While tomorrow is the official first day of our 2012 NetHope Global Member Summit, our members didn’t waste time and got right down to work during our Monday working sessions.
The day started with the Connectivity and Infrastructure Working Group. After a quick welcome message and plan overview, International Rescue Committee’s Chief Technology Officer David Goodman and colleague Vincent Richardson, Chief Information Officer of Concern Worldwide, led a member-centric session. The working group concluded with vendor roundtables that provided NetHope member organizations the opportunity to learn more about various technologies as well as the best-fit solutions for their particular work.
Immediately after the C&I Working Group, gears shifted and NetHope’s Emergency Response Program Director Gisli Olafsson took over to begin the Emergency Response Working Group. Participants worked together to discuss challenges and trends in using the Cloud in Emergencies, the Open Humanitarian Initiative and Emergency Communications.
Before, after and between sessions, Summit attendees stopped byattended our Solutions Showcase to meet and mingle with vendors. Services and solutions by Astrium, Santa Clara University’s Frugal Innovation Lab, International Procurement Agency, Kaspersky and Techno Brain were featured.
As the evening closely approached, a mix of members, supporters and Microsoft Alumni headed to the NetHope Women’s Tech Connect (WTC) Reception to celebrate the launch of the program. This new initiative brings together women in technology to grow a global community of practice dedicated to sharing ideas and championing one another’s growth. Radha Basu spoke of her experience encouraging and training young women for an IT career through Anudip Foundation, an organization she co-founded based in India that trains rural youth to develop IT skillsets.. NetHope’s Co-Program Lead for the WTC Lynann Bradbury spoke about the new initiative as well as introduced Emmanuella Stimphat, an inaugural NetHope Academy Haiti graduate and now IT Officer for Save the Children Haiti. The session concluded with Microsoft’s Rane Johnson-Stempson, who talked about the differences between men and women and how women’s perspectives and talent brings a wealth of value to workforces.
The reception helped to kick off annual NetHope Global Member Summit and allowed for participants to come together on the eve of the first plenary Summit day.
Check back tomorrow to read about all the exciting moments from our first official day of the 2012 Global Member Summit. Follow us on Twitter @NetHope_org and keep up with all Summit activity with #NHSummit12.
