Monday, May 17, 2010

Thursday Event: Michael Furdyk of TakingITGlobal

As a part of my FutureofEducation.com interview series, Michael Furkdyk from TakingITGlobal will be my guest on Thursday (May 20th, 2010).

TakingITGlobal is the largest online community of youth interested in global issues and creating positive change.  Their vision is to have youth everywhere actively engaged and connected in shaping a more inclusive, peaceful and sustainable world, and their mission is to enable a collaborative learning community which provides youth with access to global opportunities, cross-cultural connections and meaningful participation in decision-making.  They serve youth primarily between the ages of 13 to 30 through an online community and initiatives that focus on enabling actively engaged youth and through education programs geared towards middle and high school students.  TakingITGlobal has reached 14 million youth since their launch in 2000.

Date:  Thursday, 20 May, 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)
Duration: 60 minutes
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
Event (and Recordings) Page:  http://www.learncentral.org/event/74961


Michael Furdyk is the Co-founder and Director of Technology for TakingITGlobal.org, a global online community for young people, providing a platform for millions of youth across more than 200 countries to engage with social issues. Along with managing the technology team at TakingITGlobal, Michael was involved in developing the TIGed education program, and has spoken to over 50,000 educators about the importance of engaging students and integrating technology and global perspectives into the classroom. In 2008, he was named by Contribute Magazine as one of 10 Tech Revolutionaries Redefining the Power and Face of Philanthropy.

In the past, he has turned his interest in technology into a series of successful online companies, co-founding MyDesktop.com (later sold to Internet.com) and BuyBuddy.com (which raised $4.5-million of venture capital). Michael has provided insights on the Net Generation to a number of Fortune 500 companies, including a 6-month engagement developing youth strategy with Microsoft in Seattle, Washington.

As one of Teen People's "20 teens that will change the world", Michael has shared his expertise in youth engagement and experiences bringing the power of technology to the non-profit sector by speaking at dozens of events, including the World Congress on IT, the US Government's National Youth Summit, Microsoft's Anytime, Anywhere Learning Summits, The Business Council, and TED. He has made numerous media appearances including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Time Magazine, Fast Company, BusinessWeek, and USA Today. He is a board member and advisor to numerous groups including Better the World, Microsoft Partners in Learning, Virgin Unite, Greenpower Canada, and several other national and global organizations.

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