[WSIS CS-Plenary] Organizational Note and Greeting - also Re: [Pwd] Challenge Summit report

Sun Nov 19 11:31:01 GMT 2006

Dear Jim - and  Sylvia,  Bill and All:

So fine to read of you and Sylvia networking and of course we are also the
beneficiaries, these collegial and warm posts being existence proofs.

In terms of your so very much appreciated outreach, and global (not only but
including local scope)  issues, I post to relate that with Adin Falkoff
(APL, Systems 360, Computer Language Design) I related at the IGF Athens
Forum that we are in the first stages of forming a Pioneers in Computing for
Global Causes Organization.  My own work has been in Humanities / Law /
Education / Rights and ICT.

It has been years since visiting the ICT and humanity rich San Jose /
Theresa area for us, and it would be a great boon if you could look in this
area for pioneers - we are defining (pro tem, happy for input) as persons
with passion for communication by computers, which might be one of us from
the 1950's-60's to date - but might be a 6 year old introducing a school
newspaper and thrilled with the experience.  Yes we have on our street here
in N.Y. a babe under 1 year with a keyboard and transitioning to full desk
laptops, but we are thinking 5 or 6, but 76, 86, 96 all welcome. But younger
could work too and older as well, we are presently planning to group by
calendar point of entry to ICT, just as an organizing principle not a firm *
CompuOntology*.

Please write off-list if this interests you, pass forward this note if you
wish, and the same to all here, to whom warm regards and IGF/Athens 2006
reminiscences of course are herewith extend, and the same to participants in
all prior ICT related events through the history -as well as the invitiation
to bring in more Pioneers to share stories, gather online and personally,
reach out, reach in, explore the domain presently now.  Here, As we
correspond.

Last and certainly not least, thank you for you advocacy and devotion of
heart and mind toward persons with disabilities. From your post it seems
clarion clear than while including cognitive disabilities (or imputed ones)
your devotion is broad as to access for all.  it would be good to read more
on your rights-based work and we can "google" but please do supply more
links when opportune.

Best, LDMF.

P.S. By Computer Sci Ph.D. Mentor Ted Glaser was blind, in conventional
senses, and I built conceptual systems for him with physical materials. This
was in the 60's 70's timeframe but access yes. Yes.

On 11/18/06, Jim at benetech.org <Jim at benetech.org> wrote:
>
> It was good to meet you there, Sylvia.  My main disability advocacy work
> is on the national and international level around access to books for
> people with print disabilities.  I don't want people to have to use
> reading machines if they can avoid it!
>
> And, my big advocacy is around getting more Silicon Valley companies and
> entrepreneurs to think more broadly about society.  As part of the lead
> up to the summit, I wrote the following op-ed that was published in the
> Mercury News, the main paper in Silicon Valley.
>
> http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/16000160.htm
>
> Jim Fruchterman
> Benetech
>
> Build great companies, then help build a great world
> By Jim Fruchterman
>
> Silicon Valley has become rich by selling our products around the world.
> We have a highly efficient system for creating technology that solves
> problems and delivers value far beyond the confines of Northern
> California. But, we have only scratched the surface of what we could be
> doing to help solve the pressing social problems that confront us.
>
> Rather than focusing exclusively on the top 10 percent of humanity who
> are the target market for most tech products, we could be bringing these
> same skills, connections, technology, experience and resources to
> everyone in the world. Many of these opportunities are not as lucrative
> as the ones that business owners and technologists have focused on over
> the last decades, but they still demand our attention.
>
> Charity? Philanthropy? Bleeding hearts? Perhaps, but when you use your
> heart, you don't have to check your brain at the door. The same skills
> and sophistication we use to build great companies can and must be
> applied to the world's biggest problems. One great way to explore how
> you can apply your business and technical skills is to link up with
> other like-minded people.
>
> Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are building on the foundations laid by
> people like Bill Hewlett and David Packard, who long supported global
> issues and whose foundations continue their work today. We now realize
> that taking social action is in our direct interest and that of our
> children, whether it addresses human rights or the likely impacts of
> global warming. Human beings respond to incentives, and there are many
> opportunities to utilize more entrepreneurial approaches to maximize the
> social returns of investing in social enterprises.
>
> The barriers are lower than you think. There are thousands of people
> here in Silicon Valley who have the resources to tackle a single global
> problem and make a dent in that problem on a global scale. The idea that
> Bill Gates could set out to ensure the vaccination of every child on the
> planet is completely feasible. What's your issue? Stopping domestic
> violence? Curing a specific disease? Increasing literacy for women?
> Using the same techniques we apply as business entrepreneurs, any number
> of us could tackle the problems of the world as social entrepreneurs.
>
> Not all of us need to succeed to make this dream possible. The valley is
> famous for spawning many contenders in each new tech area, and only a
> few survive. Imagine a world where five different people take five
> different approaches to solving a crucial problem: Even if only two
> succeed, the world wins.
>
> Use the same approach you would if you were trying to start a company.
> Understand the issue, and understand the people affected by the issue.
> Your potential customers may be most in need of certain technologies and
> the least able to afford it. Yet we know that poor people can be quite
> sophisticated and hardworking.
>
> Muhammad Yunus, who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize as the founder of the
> Grameen Bank micro-loan program, made the point that poor people are
> poor because of lack of access to the tools they need to be successful
> such as accessible credit, which his bank was able to provide. We need
> to apply similar approaches when we develop and market solutions to
> people affected by social problems.
>
> One example of this is the area of cognitive impairments. Bill Coleman,
> founder and chairman of BEA Systems of San Jose, and his wife Claudia,
> have backed the University of Colorado Coleman Institute for Cognitive
> Disabilities. The institute investigates innovative technologies to
> enhance the lives of people with cognitive disabilities, mental
> retardation and developmental disabilities. Opportunities to join or
> create these kinds of efforts abound.
>
> The world wants to know that Silicon Valley (and America) really cares
> about them beyond extracting money for our businesses. I know that we
> care. Let's show them.
>
> JIM FRUCHTERMAN is the CEO of Palo Alto-based Benetech, and a 2006
> MacArthur fellow. He will be speaking at the Silicon Valley Challenge
> Summit: Sharing Technological Innovation for Global Benefit on Nov. 16.
> For more information, go to www.scu.edu/sts/events/rios/index.cfm.
> _______________________________________________
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> Pwd at wsis-cs.org
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>

-- 
Dr. Linda D. Misek-Falkoff (Ph.D., J.D.)
(914) 769 3652
InterNetizen, ARPANet-Internet 45+ years..
For Identification here:
National Disability Party; Intl. Disability Caucus. Persons With Pain
International.
Officer and Member of the Board of Directors, Communications Coordination
Committee for the U.N., *Respectful Interfaces* [RESPITES] and
*International Forum For Respectful Interfaces* [IFFRI] - Achieving Dialogue
While Cherishing Diversity*;
Presenter, WSIS/SMSI Tunis '05; Participant Geneva '03; Active Participant
Internet Governance Forum Athens 2006.
Member Fall '06 all DPI/NGO Conference Planning Committee, Media and
Networking  sub-Committees;
Mandates and Progam Committee, World Democracy Movement.
Appointee: Delegate to U.N. For United States Burn Support Org.
Inviting Inquiries; other affiliations on Request.
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