WASHINGTON, D.C. (CitizenWire) — The U.S. Department of State, in conjunction with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) from the World Bank, will host Tech@State: Civil Society 2.0 on November 4 – 5, 2010.
The first session will be held at the Department of State’s George Marshall Conference Center from 8:30 am – 12:15 pm on November 4. Senior Advisor for Innovation Alec Ross, Chief Information Officer Susan Swart and other senior U.S. Government officials will open the event. In the afternoon, the World Bank will host a luncheon and small breakout sessions. The final day of Tech@State: Civil Society 2.0 will be an all day “unconference” at the World Bank.
Tech@State: Civil Society 2.0 will convene civil society leaders, technology leaders, and government officials to examine the ways that technologists and digital tools can help train, empower and bolster civil society. Secretary Clinton announced Civil Society 2.0 last November to focus on capacity building and training of civil society groups who encompass grassroots organizations, NGOs, non-profits, and more to increase their digital literacy, so they may better administer and sustain their own programs and solutions. Civil Society 2.0 addresses the technology based knowledge and, resource gaps for organizations on the ground.
Participants and conference leaders include Omidyar Network, Kauffman Foundation, Scientists without Borders, United Way, O’Reilly Media, UN Foundation and more. Panelists will discuss the critical and transformative role technology and technologists can play in advancing civil society’s efforts. See a conference schedule at: http://tech.state.gov/profiles/blogs/techstate-civil-society-20 .
From learning how to use Twitter, to leveraging mobile applications or how to raise money online, technology can help increase membership base, amplify an organization’s message and more. Through this conference, we will seek to identify the needs of civil society and technology’s role in helping meet these needs.
The event will be streamed live at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tech-state .