<incom> web 2.0 for development call for presentations

[Steve Cisler]

Web2ForDev International Conference

Participatory Web for Development:

Networking, collaborating and exchanging knowledge in
agriculture, rural development and natural resource
management

 

Rome, Italy, 25-27 September 2007

www.webfordev.net

Call for proposals
1           Deadlines

Submission of proposals: 30 April 2007

Notification of acceptance: 15 May 2007

Submission of draft presentations, scripts and
materials: 15 June 2007

Submission of final scripts: 31 July 2007

Submission of final presentations (slideshow,
multimedia or other): 31 August 2007 
2           Call for proposals

Web2ForDev[1] 2007 is the first conference devoted to
exploring the ways in which international development
stakeholders can take advantage of the technical and
organizational opportunities provided by Web 2.0
methods, approaches and applications.

The conference will promote the adoption and
dissemination of appropriate, low-cost and replicable
Internet-based applications by actors in agriculture,
rural development, and natural resource management. It
aims to inspire participants to use and develop their
own information management and communication systems
based on these applications.

The conference targets agriculture, rural development,
and natural resource management stakeholders,
particularly those from developing countries,
experienced with or interested in the potential of Web
2.0, including technology intermediaries, policy
makers, information and communication specialists,
software developers, application and system providers
and information service providers. Participants are
expected to have experience and understanding of
information and communication technologies (ICTs) and
to be in a position to understand, adopt and
disseminate the showcased applications and approaches.

In particular we encourage proposals that are:

    * Thematic case studies: 15/20-minute
presentations on examples of projects and processes
that are adopting Web 2.0 tools and methodologies, and
that evaluate their impacts, benefits and challenges;
    * Thematic showcases: 15/20-minute presentations
on Web 2.0 tools and methodologies developed for
knowledge exchange, collaboration, learning and
networking;
    * Panel discussions: 30-minute exchanges that
provide an overview of one or more crosscutting issue
(see the list below); these will be debated by a group
of panellists and facilitated by a chairperson.

The sessions should offer practical examples of Web
2.0 concepts and applications in knowledge exchange,
collaboration, learning and networking in the sectors
of agriculture, rural development, and natural
resource management.

Experiences and case studies from sectors other than
development (e.g. education, private sector) that show
potential for adoption can be presented. The focus is
on innovation in common practices, opportunities,
needs, and issues that participants may address more
effectively with the adoption of Web 2.0 tools,
methodologies and approaches.
3           Theme, topics and cross-cutting issues

The theme of the Conference is “Participatory Web for
Development: Networking, collaborating and exchanging
knowledge in agriculture, rural development and
natural resources management”.

There are three conference tracks dealing with the
following main topics:

    * Shared virtual spaces, remote collaboration, and
knowledge sharing
    * Appropriate technologies for on-line publishing
    * On-line information retrieval and access

 

Cross-cutting issues speakers may want to address in
their presentations, and particularly in panel
discussions, are:

    * Institutional capacity (IT infrastructure, human
resources)
    * Management
    * Low-bandwidth access
    * Intellectual property issues
    * Disabling and enabling environments
(infrastructural, connectivity, legal, cultural,
human)
    * Direct and indirect cost
    * Security
    * Visibility and promotion

4           How to submit proposals

    * Fill out the proposal form for a case study or a
showcase.
    * Alternatively, fill out the proposal form for a
panel discussion.
    * Submit your proposal by email to
proposals at web2fordev.net by 30 April 2007.
    * Acceptance will be notified by 15 May 2007.

The content of the proposals will be treated with the
utmost confidentiality by the Steering Committee
members and peer review panel.

In case of acceptance, please note:

    * All work presented at the Conference (e.g.
slideshows, handouts, flyers, brochures, pdf and MS
Word documents, animation and videos) constitutes the
original work of the author/presenter, and he/she is
the owner of the copyright.
    * All presenters and authors will retain
non-exclusive intellectual property rights in their
work.
    * Presenters and authors agree to their Conference
materials being disseminated freely on the Conference
Web site and by other means during and after the
Conference. A statement will be published prohibiting
the use of any of the presentations for commercial
purposes. Any part or whole of the works used for
non-commercial purposes must carry due accreditation.

5           Sponsorships

Accepted presenters or panellists from developing
countries may apply for sponsorship to attend the
Conference. Sponsorships will be granted at the
discretion of the sponsoring agencies and will be
subject to availability of funds.
6           Additional Information

To get updates on the event you may join one of the
following DGroups:

    * English:
http://www.dgroups.org/groups/web2fordev/index.cfm  
    * Français:
http://www.dgroups.org/groups/web2pourdev/index.cfm

For more information on the event you may visit our
conference the web site at http://www.web2fordev.net

 

[1] The conference is a joint venture by CTA, FAO,
IICD, GTZ, ACP Secretariat, Université Cheikh Anta
DIOP, University of British Columbia Okanagan ,
Euforic, DGroups, CGIAR and IFAD.
Dgroups is a joint initiative of Bellanet, DFID,
Hivos, ICA, ICCO, IICD, OneWorld, UNAIDS and World
Bank
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Steve Cisler
Center for Science Technology and Society
Santa Clara University
http://scu.edu/sts/