Joe Biden is coming to SXSW 2017 to raise awareness for his cancer initiative. He hopes to talk about the progress made under his leadership, and how to continue the effort. He wants to raise the profile of his Biden Cancer Initiative before it gets underway, working toward eliminating barriers that stand in the way of research to end cancer. As Deadline mentions, this relates to his White House Cancer Moonshot program when was the vice president. Biden’s talk is part of the Connect to End Cancer series, sponsored by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the AT&T Foundry for Connected Health, and Merck & Co. Inc.
SXSW 2017 will take place in Austin, Texas, from March 10 to 19. SXSW, or South by Southwest, is a yearly conference that bring entrepreneurs of the interactive, film and music industries together for a series of talks, performances, panels, and an entertainment lineup, plus networking events. SWSX held its first event in 1987, when the focus was primarily music. The themes have since expanded, along with the profile of the conference and the number of people who make the trip to Austin every year. The conference themes have grown to include tech, design, journalism, government, and health. Joe Biden’s appearance further shows the importance this conference is taking as the go-to place to get a message across to important people in all fields. Last year, Barack Obama gave the event’s keynote address.
Besides Joe Biden, this year’s South by Southwest features over 100 movie screenings. Some are by first-time directors, others are world premieres. Music, the original focus of the event, is still perhaps the main focus despite the thematic diversity. A lineup of about 1,200 bands from across the globe will perform. For the fifth year, an event featuring K-Pop bands, K-Pop Night Out, brings the best Korean pop music to Austin.
As CNN reported, the 74-year-old Biden has been busy since his time as vice president ended. Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January, one of the nation’s highest honors. Joe and wife Jill Biden launched the Biden Foundation last month to work on initiatives around foreign policy, cancer, community colleges, and military families, protecting children, equality, women against violence, and strengthening the middle class. Also last month, Joe Biden was called to lead the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania. On top of that, Biden still hasn’t ruled out a presidential run, hinting that he might be keen for the task by 2020.