<incom> Save the Date: Mobiles for Social Impact: MobileActive08, Oct 13-15 2008

[Katrin Verclas]

Please SAVE THE DATE!

We are happy to announce MobileActive08, a three-day conference on  
mobile technology for social impact to take place October 13-15 in  
Johannesburg, South Africa.

Organized with our amazing colleagues at Sangonet in South Africa,  
the theme of the 2008 event is "Unlocking the Potential of Mobile  
Technology for Social Impact." MobileActive08 will convene 250 civil  
society, development and technology practitioners interested in the  
use and application of mobile technology in civil society. This will  
be the largest international civil society event to date focusing on  
this topic.

Participants include non-profit practitioners using mobile phones in  
innovative and creative ways or considering mobile applications in  
support of their activities, mobile technologists, researchers  
studying the use of mobile phones, government officials, donors, and  
representatives from the telecommunications industry.

NGOs and other development practitioners in various parts of the  
world are increasingly using mobile technology in support of their  
work. However, there is a dire need to share lessons learned to date  
and explore the most effective use of mobiles to achieve social impact.

At MobileActive08 participants will explore how mobile phones are  
used to advance civil society and development work, assess the  
current state of knowledge in the use and effectiveness of mobile  
technology to advance social action, and investigate trends, needs  
and investment opportunities.

The conference is intentionally designed to be cross-disciplinary as  
learnings and experiences span various disciplines in this emerging  
field. However, specific attention will be given to the role of  
mobile technology in health, human rights, economic development,  
advocacy, education, citizen journalism and democratic participation.

The conference website with detailed information about the event,  
registration information and a call for sessions will be available by  
the end of March 2008. In the meantime, please save the date!

For more information and additional background, see http:// 
mobileactive.org/announcing-mobileactive08-unlocking-potential- 
mobiles-social-impact

Best,

Katrin Verclas
Co-Founder and Editor
MobileActive.org
katrin at mobileactive.org
+ 1 413 687 9877

MobileActive.org: A global resource for people using mobile phones  
for social impact.