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Welcome to the watercooler of Social Edge. What's the latest buzz? Share it here! To post your current event and opportunities, go to Contact Us (under About Us) and send us the announcement. It will be reviewed and, if appropriate, posted within 24 hours.

DonateNow Mashup Challenge

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Two $10,000 prizes to be awarded. Deadline to apply May 19, 2008 at 5:00pm Pacific Time.

How would you mashup the Network for Good donation processing service with other services to make it easier for nonprofits to raise money online? We’re working with Network for Good, the Case Foundation, and the NetSquared community to enhance the online donation process.

The DonateNow Mashup Challenge:

There are two categories to enter:

  1. Build a mashup using Network for Good’s donation API, with a particular focus on enhancing the donor experience.
  2. Build a mashup using Network for Good’s donation API,with a particular focus on improving or revolutionizing a nonprofit organization’s ability to fundraise.

Winners in the each category will be awarded a $10,000 prize by a panel of judges present at the N2Y3 Conference.

In addition, each winner will be granted a one-year license for the Network for Good API to be donated to an organization of their choice (if the winner is an organization, it can choose to donate the API to itself).

Network for Good’s donation API allows developers to integrate NFG's donation-processing functionality into their website or web application. Developers using the API should have a familiarity with SOAP Web Services.

Participants in the DonateNow Mashup Challenge will receive a developer license to the Network for Good Donation Web service. This free license is valid until June 30, 2008. Organizations interested in purchasing a developer license for use beyond this date should contact customerservice@networkforgood.org.

Synergos Social Innovators Program

Opportunities & USD17,000/year for twenty outstanding social pioneers in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco or Palestine. Apply now.

The Synergos Institute is now accepting applications and nominations to our Social Innovators Program, which we will be reviewing through mid-September. We are in search of twenty outstanding social pioneers who are successfully implementing innovative projects in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco or Palestine, which have helped improve conditions and the quality of life for people in those five geographies.

The program will provide professional and financial support to help social innovators transform small-scale projects into sustainable organizations that are working to bring lasting social progress to their communities and beyond.  Synergos will connect candidates to our network of professionals, provide technical support to help innovators develop their social venture, and offer financial awards of USD17,000 per year for two years.

So if you or someone you know has an incredible idea, solution or approach that has the potential to effect large-scale change we want to hear from you!  Please forward this message along with the attached brochure and application to your networks or those you feel would benefit from our program.  For more information and to access the on-line application available in Arabic and English please visit our website: www.synergos.org/socialinnovators/.  For any additional questions please contact us at socialinnovators@synergos.org.

2008 IPJ Women PeaceMakers

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Application Deadline for is May 23, 2008

The Women PeaceMakers Program (at the University of San Diego Joan B Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice) is an annual selective program that allows four women on the frontlines of efforts to end violence and secure human rights to have their stories documented. For details on becoming a peacemaker in residence or a peace writer that will document a peacemaker's story please visit the Women PeaceMakers page.

Now Accepting Applications for the 2008 Women PeaceMakers Program 

Becoming a Woman PeaceMaker


Becoming a Peace Writer


WorldLink Internship Program

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High school summer internships deadline May 23, 2008.

WorldLink offers specialized high school internship programs during the fall, spring, and summer semesters at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice (IPJ). WorldLink interns have the opportunity to explore WorldLink topics in a more in-depth manner than other student conference delegates. Interns take a regional or topical approach on pressing issues that will be further explored at the Youth Town Meeting (YTM), which is held annually in January at the University of San Diego (USD). More information.

Summer Internship

Unlike the Fall and Spring semester internship program, the Summer program offers high school youth the unique opportunity to research and create the WORLDLINK READER, a classroom tool that provides youth with the important background knowledge regarding YTM topics. The Reader is distributed to over 30 classrooms in San Diego County and Baja California, Mexico.

The student-chosen 2008-2009 WorldLink theme is "On the Brink: Responding to Underlying Causes of Conflict." Youth will discuss the embers fanned in the fires of violent conflict and actions which need to be taken on the ground to address these. The 2008 summer interns will research five main topics to create the WorldLink Reader: gender inequality, global racism and religious intolerance, lack of economic development, xenophobic nationalism.

