Wondering which Ashoka Fellows are speaking at CGI? We've got the scoop.

Submitted by Alex Budak on September 22, 2009 - 1:23pm

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) officially kicks off today, as the four-day conference brings together "heads of state, government and business leaders, scholars, and NGO directors to work together to analyze, discuss, and debate possible solutions to urgent global issues." We're happy to say that among the world's leaders are a number of Ashoka fellows, global academy members, and Ashoka staff. Want to see what the Ashoka-aligned leaders will be discussing? Here's a quick guide to Ashoka at CGI 2009:

Tuesday, September 22, 10:15AM - 3PM
NGO EXECUTIVE WORKSHOP
Romanus Berg (CIO, Ashoka) will be among the first speakers of the conference, speaking Tuesday morning, discussing how leaders of non-profits can leverage IT as a mission-delivery tool.

Wednesday, September 23, 8:00AM-8:45AM
SPECIAL SESSION: APPROACHES TO INNOVATION
William Drayton (Founder and CEO, Ashoka), along with other leaders in social entrepreneurship will be exploring questions such as what the role of the government is in promoting and facilitating innovation, where innovation begins, and how organizations can best position themselves to take advantage of innovation.

Wednesday, September 23, 1:00PM-2:15PM
HARNESSING INNOVATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
Ashoka Global Academy Member Muhammad Yunus (founder, Grameen Bank), comes together with world thought leaders including Al Gore, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Managing Director, the World Bank Group) for a plenary session on innovation and development. Yunus and panelists will discuss innovations ranging from clean technology to new bottom-up business models to better serve the poor and to promote sustainable development worldwide.

Wednesday, September 23, 2:45PM-4:30PM
TOWNHALL: DRIVING DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION FROM THE BASE OF THE PYRAMID
Ashoka fellow Harish Hande (Managing Director, SELCO Solar Light ℗ Ltd.), of India, will be participating alongside leaders from Acumen Fund and Microsoft in discussing addressing the four billion people who earn less than three dollars per day, while recognizing that doing so often threatens those already established at the top of the economic pyramid.

Thursday, September 24, 10:30AM-12:30PM
TOWNHALL: THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF HUMAN DIGNITY: PROTECTING THE MOST VULNERABLE
Ashoka fellow Ingrid Munro (Founder and Managing Trustee, Jamii Bora Trust), joins New York Times columnist Nick Kristof, and former US Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, among others, for a discussion of the human impacts of physical infrastructure developments. They'll look at how public health can be improved through better infrastructure, sanitation, water supplies, and other innovations.

Thursday, September 24, 10:30AM-12:30PM
SEMINAR: THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF PLACE: SUSTAINABILITY AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Ashoka fellow Albina Ruiz (Executive Director, Ciudad Saludable), from Peru joins Former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, and current UCLA Fellow Wesley Clark in discussing how to manage the tensions between rebuilding communities to meet contemporary challenges of energy and protecting the environment, while at the same time promoting job creation and development in the modern city.

Friday, September 25, 9:00AM-10:00AM
MOVING FROM CRISIS TO OPPORTUNITY: FINANCING AN EQUITABLE FUTURE
Ashoka Global Academy Member Fazle Abed (Founder and Chairperson, BRAC), joins leaders from private financial institutions, CNBC, and the FDIC in addressing how the financial system can bring together the interests of public, private and philanthropic capital, and work towards building a more equitable world.

Friday, September 25, 10:30AM-12:30PM
SEMINAR: DEEPENING FINANCIAL INCLUSION TO REACH THE UNDERSERVED - THE BOTTOM BILLION AND THE MISSING MIDDLE
Ashoka Fellow Willy Foote (Founder and CEO, Root Capital), and Ashoka Global Academy Member Mary Houghton (President, Shorebank Corporation) come together alongside other public and private leaders in examining how services such as microfinance can be scaled to include two currently underserved populations: the extremely poor, and the small business entrepreneur.