The Center on Communication Leadership & Policy’s Research Director, Mark Latonero, along with senior fellows, Jeremy Curtin and Adam Clayton Powell III, participated in the Tech@State Conference on Civil Society 2.0, which took place from November 4-5, 2010, at the US Department of State and World Bank in Washington, D.C.
The conference was organized around several themes: transparency and engagement, economic opportunity, the position of science, technology, and the environment, risk management in disaster zones, and the structure and status of civil society in frail states.
Several notable speakers highlighted the conference. Alec Ross, Senior Advisor for Innovation, Office of the Secretary of State, spoke on the importance of innovation and
technology for 21st Century Statecraft. Ross centered on how the State Department and civil society organizations can better execute against their foreign policy goals and missions, respectively, via digital technology.
Marua O’Neil, USAID‘s Senior Counselor to the Administrator for Innovation spoke on the role of technology in Haiti, which had a record number of lives saved in a modern disaster. O’Neil discussed USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures, which looks for ideas for seed capital and widespread adoption.
Other noteworthy speakers included technology entrepreneur Tim O’Riley, who discussed innovation in the market ecosystem and Aleem Walji, the World Bank‘s Practice Manager for Innovation and Technology, who talked about the World Bank’s open development strategy.
Find more information on the conference and Tech@State at the following links:
http://www.state.gov/statecraft/tech/index.htm
http://www.state.gov/statecraft/tech/society/index.htm
Fast Company [article]