We are actively engaged in the dialogue and debates of our space: on issues of social justice, global development, and democratic innovation, and on the ethics and methodological evolution of design, mediation, and co-creation practice. More of our writing can be found at Medium.
Panthea has been invited to participate in a roundtable discussion focused on mobile content creation on March 18 and 19 in DC. She will present on human-centered design as part of the gathering. The event will convene 15-20 leading thinkers from technology providers, design firms, content creation organizations, academia, donors, and policymakers with a focus on finding action-oriented ways to strengthen the creation of mobile content.
UNICEF has featured Samantha’s recent article on channeling empathy in policymaking. Based on Reboot’s work on policy creation for children’s rights in Nicaragua, the piece explores how understanding the individual lived experiences of those a policy will affect can inform policy design.
Adam participated in Nigeria’s first Health Hackathon on February 22. Joining him was Nkechi Okwuone and Ambrose Ariagiegbe from the Edo State Open Data Team. The event sought to inspire new and profitable applications for addressing health challenges in Nigeria. The event was made possible by a number of organizations, including the Private Health Sector Alliance of Nigeria (PHN), and hosted at iDEA Hub in Lagos.
Nonso spoke on contextualizing open data at Lagos Social Media Week on February 20. His presentation highlighted lessons learned from Reboot’s involvement with open data in Nigeria. The event was hosted by BudgIt at CC Hub, and included presentations from other innovative organizations including Shine Your Eye and Stop the Bribes.
We are thrilled to welcome Emily Herrick and Shruti Sannon to our growing team! Emily will join us as Design Intern. A swiss-army knife of creative talent, Emily previously designed book interiors at Penguin Group and has experience spanning web, print, and packaging design. Shruti comes to Reboot as Programs Intern. She brings experience in marketing, strategic communications, and psychology, and her previous areas of research include Goth kids in Singapore and middle class housewives in New Delhi.
Panthea will address masters students in the Design for Social Innovation Program‘s guest lecture series at the School of Visual Arts on February 6. Students will have the opportunity to learn about Reboot’s work and engage with Panthea on a variety of subjects related to our programs.
The Aspen Institute has launched Panthea‘s open gov series as an official 2013 FOCAS report hosted on a new, dedicated website. The report highlights key elements of equitable and accountable governance to motivate dialogue around open governmen
Panthea Lee shared lessons from our recent projects, discussed Reboot’s past and future growth, and engaged in lively Q&A with students at the School of Visual Arts this afternoon.
Faaria’s coverage and critique of FAILFaire “Fail to Scale” was featured in UNICEF’s Stories of Innovation. Responding to efforts to embrace failure for future learning and growth, Faaria asks how these learnings can better lead us to target the heart of many failures: the unresponsive systems within which programs are implemented.
We are delighted to have Ashley Parent join our growing team as Office Manager. Ashley comes to Reboot fresh out of an intensive Arabic language program in Jordan. She previously held positions with the Clinton Foundation and Amnesty International U.S.A. Ashley will keep the Reboot house in order, managing day-to-day operations and designing key organizational structures across all teams.
Our fantastic communications intern, Andres Lizcano Rodriguez, landed a great piece on Colombia’s gender gap in World Policy Journal’s blog. Responding to incendiary comments by a prominent restauranteur in Bogotá about a rape that occurred at his restaurant, Andres argues that “beneath the country’s rosy modernization narrative is a disturbing tale of violence against women, violations of women’s rights, and entrenched gender inequity.”
Dave Algoso and Ethan Wilkes will lead a workshop on November 16 at Social Enterprise Bootcamp in New York City. The session will help enterprises pinpoint the needs they seek to serve by teaching core research skills, including how to identify target audiences and work with cultural differences.
Dave Algoso will lead a talk on “New Approaches to Social Accountability and Institution Building” at NYU Wagner on October 17. Co-sponsored by Bridge: Students for Social Innovation and the International Public Service Association, the event will spotlight Reboot’s pioneering methods and models of engagement in Nigeria, and discuss these approaches within the broader sector.
Ethan Wilkes and Jennifer Thibault will speak to “Human-Centered Solutions for the Public” at the Head, Heart, and Hand: AIGA Design Conference in Minneapolis on October 12. They will discuss how Reboot incorporates four disciplines of design—design research, communications design, service design, and interaction design—to create governance and development solutions worldwide.
Reboot is thrilled to welcome Faaria Volinski and Lauren Weinstein to our growing family. Faaria joins us as Writer & Editor, coming on the heels of two years in China researching and reporting on Islam in rural China. Lauren is our new Associate. A cross-disciplinary designer, Lauren will be contributing to service, systems, programs, and policy design.
Ethan Wilkes will be speaking at SXSW ECO in Austin, Texas on Monday, October 7. Alongside designers and panelists from the World Bank and USAID, he will explore underlying assumptions in design thinking that often go unchallenged and unverified during service preparation.
Dave Algoso will speak at the Service Experience Conference in San Francisco on October 3. He will discuss ethnographic approaches to better service delivery alongside a diverse line-up of designers and business leaders addressing the challenges of service design practice and execution.
Zack Brisson will be speaking at Media Rise in Washington DC on September 28. Joining the “Policy and Civic Innovation Panel” with panelists from the World Bank and Sunlight Foundation, he’ll discuss how to transform the way individuals interact with government and nonprofit organizations.
Zack Brisson will take the mainstage at TEDxCarthage this Sunday, September 22. Addressing the event theme of “Trust As New Currency?”, Zack will speak to how the crisis of legitimacy facing governments worldwide is evidence that our social contracts are due for renegotiation.
Dave Algoso is speaking today at “Mobile Money: Technology to Transform Transactions“, hosted by the Center for Effective Global Action at the University of California. The conference explores the possibility of anyone with a phone being able to send and receive money across the market stand, or across the world conveniently, reliably, and securely. Dave is joining the panels “Engaging Clients and Customizing Products” and “Integrating Support for Financial Decision Making”.