Jessica Rothenberg-Aalami, Managing Partner of the Gobee Group and co-author of "Technology at the Margins:  How  IT Meets the Needs of Emerging Markets," will kick things off with a live on-camera interview with Media Space host Hanson Hosein. The Media Space conversation will explore how innovation in emerging markets challenges some of our business models here in the developed world; so much so that we're either looking to partner with those who are developing those innovations, or we're importing them. Is what's good for them good for us?

Salon participants will enjoy light refreshments while they catch an exclusive viewing of the 30-minute multi-cast Media Space TV interview as it’s happening live from the UWTV studios. Immediately following the interview, Jessica will join the salon partipants and Four Peaks thought leaders to initiate a larger, participatory conversation to explore the emergence of a new global ethos of innovation that designs technology solutions that catalyze efforts with a social conscience. Jessica Rothenberg-Aalami's most recent book, Technology at the Margins, is a call for local organizations and corporations who are eager to remain competitive and effective to leverage change through useful, nimble, and impactful information and communication technologies (ICTs).

"Technology at the Margins demonstrates that by making IT more accessible, affordable, and relevant, new mass markets can be opened. Based on solid insights generated in key areas of health, education, finance and the environment, the book offers practical recommendations and insights from world leaders, innovators, practitioners and new users of emergent technologies." Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, provides the forward and Beth Kanter, social media for change leader, refers to the book as “a must-read for nonprofit leaders and technologist who want to leverage the power of IT to help solve global poverty.”

Rothenberg-Aalami heads the Gobee Group - an international firm that works at the intersection of technology and social impact. To make technology meaningful, she and her teams integrate policy, information and communication technologies, creativity, and grassroots expertise to design and deliver unique solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. As a research scholar affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE), she worked extensively on technology innovation in emerging markets and global corporate social responsibility. She holds a doctorate in Economic Geography and a Master's degree in International Political Economy. Her book is titled Technology at the Margins: How IT Meets the Needs of Emerging Markets and is coauthored with Sailesh Chutani and Akhtar Badshah. 

  Event Date:  Thursday, April 14 from 5:30 - 8:00pm

  Location:  University of Washington, Kane Hall 225

  Social Media:  Twitter hashtag #fourpeaks, real-time event dashboard with video will be available

  Logistics:  Directions and parking, light refreshments will be served

  Event contact:
  Beth Koemans,  Community Architect, MCDM
  Department of Communication, University of Washington
  (206) 543-2661  |  Twitter:  @socialbeth

University of Washington, KANE HALL
Walker-Ames room
, 98195

Thursday, April 14, 2011 from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM (PT)

Master of Communication in Digital Media (MCDM), University of Washington

Four Peaks seeks to address an urgent need in our region: how to connect idea generators with technology innovators in a way that establishes the Pacific Northwest as a living, breathing communications and media laboratory for the 21st century to the benefit of its citizens, and the world.