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The Telecentre Leaders Forum is a participatory workshop for people who are working in telecentres, running telecentre networks, or doing telecentre research. It's a chance for people with a passion for grassroots technology to connect, share stories and swap practical ideas. It is taking place from November 15 - 18 at WSIS in Tunis.

What do we want to achieve?

The primary goal of the Telecentre Leaders Forum is to help good ideas travel. Telecentre people around the world are constantly experimenting with better ways to serve their communities -- inventive training programs, novel uses of common technologies, innovative approaches to generating revenue. This workshop will provide an opportunity for people to share what they are doing, and to learn from others.

As these things go, it's likely that this kind of sharing will lead to much more than just storytelling. People will make new friends. Invent new telecentre products and services. Imagine new networks and projects. These are concrete things that can help telecentres, and that are likely to come from the sharing at the Telecentre Leaders Forum.

What's going to happen at the workshop? 

Presentations? Slide shows? Panels? Nope. None of that. The Telecentre Leaders Forum will be a participatory workshop where everyone is an expert, and where everyone gets a chance to listen AND speak. Some things you'll get to do if you come:

• Talk with people on the frontlines of the telecentre movement from over two dozen countries.
• Run up and down a long room while expressing your opinions about telecentres.
• Join dozens of others in drawing a picture of the telecentre movement of the future.
• Place all the telecentres you've been to, or know about, a a huge world map.
• Laugh. Laugh more. And have fun. 

The workshop will be faciliated by Allen Gunn from Aspiration, and a team of facilitators from the telecentre and community technology movements.

Who's weclome, and who's coming? 

Anyone who is coming to WSIS *AND* is passionate about grassoots technology. That's who should come. We already have confirmations from sixteen telecentre leaders coming to WSIS on telecentre.org scholarships. There are also had confirmations from over 30 other telecentre network leaders, innovators and researchers. A list of people coming can be found here.

Who's behind it?

The Telecentre Leaders Forum is being led by IDRC's telecentre.org program and its partners from around the world. These partners include Microsoft's Unlimited Potential, the Education Development Centre, the Open Knowledge Network and the Global Knowledge Partnership.

Where and when is it?

The workshop will be broken into four two hour sessions from November 15 - 18 (it's one workshop, sp great if you can come for all four days!). Specific times are ...

• Tuesday, November 15th - 12:00-14:00 - Expo Room 9
• Wednesday, November 16th - 16:00-18:00 - Expo Room 9
• Thursday, November 17th - 16:00-18:00 - Expo Room 9
• Friday, November 18th - 10:00-12:00 - Expo Room 9

All workshops are in Expo Room 9, and are a part of the GKP Forum at the World Summit for the Information Society in Tunis.

Quick links: participants | notes | times | contact organizers