Actually, I’m in Cambridge, Mass across the Charles River from Boston. I’m here attending the 2nd Global Network of Government Innovators organized by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance & Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
This conference brings together innovators from around the world to discuss and share ideas. As well, this year marks the 20th anniversary of “The Innovations in American Government Awards”.
The conference officially kicked off this evening with a speech by Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico (2000-2006). Mr. Fox addressed the issues of immigration, economic development, good government and democratization in his remarks. You can find the Ash Institute website herehttp://ashinsttest.org.ezdeal.no/corporate_site
I spent the day yesterday walking along the Charles River and looking out at the sailboats on the river and the rowers in their skulls. I then went to Harvard Square (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Square) and visited the Harvard Co-op which is a wonderful bookstore. I had to hold myself back from buying too many books. After a dinner of Boston Clam Chowder (what else) and fresh tuna at Legal Sea Food, I then walked through the MIT campus and looked at the interesting architecture.
Today I took the “T” (that’s the subway) and went to the JFK Library (http://www.jfklibrary.org/). It was a moving experience walking through the exhibits.
Tomorrow will be a full day of conference workshops – with workshops on Ethics and Accountability in the Public Sector; Citizen Engagement in Deliberative Democracy; and New Approaches to Neglected Diseases.
As part of the 20th Anniversary of the Innovation Awards, a book on the award winners over the last twenty years was published. The editor of the “Innovation in Government: Research, Recognition, and Replication” book, Sandy Borins, IPAC member par excellence and professor at the University of Toronto will be signing the book. Congratulations Sandy!!
Stay tuned for more about this very interesting conference.
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