Colorado, California, Vegas: Dissident Speakers on the Move
Summer break is for students — not for our Dissident speakers! From a Colorado ballroom to the Reagan Library to the Vegas Strip, our speakers are crisscrossing the country to share their experiences with tyranny and their appreciation for freedom with audiences across the nation. Here are the highlights:
Our Colorado Visit with the Daniels Fund
Our speakers, Gaby Blanco and Frances Hui, spoke at the Daniels Fund’s SHIFT College conference hosted by Colorado Christian University (Lakewood, CO). I moderated the panel discussion, where we discussed our speakers’ origin stories, authoritarian influence in artificial intelligence, and how young Americans can better guard themselves against foreign propaganda in social media. The 200 rising college freshmen were highly engaged — they had so many questions that they kept Gaby and Frances 20 minutes past our scheduled time!
Two California Trips with the Reagan Foundation
Frances also made two trips to Simi Valley, CA, to speak to a total of 300 high school students at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, sharing stories of her pro-democracy activism as a Hong Kong teenager. We’re glad to continue our collaboration with the Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute to bring our speakers to the southern California community.
This Saturday at FreedomFest
Grace Jo will join other members of the Young Voices team at FreedomFest (Las Vegas, NV) to share her story this Saturday, July 11. If you’re attending, visit the Philosophers Room (Room 104) at 2 PM PDT to hear her speech, “From Darkness to Freedom: A North Korean Survivor’s Journey.”
Interviews Underway for the New Dissident Project Roster
Lastly, the deadline to apply for the Dissident Project’s 2026-2027 program year closed last week. We are awed by the level of talent we have seen in this year’s applicants. We will get back to you in August with an update on our newcomers!