WorldLink interns will work closely with the program coordinator in weekly mandatory meetings at the institute. Most research will be done at the student’s home and all interns will come together once a week to review research progress, discuss current events, and watch theme-related movies.

WorldLink summer internships are highly competitive research opportunities for youth interested in international relations. Small scholarships will now be awarded to accepted interns. All high school students are strongly encouraged to apply. Internships will begin the week of June 16 and end August 14 with a formal research presentation to institute staff, parents, and WorldLink donors. The corrected deadline is Friday, May 23, 2008.

Make the Difference Network launches

New, free venue for US-based Nonprofits to expand online donation program and leverage cause-oriented social networking.

This week, Jessica Biel and her father, Jon Biel, have launched Make the Difference Network (MTDN) at www.MTDN.com. Social entrepreneur Jon Biel, in collaboration with cause marketing evangelist Kent McBride, co-founded MTDN to create a cause-oriented social network that connects nonprofit organizations with caring individuals and businesses. MTDN increases the visibility of nonprofit organizations by empowering potential donors to search, select and fund these organizations’ specific “Wishes” and then see the results of their giving. Nonprofits can join MTDN for free and they get to keep 100 percent of all donations collected through MTDN.

The MTDN online community has already attracted more than 150 nonprofit organizations working toward fulfilling more than 250 “Wishes.” When a nonprofit registers for free, MTDN gives them the ability to easily promote their story through a powerful, eye-catching multi-media profile including pictures, videos and blogs, and then build specific “Wishes” for free. MTDN then acts as an easy-to-use, fun online hub for people to locate and show their support for social causes that touch them the most. MTDN is also a powerful cause marketing tool for businesses to connect with and support their favorite nonprofits.

“We built MTDN to connect people who share the same passions for making a difference and to educate, motivate and inspire greater social entrepreneurism through stronger life-changing communities,” said Jon Biel, CEO and co-founder of MTDN. “We believe we can all do more than is currently being done to improve the quality of life on our planet and we’ve witnessed –firsthand – that people and organizations that do good, feel good. We’re honored to be of service in helping others find and fund their passions.”

If your nonprofit is looking to jump-start or expand your online donation program and leverage the power of a cause-oriented social network to connect with existing and potential supporters, then Make The Difference Network may be just right for you.

MTDN offers a FREE Basic Membership to all qualified US based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

Benefits for Your Nonprofit
  • Use our powerful Web 2.0 technology to build capacity and better serve your existing supporters and members.
  • Receive more exposure to new potential donors and supporters.
  • Generate more direct donations to support specific projects or "Wishes."
  • Build a powerful, interactive, "Cause-Oriented" social network of donors and supporters.
  • Attract more visitors to your organization's Web site.
Free Basic Membership Includes:
  1. A Nonprofit Organization Page
  2. 5 Wish Pages
  3. The MTDN Direct Donation System (MTDN Does NOT take a percentage of any donation)
  4. A Complete Social Network
  5. The MTDN Video System
  6. Access to MTDN Technology Training
About Make The Difference Network
Make The Difference Network, co-founded by actress Jessica Biel, her father, Jon Biel, Kent McBride and a team of social entrepreneurs, is a cause-oriented, online social network designed to help nonprofit organizations increase donations, increase awareness and extend their reach to a vast community of caring individuals. MTDN empowers individuals to search, select and fund causes that touch their hearts. For more information, please visit www.mtdn.com

Asia's Top Social Enterprises

Book project seeks successful Social Entrepreneurs for case studies.

Authors of the forth-coming new Asia's TOP book project titled ""Asia's TOP Social Enterprises: How You Can Do Good Profitably" are seeking the contribution of stories from successful social enterprises.

Social Entrepreneurs who have been successful and profitable are encouraged to contact Timothy Chan at  Asia's TOP Project website to share their stories and "secrets of success".  The goal is to include 10 to 20 successful case-studies.

Book synopsis:
Social enterprises or businesses are no different from any other businesses - to succeed the social entrepreneur need to develop sound business plans, operate with sound management practices and execute with the end in mind and manage the enterprise as profitable as possible.

