Friday, July 14, 2006

Hi,
Two days ago the Summit received a big boost from the announcement that Bill Gates will be receiving the 2006 Humanitarian Award at this year's Tech Museum Awards, to which the Silicon Valley Challenge Summit is linked. As the Summit is promoted through the Tech Museum's website and newsletter, this will send attendants and media attention our way too.
In keeping with the theme of the Summit, this award should also be a challenge to those in Silicon Valley who have made their fortunes thanks to the high-tech industry. To be sure, there are philanthropists here, from Hewlett and Packard to Skoll and Omidyar. But as Pauline Borsook wrote in Cyberselfish a few years back, and as many contemporary observers still contend, the libertarian culture of the Valley does not lend itself easily to sharing ones riches.
The Summit will be a call to action in this area as well.

RiOS