[Telecentres] reminder: Telecentre Leaders Forum at WSIS

[Andy Carvin]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to send out another invitation for caucus members going to 
WSIS to participate in Telecentre.org's Telecentre Leaders Forum. I'm 
planning to attend and hope to see some of you there.

Here's more information:

The Telecentre Leaders Forum is a participatory workshop for people who 
are working in telecentres, running telecentre networks, or doing 
telecentre research. It's a chance for people with a passion for 
grassroots technology to connect, share stories and swap practical 
ideas. It is taking place from November 15 - 18 at WSIS in Tunis.

What do we want to achieve?

The primary goal of the Telecentre Leaders Forum is to help good ideas 
travel. Telecentre people around the world are constantly experimenting 
with better ways to serve their communities -- inventive training 
programs, novel uses of common technologies, innovative approaches to 
generating revenue. This workshop will provide an opportunity for people 
to share what they are doing, and to learn from others.

As these things go, it's likely that this kind of sharing will lead to 
much more than just storytelling. People will make new friends. Invent 
new telecentre products and services. Imagine new networks and projects. 
These are concrete things that can help telecentres, and that are likely 
to come from the sharing at the Telecentre Leaders Forum.

What's going to happen at the workshop?

Presentations? Slide shows? Panels? Nope. None of that. The Telecentre 
Leaders Forum will be a participatory workshop where everyone is an 
expert, and where everyone gets a chance to listen AND speak. Some 
things you'll get to do if you come:

     * Talk with people on the frontlines of the telecentre movement 
from over two dozen countries.
     * Run up and down a long room while expressing your opinions about 
telecentres.
     * Join dozens of others in drawing a picture of the telecentre 
movement of the future.
     * Place all the telecentres you've been to, or know about, a a huge 
world map.
     * Laugh. Laugh more. And have fun.

The workshop will be faciliated by Allen Gunn from Aspiration, and a 
team of facilitators from the telecentre and community technology movements.

Who's weclome, and who's coming?

Anyone who is coming to WSIS *AND* is passionate about grassoots 
technology. That's who should come. We already have confirmations from 
sixteen telecentre leaders coming to WSIS on telecentre.org 
scholarships. There are also had confirmations from over 30 other 
telecentre network leaders, innovators and researchers. A list of people 
coming can be found here.

Who's behind it?

The Telecentre Leaders Forum is being led by IDRC's telecentre.org 
program and its partners from around the world. These partners include 
Microsoft's Unlimited Potential, the Education Development Centre, the 
Open Knowledge Network and the Global Knowledge Partnership.

Where and when is it?

The workshop will be broken into four two hour sessions from November 15 
- 18 (it's one workshop, sp great if you can come for all four days!). 
Specific times are ...

     * Tuesday, November 15th - 12:00-14:00 - Expo Room 9
     * Wednesday, November 16th - 16:00-18:00 - Expo Room 9
     * Thursday, November 17th - 16:00-18:00 - Expo Room 9
     * Friday, November 18th - 10:00-12:00 - Expo Room 9

All workshops are in Expo Room 9, and are a part of the GKP Forum at the 
World Summit for the Information Society in Tunis.

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Andy Carvin
Program Director
EDC Center for Media & Community
acarvin @ edc . org
http://www.digitaldivide.net
http://katrina05.blogspot.com
Blog: http://www.andycarvin.com
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