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International Development Forum set for Sept. 30

MIT students and other members of the MIT community interested in international development are invited to the fourth annual International Development Forum and Fair this Thursday, Sept. 29, and Friday, Sept. 30.

The forum on Thursday, "Innovation Everywhere," will include a talk at 3:30 p.m. by Ray Kurzweil, CEO of Kurzweil Technologies Inc., on "How the Acceleration of Genetics, Nanotechnology and Robotics Will Create a Flat and Equitable World." At 4 p.m., a panel will discuss "Why the World Isn't Flat Enough." The forum, which will take place in Kresge Auditorium, is co-sponsored by the International Development Forum (IDF) and Technology Review.

The fair, which will take place Friday from 1-3 p.m. in Lobby 13, will feature representatives from more than 40 MIT academic programs and student groups who are doing development-related work, as well as student groups representing particular countries or cultures. Each group will have a table with a display where attendees can learn about the group, get to know the people involved and discover opportunities for participating.

Some of the groups at the IDF focus on a particular need in developing countries such as water, food, transportation or education. Others focus generally on human rights, economic analysis or the dynamics of globalization. Their work varies too, from offering public forums at MIT that raise awareness of issues to conducting research aimed at solving particular problems overseas.

The fair is co-sponsored by the Technology and Culture Forum at MIT, the MIT Public Service Center, the Edgerton Center, the Center for International Studies, the Graduate Student Council, the Division of Student Life, mitTechLink, Design That Matters, Bill '77 and Betsy Leitch and Peter Fiekowski '56.

For more information, contact the Technology and Culture Forum at x3-0108 or visit web.mit.edu/idf or web.mit.edu/tac.

All events are free and open to the public.

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 28, 2005 (download PDF).

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