best one yet for SXSW Eco, and you've still got time to choose the programming you want! Vote now.