On Wednesday, April 10, international youth speaker Omekongo will kick off his third annual "Be an UPstander not a Bystander" tour. The goal of this tour is to travel across the country and address youth audiences about the importance of being engaged in issues we face today from gun violence in America to genocide in Congo, Burma, and the Sudan. To date, Omekongo has six confirmed speeches and performances in 6 days in Ohio followed by California, with later April events in Minnesotta, DC, and Maryland.

In Ohio, Omekongo will spend two days as a visiting speaker. He will lead three events focused on alternative forms to media in the misinformation age, the arts & social change, and African empowerment. The goal of these sessions will be to get students to think criticalliy about their role in the world as college-educated young leaders.

From Ohio, Omekongo will travel to California and partner with Jewish World Watch to speak and perform at two high schools as well as the Los Angeles Walk To End Genocide. Says Omekongo of these 6 events in 6 days: "This is my absolute favorite time of the year. Traveling across the country and engaging our future leaders on pressing issues of the day truly gives my life meaning. It's so easy for us in America to not be aware of not only conflicts occurring across the globe, but our American role in them as well. The only way we will know is to act once we do know!"

Omékongo Dibinga is the UPstander. His life's mission is to inspire all across the globe to take a stand when they witness an injustice, no matter how small or large. Omékongo is a youth motivational speaker, trilingual poet, CNN contributor, and TV talk show host. His Urban Music Award winning work has best been described by Nikki Giovanni as "outstanding, exciting, and new while being very old." His book, From the Limbs of My Poetree was described by Essence Magazine as "a remarkable and insightful collection of exquisite poetry that touches sacred places within your spirit." His work has been televised from CNN to the BBC in over 150 countries. He was one of 5 international recipients out of 750,000 to win the first ever "CNN iReport Spirit Award." He has received over 1,000,000 views on CNN.com