Robert Kennedy Jr. Keynoting SXSW Eco

If your brain is swirling from all the announcements for SXSW Film, Interactive, Music, and (for all you early starters) edu, start making your plans for SXSW Eco. The fall conference on all matters environmental has announced its first round of speakers, headlined by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Dubbed a hero for the planet by Time and an agent of change by Rolling Stone, as president of the international Waterkeeper Alliance Kennedy has become a thought leader and international advocate on drinkable, fishable, swimmable, sustainable water.

He's not the only announced name today. Also scheduled to speak:

• University of Southern California’s Spatial Analysis Lab director Annette Kim on using data to uncover the patterns of urban living;

• Design in Public program director Susan Surface on the interface between architecture, design, and corporate responsibility;

• LBJ School professor Raj Patel on the interconnected global food system;

• Filmmaker Robert Young Pelton, author of practical journalism survival guide The World's Most Dangerous Places, on reporting on (and not dying in) combat zones around the world.

There's still an opportunity to join the conference schedule. The panelpicker is currently looking for programming submissions in multiple tracks: Cities, Communications, Conservation and Adaptation; Corporate Responsibility; Energy; Food Systems; Place By Design; Policy; Startup Central; and Water. Submissions are accepted until April 29, with public voting May 9-20.

For the really ambitious, the conference is also taking applications for the Start-up Showcase and the Place by Design competitions.

SXSW Eco runs Oct. 10-12. More info at www.sxsweco.com.