Participation, technology and development:

Interactive discussion with Prof. Robert Chambers & Dr Alistair Cockburn

Tuesday 27 September - 6pm - 9pm - Cambridge University Computer Laboratory

What are the crossovers between participation in social development and software development? 

What can the two sectors learn from each other?

How can they relate to the reduction of global poverty?

While participatory approaches in international development and Agile development share similar outlooks, the two sets of thinking have not yet been directly compared. The Humanitarian Centre brings together leading experts in each field for the first time, to spark a new dialogue and inspire further thinking. The audience will be invited to participate in the discussion and debate.

We will also be celebrating the launch of the 2011 Cambridge International Development Report on ICT4D as the culmination of a year's activities focused on ICT4D (Information Communication Technologies for Development) run by the Humanitarian Centre.

About the speakers:

Professor Robert Chambers is a Research Associate in the Participation, Power and Social Change Team at the Institute of Development Studies, U.K. Over the last three decades his research has concentrated on putting the poor, destitute and marginalized at the centre of the process of development policy. The recently published book ‘Revolutionizing Development: Reflections on the Work of Robert Chambers’ (Routledge, 2011) is dedicated to his work; he also featured in ‘fifty key thinkers in development’ by David Simon (Cambridge University Press, 2006).

Dr. Alistair Cockburn co-founded the 'agile development' movement, the early and regular delivery of business value through improved communications, fast feedback and staged delivery. He is an internationally renowned IT strategist, an expert in ‘agile development’ and author of three Jolt-awarded books on software development. He was voted one of the “The All-Time Top 150 i-Technology Heroes” in 2007 for his pioneering work. He is known for his lively presentations and interactive workshops.

This event has been kindly sponsored by Redgate

Parking - parking outside the venue is limited so please be advised to use the park&ride parking opposite (free) and walk across the road. There is plenty of space for locking bikes up outside the venue.