This book explores the NEW thinking in managing social enterprises - that is managing it profitably while doing good. In the old thinking, the primary objective of a social enterprise is to maximize social impact thus the generation of revenues are secondary. As a result, many social ventures don't even quite generate enough revenue on their own to be self-sustaining. The NEW thinking is that social enterprises have both a social and financial bottom line accountability and responsibility and that projects must be designed with performances metrics to measure and achieve both, concurrently.

The "New Thinking" social entrepreneur should strive to build more than just a socially beneficial products or services. They should build SOLUTIONS with sustainable social impact. To meet this mission social entrepreneur must be able to resolve both the social and economic problems and yet be financially profitable. Margins and profitability are the fundamentals because social enterprises like any enterprises need cash to bring to the community workable and quality first world solutions at affordable price. Profitability also ensures sustainable employment and income opportunities for the locals especially for people at the bottom of the pyramid, so to speak.

Read more.

World Fair Trade Day

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May 10, 2008

World Fair Trade Day is an international celebration of Fair Trade internationally, with events organised worldwide. On and around the second Saturday of May every year, IFAT member organisations based in 70 countries, along with Fair Trade shops and networks, host events including Fair Trade breakfasts, talks, music concerts, fashion shows and much more, to promote Fair Trade and campaign for justice in trade. Fair Trade products from marginalised communities in the majority world, including coffee and tea, clothes, jewellery and beautiful handicrafts will be showcased on this day. Many events continue throughout the month of May.

Find events near you.

Download a poster.

2008 Tourism Cares Summit

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Las Vegas, Nevada, August 3-6, 2008

The Future of Tourism - Color It Green

The 2008 Tourism Cares Summit will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada from August 3-6 and will feature networking, golf, dinner and an exciting new twist - seminars on responsible tourism and how it impacts your business.

Contact Natalie King for more information

2nd International Conference: Third Sector Innovation: Sustainability and Social Impact (TSISSI)

Wednesday, August 06-08, 2008, São Paulo, Brazil

The WDI and CNU-Brazil Committee are pleased to invite you to take part in the second international conference “Third Sector Innovation: Sustainability and Social Impact” (2nd TSISSI). The focus this year is to continue to raise the profile of the valuable work of social enterprise leaders across Latin America, to share best practices and cases of social innovations in the areas of Innovative Financing Startegies, Human Resources Strategies,  Sustainable Social and Economic Opportunities through IT and Models of Cross-Sector Partnerships.
Sharing those experience will help NGOs to realize the benefits of integrating some of those innovative ideas not only as a strategy to become more efficient, but also to become sustainable and enhance social impact.

The International conference will bring together leaders in the field to provide greater attention, definition and legitimacy to social innovations with the objective of NGO`s in Latin America to achieve sustainability and enhance social impact; to share practical lessons learned and encourage regional exchange of common experience among them and their supporters in Latin America.

The conference will include round-table paper presentations, learning-by-sharing session and technical assistance provided through training sessions on relevant topics such as business plan development, strategic, financial and human resource management, marketing strategy, communication or social capital and networking. The topics for the technical assistance sessions will de determine based on the indications of interest of the NGO’s at the time of registration. The sessions will be led by the IGESC staff and top University of Michigan Business School faculty. Participants should be affiliated with a civil society organization (CSO) located in Latin America.
Questions can be directed to Andréa Shpak, NGO Alliance Coordinator at the William Davidson Institute, ashpak@umich.edu or Mariana Sabino, comunicacao@cnu-brasil.org.br

Pangea Day

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"Bringing the world together through film." Find out how you can attend, or host, an event on May 10, 2008

The Pangea Day Mission & Purpose

Pangea Day is a global event bringing the world together through film.

Why? In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that – to help people see themselves in others – through the power of film.

The Pangea Day Event

Starting at 18:00 GMT on May 10, 2008, locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast – in seven languages – to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones.

The 24 short films to be featured have been selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from over one hundred countries. The films were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform, and allow us see the world through another person's eyes. Details on the Pangea Day films can be viewed here.

The program will also include a number of exceptional speakers and musical performers. Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof, and Iranian rock phenom Hypernova are among those taking part.

Attend an event near you.

Host an event.

