[wsfii-coord] Re: Potential speakers - capra (on Lawrence Lessig) (Laird Brown)

[Jim Forster]

Hi folks,

> I think to move forward on considering one or both of them to come...

Jeff & I chatted about this.    I think it's pretty late to be  
discussing keynote speakers.   Sure, pretty much anyone can come to  
the conference,  and if they have something good to say there will  
certainly be a place for them, but the keynote positions are a little  
tricky in that it's great to have well-known names, and they  
typically require 3-6 months advance notice, and sometimes funding  
for travel, etc.

In March or April there was no committed funding so no 6 month  
advance requests were possible.  AJS is now  two months away.   
Funding is about 1/3 of the budget that Laird & Yahel drew up, so  
we'll have to cut back AJS-sponsored travel quite a bit.

So, with that background: Laird & I have been working on the keynote  
issue quite a bit and recently settled on three keynote speakers, and  
on that basis Laird drafted an announcement which follows.   There's  
always more good ideas and greener pastures that we'll all get to  
some day, but I'm quite happy with this for today.   I think it will  
be a great event and am really looking forward to meeting more of you  
all!


   -- Jim




Wireless Technology Summit – Dharamsala 2006

The Tibetan Technology Center (TibTec) will host the AirJaldi Summit  
on wireless technologies in Dharamsala, India in October 2006. TibTec  
has partnered with the Djursland International Institute of Rural  
Wireless Broadband (DIIRWB) and will join the World Summits on Free  
Information Infrastructure (WSFII) to deliver a conference and  
extended wireless training workshops in October. The conference will  
be held from October 22nd through 25th in Dharamsala, India. The  
training workshops will span a ten day period directly after the  
conference. The theme of the summit is “Empowering Communities  
Through Wireless Networks”.

The Air Jaldi Summit will attract wireless technology experts and  
community activists from India, Europe, North America, Israel, and  
Australia. A list of confirmed presenters can be found on the  
AirJaldi Web site under the “Program” link. The organizers are also  
pleased to announce confirmation of three distinguished keynote  
speakers: Dr. Roger Downer (Ireland), President Emeritus of the  
University of Limerick; Mr. David Hughes (USA), longtime champion of  
wireless technologies; and, Mr. Vic Hayes (Netherlands), the “father”  
of WiFi.

The Air Jaldi Summit comes in direct response to international  
interest in the Dharamsala Community Wireless Mesh Network. It was  
developed in cooperation with the Dharamsala Information Technology  
Group, an organization chaired by the Tibetan Computer Resource  
Center and some of the region’s leading information technology  
professionals. The Mesh backbone includes over 30 nodes , all sharing  
a single radio channel. Broadband Internet services are provided to  
all mesh members. The total upstream Internet bandwidth available is  
6Mbps. There are over 2000 computers connected to the Mesh, and about  
500 have Internet access.

Air Jaldi Summit Website
http://summit.airjaldi.com

About The Tibetan Technology Center (TibTec)
http://www.tibtec.org

The Tibetan Technology Center is a charitable organization dedicated  
to harnessing modern technology and assisting the Tibetan community  
in India. The center is located at the Tibetan Children's Villages  
School (TCV) which hosts and supports it. TibTec’s first project is  
the Dharamsala Community Wireless Mesh Network.

About Djursland International Institute of Rural Wireless Broadband  
(DIIRWB)
http://diirwb.net/

Djursland International Institute of Rural Wireless Broadband is  
dedicated to the establishment of wireless networks, both for rural  
landscapes but also for towns all over the world. Using the  
experiences gained in building and establishing The DjurslandS.net

About the World Summits on Free Information Infrastructure (WSFII)
http://www.okfn.org/wsfii/

WSFII, is an ongoing international process of multiple, local action  
oriented events which provide space for people to come together, to  
share experiences, present practical solutions, to learn and to  
build, all kinds of Free Information Infrastructures.

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