A Review of the “Scenarios for the Future of Technology and International Development” Report

by Keisha Taylor. This was originally posted on the TechSoup Global Blog.

Philanthropists, nonprofits, and the development sector as a whole cannot underestimate the role they have to play in understanding and using technology for development. But they must also be informed about the implications of its use. This is one of the key messages I garnered from the lengthy but interesting and provocative Scenarios for the Future of Technology and International Development report, recently published by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Global Business Network. Engaging the imagination, it puts forward four global scenarios, with an accompanying fictional case study, that describe how philanthropy and technology may co-evolve for development. I’ve summarized the report and its main points for you as an easy introduction to this important topic.

Say “no” to money. We dare you. 

My name is Stephen Lee, and I am an independent consultant with a focus at the intersection of sustainable development, technology, and entrepreneurship. I spent the last several years as the operations director of AIDG, an international NGO supporting clean tech entrepreneurs in Guatemala and Haiti.  Prior to that, I was a proud member of the Techsoup Global team! Currently, I'm building a new organization, called the Alterna Foundation, to support locally-driven innovation and entrepreneurship in underserved communities throughout the world.

My priorities include learning how best to mobilize resources around accelerating community-based innovation, and what the role of technology is, not just as a resource in itself, but also as a tool in developing the ecosystem.

I'm here in Odorheiu Secuiesc, Romania, for The Local Philanthropy Workshop run by the OdorheiuSecuiesc Community Foundation and TechSoup Romania. This three-and-a-half day event will really kick off tomorrow morning and lead well into the weekend, bringing together NGO and IT participants to work together, share needs and expertise, and build capacity to move Romania and our communities further towards the civil society and engaged philanthropy environment we all want. There will be plenty of conversations, workshops, and learning opportunities here at the conference facility, but our goal is to share out throughout the event so you can join the conversation!

Contact:

Judy Kalvin

Kalvin Public Relations

jkalvin@kalvinpr.com

Dragon Rouge Extends Taproot Foundation Value Beyond its Pro Bono Roots

(This post is cross-posted from the Guidestar International blog here.)

In recent days, Causes has left MySpace and IdeaBlob has shutdown. To some, these events were unimportant. In reaction to the Causes announcement, Economist bureau chief Matthew Bishop tweeted “Who knew it was on MySpace?” to which New York Times reporter Stephanie Strom tweeted back “No kidding.”  But to many people active in online social action communities, these events had deeper meaning.

Visit the Tactical Philanthropy blog to read today's guest post from Amy Sample Ward, NetSquared’s Global Community Development Manager.

I recently had the opportunity to connect with Avi Kaplan, the Community and Events Director at Epic Change, to discuss the upcoming TweetsGiving campaign and events.  Avi is just back from Tanzania where he and other Epic Change team members were working with the students in the classroom built with last year's TweetsGiving proceeds.

Find out more in the interview below!

 I am the co-founder of two related non-profit start-up organizations: Slurve and the Concerned Citizens Coalition.  We came to Net2 because we're looking for like-minded individuals to become part of our team and help us build the web infrastructure that will allow our ideas to reach their potential.  And we really believe our ideas have a lot of potential.

Here is a quick overview of the two organizations:

We have heard many times over that traditional communication strategies aren't enough in the changing world of online applications.  Nonprofits are facing the challenges of engaging, communicating, and fundraising in new ways every day.  But, where are foundations with social media adoption?