Asia-Pacific Regional Microcredit Summit 2008

July 28-30, 2008, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia

The Microcredit Summit Campaign and Gema PKM Indonesia will co-host the Asia-Pacific Regional Microcredit Summit 2008. We invite you to join the top leaders in the fight to end global poverty.

Click here to  Register Online Now!

Clinton Global Citizen Award Winner to Speak at Summit
Fazle Hasa AbedMr. Fazle Hasan Abed, Founder and Chairperson of BRAC and 2007 Inaugural Clinton Global Citizen Award winner, is confirmed to attend and speak at the conference. Mr. Abed will speak at the plenary session entitled Building Financial Systems that Work for the Majority: Local Currency Borrowing, On-Lending Savings, Autonomous Credit Funds, and Appropriate Legal Framework as well as at the Council Meeting for Practitioners and Non-Governmental Organizations.

Summit Highlights
Muhammad Yunus2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, Founder and Managing Director of Grameen Bank, will participate in the conference!  Join other leaders in the field of microfinance by registering today!

The Detailed Agenda has been updated with confirmed speakers including Mr. R.M. Malla (SIDBI, India), Mr. Md. Shafiqual Haque Choudhury (ASA, Bangladesh), Mr. A. Ramanathan (NABARD, India), Ms. Roshaneh Zafar (Kashf Foundation, Pakistan), Mr. Gregory Casagrande (SPBDF, Western Samoa), Ms. Anh-Tuyet Dinh (Binhminh CDC, Vietnam), and Mr. Fahmid Karim Bhuiya (Pact Myanmar, Myanmar).  The Detailed Agenda will be updated weekly with newly confirmed participants. 
Click here to see the Detailed Agenda now.

MoHo 2008

June 1 - June 8, 2008, Palo Alto, CA

MoHo is a ‘creative chaos’, a house in California that brings together 70 participants from a variety of backgrounds for 7 days to innovate together on 4 important issues affecting the world:
•  “Digital gap”, bringing information to those who cannot access it.
•  Understanding how social networks trigger the innovation process in the Silicon Valley.
•  Energy for the bottom of the pyramid
•  Access to health care for everyone, etc…

Participants will include:
•  MBA students from Stanford and ESSEC Business schools
•  Engineers from Stanford and Centrale Paris
•  Designers from Strate College
•  Venture Capitalists, bankers and top managers from leading companies in Europe and the USA
•  Artists, athletes and journalists
•  You?

Why participate?
•  Be part of a unique experience
•  Create knowledge for public good
•  Network with key Silicon Valley professionals
•  Learn to work in diverse teams on real tasks
•  Represent your country, university or firm

To participate in MoHo, visit www.le-moho.com, and get in touch with MoHo programme coordinators.

MoHo will create an immersive environment where project teams regrouping the previous competencies will finally meet and work together on innovation ideas. MoHo will allow participants to collaborate with each other on a whole new level, to share knowledge, to build networks and above all, gain a better understanding of each other’s interests and how social blending can pave the way for true innovation with high potential for socio-economic applications.

MoHo was born of a French innovative product incubator - the “Création d’un produit innovant” (CPI) program - organized by ESSEC Business
School, Ecole Centrale Paris and Strate College Designers since 2005. CPI aims to encourage innovation and cross cultural integration
amongst students from different backgrounds. It brings together engineers, designers and MBA students around a common goal: invent an
innovative product for a partnering client company (big or small) in 6 to 9 months.

TEDAfrica 2008

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Cape Town, South Africa, September 29 to October 1, 2008. Registration open.

What if Africa had no borders? What if her boundaries extended as far as those living in the diaspora, or even further? What if you could fly directly from Cape to Cairo, Lagos to Luanda, Bujumbura to Abuja? Or what if you could drive to every city and every town and every village? What if the Internet was a reality for every African? What if you could call the world from atop the Kilimanjaro, or from deep in the forests of the Congo? What if a lingua franca was spoken and understood by every African? What if we could halve the number of poor Africans by 2015, or eradicate poverty altogether someday? What if there was a cure for every disease and the average African could live beyond the age of 33? What if Africa embraced innovative thinking, and in the process, reinvented her future?

