South by South Lawn, a new event for innovators, hosted at the White House

Earlier this year, President Obama traveled to South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin for a conversation on civic engagement. He participated in a Q&A with Evan Smith, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Tribune, at the Long Center for Performing Arts on March 11, 2016. This excursion has inspired a Washington DC adaptation, called South by South Lawn, to occur on Monday, October 3.

South By Southwest, founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, is celebrated for the opportunities it provides through engaging conferences and festivals. The line-up always converges creative industries. Screenings, exhibitions, and a variety of networking opportunities bring diverse people together to broach a range of topics.

The next SXSW edition, in 2017, will be held March 10-19, with recently-announced keynote speakers Jill Soloway (creator of the award-winning television show "Transparent") and Jennifer Doudna (a pioneering geneticist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley).

With this precedent mind, South by South Lawn (SXSL), headquartered at the White House in Washington DC, will also bring together creators, innovators, and organizers. Its aim will be to discuss and find creative solutions that improve American society, and global society at large. SXSL is being billed as "A White House Festival of Ideas, Art and Action."

The South by South Lawn (SXSL) event will partner with the American Film Institute (AFI), C3 Presents, the President's Committee on Arts and Humanities (PCAH), plus the original South by Southwest.

The one-day happening will be comprised of three sectors, in a similar structure to the original.

An interactive sector will feature panel discussions that explore how organizations and influencers can make impactful change.

Interactive booths will encourage engagement with new technologies and innovations.

The film portion will feature the 3rd Annual White House Student Film Festival, in association with the American Film Institute. Students in grades K-12 -- a young but potent pool of future filmmakers -- have submitted more than 700 short films around this year's theme, 'The World I Want to Live In.'

Musical performances will feature artists, well-known and emerging, who play inspiring music.

South by South Lawn will occur on Monday, October 3.