The political and social changes sweeping across the world will be the focus of an annual global issues conference at the University of Central Florida.

“People Power, Politics and Global Change” will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union. The conference, hosted by the UCF Global Perspectives Office in partnership with the National Conference of Editorial Writers, is part of a yearlong series of presentations on the power people have through formal and informal means to effect political change.

Speakers will include Sam Graham-Felsen, a global emerging media strategist and former chief blogger for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. He will explain how social media can contribute to social and political movements.

Fiona Hill, director of the Center on the United States and Europe at The Brookings Institution, will discuss the role social media played in the Russian presidential elections.

Other presenters include Stephen McDowell, director of the School of Communication at Florida State University, who will focus on telecommunications and social media in South Asia, and Ted Reynolds, of the University of St. Andrews and UCF, who will examine political radicalism and the Internet.

The public is invited to attend the conference, and attendees must register by Thursday, Oct. 6. Registration is $50 per person. The fee, which can be paid at the conference, includes breakfast, lunch, refreshments and conference materials.

The conference is free for UCF students, but they also must register in advance.

To register, contact the UCF Global Perspectives Office at 407-823-0688 or global@mail.ucf.edu.

In addition to the Global Perspectives Office and the National Conference of Editorial Writers, sponsors and partners of the conference include UCF’s Student Government Association, Nicholson School of Communication, Global Peace and Security Studies Program, Diplomacy Program, Terrorism Studies Program, Middle Eastern Studies Program, Political Science Department, International Services Center and China-Taiwan Cross-Strait Program, The India Program at UCF, UCF LIFE, the Sibille H. Pritchard Global Peace Fellowship program, the Orlando Area Committee on Foreign Relations, C.T. Hsu International (Group) Co., Lawrence J. Chastang and The Chastang Foundation, The Anil and Chitra Deshpande India Program Endowed Fund, LarsonAllen L.L.P., the UCF Book Festival in association with the Morgridge International Reading Center, and the Global Connections Foundation.

For a full list of upcoming events or to learn more about the Global Perspectives Office, visit http://ucfglobalperspectives.org.