What if we build the Africa we want? And what if the whole world could take another look and see Africa through the eyes of Africans? What would you see?

The TEDGlobal 2007 conference in Arusha, Tanzania, gave us a picture of Africa that many were not aware of. We saw how people on the continent are now taking matters into their own hands and redefining their future. TEDAfrica 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa, will take this discussion a step further and give us a glimpse of that unfolding future.

Architects, biologists, designers, musicians, economists, healers, entrepreneurs, philosophers, poets, adventurers, astronomers, storytellers, scientists and many others, will share experiences and reveal new possibilities. In the process, they will bring to life visions of what this complex yet incredibly exciting continent is becoming.

Expect the famous TED serving of profundity and challenge. Sprinkled, naturally, with a bit of African magic and wonder.


Attendance at TEDAfrica 2008 is by invitation only. Like at any TED conference, we put as much consideration into the composition of our audience as we do in the quality of our speakers. In curating the audience, we look for individuals who come with curious minds and willing hearts, ideal ingredients for meaningful connections. To be considered for invitation, please take the time to fill in the form online.


TEDAfrica Fellows
 

Places at TEDAfrica 2008 are limited, but we do want to include everyone who has an important contribution to make. The TEDAfrica Foundation will identify and invite 50 deserving candidates most able to contribute to Africa's future, regardless of their ability to pay. We will offer them conference fellowships covering travel, accommodation and attendance.

 
Click here to apply

AIDS Vaccine 2008 Conference

Cape Town, South Africa, October 13-18, 2008. Abstract submission closes May 7th, and Scholarship and Travel Award Applications are also due May 7th. Early Conference Registration Deadline: June 30, 2008.

We are pleased to tell you that plans for the AIDS Vaccine 2008 Conference are well underway. As you will see from the preliminary program we have attracted some of the leading names in the vaccine field to the meeting. Dr Stanley Plotkin, who developed the rubella vaccine and is the author of "Vaccines" a standard textbook, will be giving one of the opening plenary talks together with Dr Alan Bernstein from the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise and Dr Malegapuru Makgoba from the University of KwaZulu Natal. We will have 10 state-of-the-art plenary lectures covering all aspects of HIV vaccine research and including a few speakers from outside the field. There will be a number of Symposia, Roundtables and Special Sessions as well as two Debates on current controversial topics. There is no doubt that the AIDS vaccine field is at a turning-point and we hope that this meeting will help to stimulate new ideas and new directions.

Abstract submission opens on March 10th and will close on May 7th. You will be informed of the outcome by 20th June. Late breaker abstracts open on August 18th and close on the August 29th. We plan to convene around 8 oral sessions and 1 late-breaker session from submitted abstracts that receive the highest scores from the reviewers. Some abstracts in selected topics will be chosen to be part of the poster discussion groups. Posters will be on display throughout the Conference with 2 dedicated poster sessions during the Conference.

In order to encourage young investigators and those from developing countries to attend the meeting we are making a large number of International Scholarships and Travel Awards available. Five young investigator awards will be announced during the Conference to scientists under 35 years of year who submit the strongest abstracts.

Register and make your hotel bookings now to secure your place at this important Conference.


To apply for a Scholarship or Travel Award or New Investigator Awards, apply by May 7 by completing the application at http://www.hivvaccineenterprise.org/conference/2008/awards/index.aspx

IST-Africa 2008

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07 - 09 May 2008, Windhoek, Namibia

IST-Africa 2008 takes place 07 - 09 May 2008 in Windhoek, Namibia. Part of the IST-Africa Initiative, which is supported by the European Commission under the IST Programme of Framework Programme 6 (FP6), IST-Africa 2008 is the third in an Annual Conference Series which will bring together delegates from commercial, government & research organisations across Africa and from Europe, to bridge the Digital Divide by sharing knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and good practice.

IST-Africa 2008 will focus on Applied ICT research topics addressing major societal and economic challenges, which is part of the European Commission's Information Communications Technologies (ICT) programme. The programme combines strategic keynote presentations, technical and policy papers, case studies, workshops, an exhibition and social activities.

