Santa Clara University

Introduction

The Silicon Valley Challenge Summit is an international forum that will take place November 16, 2006 at Santa Clara University, co- presented by the Center for Science, Technology and Society (CSTS) and the RiOS Institute. The Summit will explore how Silicon Valley can provide a meaningful response to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan’s 2002 challenge to ensure Silicon Valley “… broadens its horizon and brings more of its remarkable dynamism and innovation to the developing world.” 

The one-day Summit will feature thought-provoking panel discussions and interactive workshops. Together, attendees will define and implement a transformational agenda that addresses the goals of the Millennium Challenge by focusing attention and resources on ways in which information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be harnessed for global development, and to answer the key questions: What is Silicon Valley doing? What else can be done and how can Silicon Valley do it?    

Experts on both existing and emerging ICTs will challenge conventional wisdom by identifying how Silicon Valley institutions can decisively create relevant, sustainable development initiatives to address social and economic inequalities worldwide. The event will bring together the same pool of talent, creativity and ambitions that made Silicon Valley a center of financial wealth and innovation, to further transform it into a hub for international discourse around the use of ICT for global development.

This array of creative, technical, and financial resources brings with it a great responsibility. In the same way in which Silicon Valley has exported its models of innovative research, entrepreneurial drive, and cross-institutional collaboration, it now has the opportunity to play an exemplary role in exploring new ways to create a more equitable and sustainable future for all inhabitants of the world.