Headed to SXSWi this week? Check out some of these digital diplomacy sessions.

Crowdsourcing Diplomacy

March 9 at 11:00AM
This panel will illustrate how the State Dept is leveraging its social media network to address humanitarian crises.

Presenters:

  • Hilary Brandt, Director, Office of Innovative Engagement, US Department of State
  • Joshua Campbell, GIS Architect, Humanitarian Information Unit, US Department of State

“Open Source” Foreign Policy in the Digital Age

March 9 at 12:30PM
How are governments, NGOs, and international business leaders leveraging social/digital tools to build partnerships across boundaries, cultures, disciplines, and sectors? This panel organized by The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy brings together multidisciplinary expert experience from NATO, USAID and the US Department of State to examine the opportunities and challenges of “Open Source” problem solving in this turbulent 21st century.

Presenters:

  • Farah Pandith, Special Representative to Muslim Communities, US Department of State
  • James Stavridis, Dean, The Fletcher School The Fletcher School at Tufts University
  • Joshua Haynes, Senior Development Technologist & Media Adviser, USAID
  • Spencer Ackerman, US National Security Editor, The Guardian

 

7 Ways to Engage with the US State Department

March 11 at 9:30AM
The talk will include details on 7 mechanisms created to enable more engagement between the State Department and US startups and the innovations they hold, as a way to demonstrate some new avenues for entrepreneurs to consider, earlier in their maturation phases, as to potential uses for their products and services.

Presenters:

  • Rebecca Taylor, Venture Principal at Shell Technology Ventures and Entrepreneur-In-Residence at the US Department of State

The New Digital Age

March 7 at 12:30PM
Google’s Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen tackle some of the most interesting questions about our future: how will technology change privacy and security, war and intervention, diplomacy, revolution and terrorism? How will technology improve our lives? What new disruptions can we expect?

Presenters:

  • Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google
  • Jared Cohen, Director of Google Ideas, Google

Wiki at War: Conflict in a Socially Networked World

March 9 at 3:30PM
The war for winning dominance over social networks and using that dominance to advantage is already underway. James Carafano presents an extremely timely analysis of the techno-future of information and the impact of social networking via the Internet.

Presenters:

  • James Carafano, VP, Foreign & Defense Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation

How Data Is Changing International Development

March 8 at 12:45PM
The Aid industry historically shares financial capital to build roads, or human capital to respond to a crisis, but now there is a new source of value. We can now share the rich value of information capital to the technologists that are blossoming in the developing world.

Presenters:

  • Nathaniel Manning, Director of Business Operations, Ushahidi

The World Bank & Innovation: Striking Poverty

March 10 at 1:15PM
José-Manuel Bassat from the World Bank Institute will detail how they are listening, discovering, and creating change by engaging the community in conversation through a variety of channels. Discover how the World Bank is “Striking Poverty” by investing in technology and innovations to help citizens around the world become better informed, governments become more transparent, and those in poverty become more engaged in decisions that affect their lives.

Presenters:

  • José-Manuel Bassat, Senior Communications Advisor, World Bank Institute

The Future of Government-Citizen Interaction

March 10 at 5:00PM
The concepts of collaboration and location-based services have become popular not only with wikis, social media, and advertising, but are also changing a notoriously strenuous process: interaction between local governments and citizens. Governments can clarify their procedures and encourage citizen input through platforms that support communication, location-based responses, and fast, widespread distribution of information. Citizens can more effectively create change in their communities by offering ideas and discussing issues with their local government and with each other. PublicStuff, for example, utilizes users’ locations and input to pinpoint issues, facilitate review, and ensure resolution. The goal is to transform a previously isolated experience into a collaborative exchange of information and ideas that lead to change in our communities.

Presenters:

  • Surya Yalamanchili, CEO, PublicStuff

SXSW Social Good Hub

March 10 at 9:00AM 
Multiple events bringing together digital creatives, entrepreneurs, filmmakers and other SXSW attendees focused on social change.