The Advance Programme is available online and in PDF format. All participants should complete registration prior to the event via Online payment registration


IST-Africa 2008 will be officially opened by Honourable Nangolo Mbumba, Minister of Education on behalf of His Excellency, Hifikepunye Pohamba, President of Republic of Namibia and closed by Dr. Libertina Amathila, Deputy Prime Minister of Namibia.

Other Keynote Speakers confirmed to date include Honourable Joel Kaapanda, Ministry of Information Communication and Technology, Namibia; Honourable Dr. Shukuru Kawambwa, Minister for Communications, Science and Technology, Tanzania; Honourable Mosibudi Mangena, Minister of Science and Technology, South Africa; Honourable Dr. Ham-Mukasa Mulira, Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Uganda; Honourable Dr. Sally Kosgey, Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology, Kenya (tbc); Senior Representative, African Union Commission, Ethiopia; Mr. Remigious Makumbe, Acting Chief Director and Director of Infrastructure & Services, Southern African Development Community; Mr Antti Peltomäki, Deputy Director-General, DG Information Society and Media, European Commission, Belgium; Mr José Manuel Silva Rodríguez, Director General, DG Research, European Commission, Belgium; Dr Hakim Elwaer, Director, HRST, African Union Commission; Dr John Mugabe, Director, NEPAD S&T; Ms. Aida Opoku-Mensah, Director, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Ethiopia; Dr. Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, Division of Science Policy and Sustainable Development, UNESCO and Ms Magda Berhe, The Swedish Programme for ICT in Developing Regions.

PEN World Voices Festival 2008

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WITNESS collaboration at the PEN World Voices Festival 2008, May 3rd, New York, NY

"News from the Hub" - May 3rd - Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland and human rights advocate, will introduce a panel of international authors who will discuss their perspectives on human rights and each one will highlight selections from the Hub (http://hub.witness.org) as a point of departure for the conversation. The panel will be moderated by Sameer Padania, our manager for the Hub.

To buy tickets and for more information click here.

We will also participate in "WITNESS: A Special Program for High School Students" on April 30th. Similar in layout to our May 3rd event, this program will feature young authors who will also share selected videos from the Hub and engage in conversation with high school students from all over New York City.

For more information click here.  

 
About PEN and the PEN World Voices Festival

PEN American Center is the largest of the 141 centers of International PEN, the world’s oldest human rights organization and the oldest international literary organization. International PEN was founded in 1921 to dispel national, ethnic, and racial hatreds and to promote understanding among all countries. PEN American Center, founded a year later, works to advance literature, to defend free expression, and to foster international literary fellowship. Read more about PEN here. This year marks the fourth annual World Voices Festival for International Literature.

2008 NetSquared Conference (N2Y3)

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May 27-28, 2008, San Jose, CA. Registration open till May 16, 2008.

This year’s NetSquared Conference, a Mashup Challenge, will bring together a unique mix of people from the public and private sectors to develop and release Mashups designed to provide deeper insight into the social issues affecting communities around the globe.

We have limited seats open to the public till May 16, so please register here.

NetSquared's mission is to spur responsible adoption of social web tools by social benefit organizations. There's a whole new generation of online tools available – tools that make it easier than ever before to collaborate, share information and mobilize support. These tools include blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, podcasting, and more. Some people describe them as "Web 2.0"; we call them the social web, because their power comes from the relationships they enable.

Philanthropy's Vision: Leadership Summit

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May 4-8, 2008, Washington DC, Presented by the Council on Foundations

The Midwestern philanthropist J. Irwin Miller asked his foundation’s staff members to guide their work by a simple motto. He said, “Ten years from now, what will you wish you had done today?” It is this vision for the future that inspires us to celebrate the common purpose of philanthropy and the benefits of gathering not as separate institutions, but as a noble movement.

Today, we are excited to invite you to join us for an unprecedented gathering: Philanthropy’s Vision: A Leadership Summit, May 4–7, 2008, at the new Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, just outside Washington, DC.

For the last two years, an international planning committee representing every type of philanthropy has worked to produce this exciting event. The Summit will seek to address the best practices in philanthropy—its leadership, partnership and impact—that enable us to most effectively serve the common good.

