ENERGIZE Clinton County

Energize Clinton County has been selected as 2009 Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellows!!

Pop!Tech (http://www.poptech.org) is one of world’s most unique innovation networks exploring the social impact of new technologies, the forces of change shaping our future, and new approaches to solving the world’s most significant challenges. As fellows, we will be traveling to Camden, Maine this October to take part in the Social Innovation Fellowship Program and the Pop!Tech Conference.

As we begin preparation for this extraordinary opportunity, we want to once again express the sincere appreciation for the energy, support, creativity, and innovation that the community has invested into Energize Clinton County. Without that support and involvement, none of our work would be possible, so in our minds this recognition truly belongs to the community.  We are humbled by the fact that we have been given the opportunity to serve as representatives of Clinton County, and are honored to share the story of our home town’s resilience and innovative spirit in the face of economic crisis.

For the official info, check out the press release from Pop!Tech.

Now, a little about Pop!Tech and the Social Innovation Fellowship:

Pop!Tech Socal Innovation Fellowship: As Pop!Tech Social Innovation fellows, we’ll be joining 14 other amazing innovators (!!) from around the world in a five day “boot-camp” just before the Pop!Tech conference. The focus of the program is to accelerate the positive impact of early stage ideas by connecting them with world-class thought leaders, as well as the latest tools and thinking in finance, leadership, branding, media relations, social/Web2.0 media, digital storytelling, design for impact and organizational development. The 2009 Pop!Tech Fellows program will be led by social innovators and world-class category leaders, including James L. Koch (founding director of the Center for Science, Technology and Society, director of the Global Social Benefit incubator), Cheryl Heller (CEO, Heller Communication Design; PopTech board), Robert Fabricant (executive creative director of Frog Design), Nancy Duarte (principal of Duarte Design), Lisa Witter (CEO of Fenton Communications), Beth Kanter (social media trainer, consultant and blogger) and Kristen Taylor (digital content/community manager for PopTech), among others.

To get a sense of what it will be like, check out this video about the 2008 Pop!Tech Fellows:

Pop!Tech Conference: The Pop!Tech conference brings together 700 influential participants for one of the world’s best thought leadership events: a shared exploration of the issues, trends and technologies that will shape the future of our businesses, economy, society and world. The theme of the 2009 conference is “America Reimagined” and it will be taking a top-to-bottom look at America’s opportunities, its challenges, and its future. It will explore the country’s business model in the decades to come, and unearth inspiring stories of American invention and social innovation. It will also explore the country’s role in the world, and the world’s role in the U.S. by looking at cutting-edge ideas in education, energy, entrepreneurship, and the many other social systems on which America’s future wealth depends, while asking what it means to be a superpower in the age of the Second Superpower — the Internet.

Only a few speakers have been released so far, but they are truly jaw dropping. Here is a taste of who will be presenting at the 2009 Pop!Tech conference: Michael Pollan, leading food journalist and activist; Dan Ariely, behavioral economist and best-selling author; Alec Ross, innovation advisor to Hillary Clinton, as well as Luis von Ahn, researcher on human computation and George Church, instigator of the Human Genome project.