Vice President Joe Biden to Speak at SXSW 2017

SXSW has announced a powerful addition to their speaker lineup—Vice President Joe Biden. In his talk, Biden plans to share information on the Biden Cancer initiative, and how he plans to move forward post-vice presidency. He will look back on the progress made in his leadership of the White House Cancer Moonshot, and “call for innovative solutions to tackle the barriers that prevent faster gains in ending cancer as we know it.” The National Cancer Moonshot, which aligns with MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program, was established by Biden last year.

Biden’s participation is part of the Connect to End Cancer series, which provides “education, exposure and potential development support to entrepreneurs and encourages collaboration among innovators, industry executives, venture capitalists, celebrities, philanthropists and SXSW attendees.” For Biden, the fight against cancer is deeply personal. In 2015, his eldest son, Beau Biden, died of terminal brain cancer after a two-year fight. Since his son’s death, Biden has committed himself to advocating for better and faster cancer research.

The Connect to End Cancer series takes place as part of SXSW on March 12 in the Health Track. Biden will be speaking that day at 3:30 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center. Following the speech, a video of the event will be available online. Other keynote and featured speakers include Kesha, Buzz Aldrin, Bob Odenkirk and Jill Soloway. For a complete list of featured speakers, click here, and find the complete SXSW schedule here.