We the Geeks: Innovation for Global Good

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Geeks have had a lasting positive impact on the lives of millions of people in the developing world—from the innovations and insights that fueled the Green Revolution, to the historic scientific achievements that have marked the “Beginning of the End of AIDS.” Today, geeks are playing a central role in building technologies, making discoveries, building businesses, and engineering solutions that benefit people and communities around the world.

As President Obama and the First Lady travel to Africa next week, the White House will host a “We The Geeks” Google+ Hangout this Thursday, June 27 at 1:00 pm EST to discuss innovation for global good with some of the creative minds making it happen. These individuals are harnessing their science, engineering, and entrepreneurial skills to answer the President’s call to eradicate extreme poverty in the next two decades. The Hangout will be moderated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Deputy Director for Technology and Innovation, Tom Kalil.

Hangout participants will hear from leaders within and outside government, who are working together to spur game-changing innovations in global development. USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) program, for example, is seeding, testing, and scaling the next generation of powerful innovations in development from geeks the world over.

One innovative social enterprise supported by DIV, Mera Gao Power, is using renewable micro-grid technology to power thousands of homes in Uttar Pradesh, India. Customers receive lights, phone chargers, and system maintenance for 46 cents per week, or about half the cost of kerosene. When private -sector support was hard to find, DIV provided Mera Gao Power with the capital to grow beyond its initial pilot villages and attract seed financing from an impact investing firm to expand operations throughout India and Southeast Asia.

Another DIV-supported project, the Dispensers for Safe Water project, used behavioral insights and randomized control trials—a method commonly used to test the effectiveness of pharmaceuticals—to dramatically increase adoption of chlorine to decontaminate water. With funding from DIV, carbon-credit financing, and matching funds from the Gates Foundation, this initiative is poised to expand across East Africa, delivering clean water at a cost of less than 50 cents per person annually.

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http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/24/we-geeks-innovation-global-good

Damn This is absolutely fantastic news!!!!

We can do this! Educated minds, innovative ideas! We can make a change. We can change our future!

Thank you President Obama, for moving so boldly forward!