We will gather from May 2 to May 4 for pre-Summit meetings, including a special day-long program designed for CEOs and trustees on May 4. We formally begin The Summit on Sunday, May 4, with a powerful plenary on global philanthropy—you won’t want to miss it. The concurrent sessions, organized around leadership, partnership, and impact, will provide you with the strongest material substance of any conference. On Tuesday, we will visit the nation’s capital and sites around the region for one-day mini-Summits focusing on key issues of the day. Several site sessions, with a focus on regional philanthropy, have been designed by the host committee and will be available for attendees to enjoy as part of the Regional day. Our list of speakers reflects the leadership of philanthropy across the globe.

Our message is simple and warm: Don’t miss this historic convening. We are set to provide you with the best possible inspiration and information available for the future work of philanthropy. Take a journey through this registration brochure to learn how The Summit will be structured. Whether you are a trustee, a CEO, or a member of your organization’s professional staff, The Summit is made specifically for you. Whether you hail from a regional association, an affinity group, or a foundation of any type or size, from near or far, this event will speak to your needs. [Find out if you are eligible to attend.]

Take a moment to register and reserve your travel plans, and then relax. We’ll see you at The Summit!

Microfinance Insights Magazine photo contest

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Entries due by 20th June 2008.

Microfinance Insights, the quarterly magazine, invites you to participate in its Photo Contest and offers a chance to win an Amazon.com $150 gift certificate.

View details.

Submit your entry before 20th June' 2008

Microfinance Insights is:
  • The first quarterly microfinance magazine of its kind globally.
  • A themed publication with over 70 pages of in-depth coverage and analysis of the microfinance sector, latest trends, expert opinions, global viewpoints.
  • Focused on the international economic landscape but also concerned with the social dimensions of the field.
  • Packed with regular features including news and sectoral reports, book reviews, organization profiles, events calendar, interviews, economic and financial indicators, and job listings.

2008 Net Impact Europe Conference

Sustainable Prosperity: Taking on the Global Challenge; June 12-14, 2008 at the Centre International de Conférences Genève, Geneva, Switzerland

In 2008, Net Impact will bring the model of their hugely successful American conference to a European audience for the first time. The American conference is seen as the leading world forum bringing MBA students, graduates and leaders of tomorrow to exchange ideas, energy and passion with leading professionals from across sectors to discuss how business and business skills can impact social change.

In June, Geneva, Switzerland will play host to the 2008 Net Impact Europe Conference. We have the unique opportunity to welcome Mel Young, founder and President of the Homeless World Cup to offer a keynote address providing a link between these two major events. The Homeless World Cup is an impressive example of how football, passion and creative thinking can impact the sustainable prosperity of individuals from over 60 countries.

This year’s Europe conference will address the theme Sustainable Prosperity: Taking on the Global Challenge. The word prosperity captures the economic and social factors that are expected to contribute to improvements in the welfare of the global population.
The two-day conference will cover a variety of topics within four main tracks that participants will have an opportunity to follow throughout the event. The themes for the 2008 Europe Conference are as follows:

Innovation: What Creates Sustainable Prosperity Within this track we will hear from social entrepreneurs, business leaders and partnerships that are offering innovative ways to tackle the challenge of sustainable prosperity. These individuals and organizations have lead the way in creating social impact by harnessing the power of creative and original thinking to create new means to addressing issues of development, climate change, and sustainable business practices.

Leadership: How Organizations and Individuals Impact Sustainable Prosperity The second track will focus on the role that leadership plays in creating sustainable prosperity. Both organizational and individual leaders have a role to play in creating an environment for change and enhancing the capacity of their organization with respect to sustainability, responsible business practices, and corporate social responsibility. We look forward to hearing from academic experts and practitioners about best practices in leadership.

The Global Challenge: The third track will address the efforts to take sustainability to scale. Our speakers will be challenged to discuss the efforts they have dedicated to sustaining a positive social impact on a global scale. We look forward to hearing from Dalberg-Global Development Advisors, Product Red, and others who will be sharing their opportunities, challenges, and best practices.

Managing Investments and Measuring Results: Our fourth track will offer panel and workshop topics related to how organizations measure, evaluate and account for their impact. This theme also offers an opportunity to discuss the emerging role of finance and the capital mark