Global Social Venture Competition Finals :: Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley - April 7 & 8

Top teams from around the world will gather at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley for the Global Social Venture Competition Finals, to compete for $45,000 in prizes. On Thursday, April 7, the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) Finalists will compete for the SIA Award, and on Friday, April 8, the Global Finalist teams will pitch their social ventures and engage in Q&A with a panel of expert judges. The pitches are open to the public and free to attend.

I like that some of the finalists' ventures are environmentally friendly, like Sanergy:)

Here's the schedule:

Thursday, April 7th

• Social Impact Assessment (SIA) Presentations* - 3:00 to 5:15 PM, Men's Faculty Club, Seaborg Room. SIA finalist teams present the social impact of their businesses to a panel of expert judges.

3:00 PM Welcome

3:15-3:35 PM Edumile.org Presentation and Q & A
3:40-4:00 PM MAGNiVY Presentation and Q & A
4:05-4:25 PM Prakti Design Presentation and Q & A
4:30-4:50 PM Sanergy Presentation and Q & A
4:55-5:15 PM PAANI Presentation and Q & A

5:15 PM Closing

Friday, April 8th

• Global Finals Presentations* - 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Haas School of Business, Andersen Auditorium. Global finalist teams make their final presentations to a panel of expert judges.

9:00 AM Welcome

9:10 -9:35 AM IKAWA Presentation and Q&A

9:40-10:05 AM DeepScan Presentation and Q&A

10:10-10:35 AM Tilapiana Presentation and Q&A

10:35-10:50 AM Break

10:50-11:15 AM SMILE Floss Presentation and Q&A

11:20 -11:45 AM Beti Halali Presentation and Q&A

11:50 AM-12:15 PM TreePlanet Presentation and Q&A

12:15-1:15 PM Lunch Break

1:15-1:40 PM Prakti Designs Presentation and Q&A

1:45-2:10 PM NextDrop Presentation and Q&A

2:15-2:40 PM iziWasha Presentation and Q&A

2:40-2:50 PM Break

2:50-3:15 PM Solar Light Pillow Project Presentation and Q&A

3:20-3:45 PM FINDG One Drop Presentation and Q&A

3:50-4:15 PM Sanergy presentation and Q&A

Can't make it? Presentations will be live streaming here.

Advancing the New Machine - Human Rights & Tech :: April 26 - 27, Berkeley, CA

Just saw this listed in UC's Berkeley Center for New Media e-newsletter:

Human Rights and Technology Conference:

Advancing the New Machine

A meeting point between the tech-savvy world and the human rights community

Tues April 26 & Wed April 27
David Brower Center, 2051 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA

Information technologies alone will not make the difference; what will is the combination of the human rights community with the tools and innovations designed to support its work.

"Advancing the New Machine" is intended to be a follow up to the 2009 international conference "Soul of the New Machine", hosted by UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center. In May 2009, 250+ leading thinkers, civil society members, activists, programmers, and entrepreneurs met to assess the ‘lay of the land’ and discuss emerging technologies related to evidence gathering/documentation, and advocacy and outreach.

Two years later, much progress in the practice and implementation of human rights and technology projects call for a new opportunity to share experiences, best practices, and lessons learned from deploying technology in the field. Building on the success of the 2009 conference, Advancing the New Machine: Human Rights and Technology will convene human rights practitioners and technologists to discuss the progress, successes, and challenges that have emerged.

Registration closes April 19. $250 Standard, $125 Student/UCB Faculty-Staff Standard. For additional info contact mcarnay[@]berkeley.edu

For more on this topic check out my post about Refunite. Thanks to Refunite & Camille for the Tweets:)

Mario Savio Young Activist Award :: Nominations due June 30

A friend forwarded this announcement to me today:


photo: Mario Savio

Mario Savio (1942 - 1996) came to public notice as a spokesman for the Free Speech Movement at the University of California in 1964.

The Mario Savio Young Activist Award, which carries a cash prize of $6000, is presented each year to a young person (or persons) with a deep commitment to human rights and social justice and a proven ability to transform this commitment into effective action. The cash award is divided equally between the individual recipient and an organization of his/her choosing.

The recipients should have demonstrated leadership abiliy, creativity, and integrity. (Go here for a listing of past winners.)

Nominees should be:
* Between ages 16-26 by 9/1/2010;
* Engaged in activism for social change, promoting the values of peace, human rights, economic or social justice, or freedom of expression (this year preference will be given to activism for economic justice, broadly interpreted);
* Acting not alone but within the context of an organization, social movement, or larger community effort;
* Considered by others within that context as an inspirational leader or motivating force;
* Work is centered in the United States;
* Willing to attend award ceremony in Berkeley, California (expenses paid)

Preference will be given to candidates who have not been widely recognized and do not have personal privilege or a strong institutional base of support.


Nominations for the Young Activist Award are due June 30, 2010. See app here. Finalists will be asked to submit further supporting documents (letters of recommendation, articles by or about the candidate, etc.) Anyone may nominate a candidate, including members of the general public. All material should be submitted by e-mail to savio at sonic dot net.


photo: Cal campus