ICTworks

With the rapid expansion of new technologies and emerging perspectives on what works, the global development community is looking for new thinking on solving development challenges.

Beyond Access, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, invites you to Local Alternatives for Global Development: Rediscovering Libraries on October 3, in Washington, DC. Join the conversation with a community of development professionals who are interested in a fresh perspective on information and development.

We can’t promise ready-made answers for achieving development goals. But we can promise thoughtful discussion in a non-traditional format about local approaches and innovative alternatives – all in a PowerPoint-free, coffee-charged setting that challenges the convention of typical DC conferences. The event features:

1. 1. Ricardo Lagos, Ricardo Lagos, 33^rd President of Chile
      Paving its own Development Route: The Chile Approach to Opening Access to the Disenfranchised
   2. Armchair conversations with visionary thinkers from the development and technology fields
   3. Development coffee lounges led by subject experts on how new technology and information models impact:

1. A dynamic Innovation Fair showcasing the work of communities partnering with libraries on development efforts, with delegations from government, NGOs and public libraries from Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe.

Hosted by Beyond Access, this one-day event at Arena Stage aims to explore the “how” of information access, and its connection to development across the spectrum rooted in local priorities and partnerships. The event brings public libraries into discussions of development for the first time.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

1. International NGOs looking for new ways to tap into local resources
2. Development professionals and donors looking to leverage existing infrastructure and resources
3. ICT4D Professionals looking for outlets to address international challenges

For more information about the event and to register, please visit beyondaccess.net/conference2012. And for the latest on confirmed speakers and attendees, join the conversation at facebook.com/BeyondAccessInitiative and @Beyond_Access.