[STS-Africa] Fwd: CfA: 3rd Int Conference on Technologies for Development

[Jan Cherlet]

Forwarded from the CAPRi list...
Jan


*CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: 3rd International Conference on Technologies for
Development: What is
Essential?<http://news.capri.cgiar.org/2013/09/call-for-abstracts-3rd-international.html>
* The conference will take place at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de
Lausanne in Switzerland on 4-6 June 2014. Deadline: October 14, 2013

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: 3rd International Conference on Technologies for
Development: What is
Essential?<http://news.capri.cgiar.org/2013/09/call-for-abstracts-3rd-international.html>

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 02:39 PM PDT

the third International Conference on Technologies for Development: What is
Essential? will take place at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
in Switzerland on 4-6 June 2014. The conference – held in English – will
offer a high-level platform to take part in cutting-edge discussions in the
field of technologies for development, to share information and to network.

Innovative technologies have a central role to play in the effort to
alleviate poverty in this world. Innovative technologies should also mean
appropriate technology in the sense that they should be socially,
culturally, environmentally and economically accepted by the stakeholders.
However, what are the key factors that will determine whether or not a
technology succeeds in its intended role to reduce poverty?

It has been argued that success depends on developing an entire value chain
from the technical design to the deployment business model, including
manufacturing, logistics, commissioning, usage, maintenance, waste and
recycling. This requires an interdisciplinary approach and partnerships
with global and local players in the private sector and with public
authorities and civil society. However, it is inevitable that a compromise
will have to be found between the adaptation of a technology to a specific
local context and the objective of large-scale deployment. This leads us to
the key question of the third UNESCO Technologies for Development
Conference: *What is Essential? *Is it the invention and development of
appropriate technologies? Is it the creation of value chains? Is it local
capacity building? Is it the partnership between key stakeholders? Or most
likely a combination of several factors?

The conference – held in English – will offer a high-level platform to take
part in cutting-edge discussions in the field of technologies for
development, to share information and to network.

The UNESCO Chair invites authors from research, industry, policy or civil
society to submit their abstracts under one of the announced conference
sessions (http://cooperation.epfl.ch/2014Tech4Dev/Sessions). The abstracts
can either offer good examples and pilot experiences of concrete
applications or provide reflections on these issues. Abstracts need to be
based on North-South or South-South collaborations.

More information <http://cooperation.epfl.ch/2014Tech4Dev>.

Deadline: October 14, 2013
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