Background

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The 1st Ideal Village conference was hosted by Science for Society, a public-private-philanthropic-community partnership, at Stanford University on June 15 2016, with the theme of “Innovations for the Ideal Village”. Engagement of a wide range of multi-disciplinary experts and leading organizations led to a grant application to the MacArthur Foundation and the launch of an initial set of Ideal Village pilots in India.

Objective

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The 2017 Conference will focus on “Collaborations for the Ideal Village”. Results and data from ongoing Ideal Village pilots will be shared, as well as project reports from select NGOs who are active in rural/social development. Collaboration is fundamental to holistic development and for scaling the Ideal Village concept. Challenges and potential solutions in implementation and scaling will receive special attention from this year’s group of expert speakers and panelists.

The Ideal Village Concept

 

Despite accelerating advances in science and technology, inequities across and within societies globally remain at unacceptably high levels. Over 70% of the world’s poorest people live in rural areas where basic human needs are unmet. Large populations still live without access to electrical power (1.2 billion people), clean water (more than 700 million people), sanitation (2 billion people), basic healthcare, and education. The Ideal Village program is a holistic, integrated and collaborative technology platform designed to introduce alternate energy, education/vocational training, healthcare, sustainable agriculture, water/waste management systems, and rural entrepreneurship to create self-sustainable, economically viable and healthy village communities.

The 2017 Conference

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The 2nd Annual Ideal Village Conference at Stanford will serve as a collaborative forum for innovators, NGOs and like-minded groups to identify, develop, and plan to implement and scale appropriate, cost effective and innovative solutions for the sustainable development of rural communities. We envision holding an annual Ideal Village conference at Stanford University, building on each year’s lessons and learning from our successes (or failures) in the field. Our ultimate goal is the elimination of rural poverty and the establishment of better health and well-being for all.

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Conference Chair: Dr. Gary Darmstadt MD, MS.
Contact info: vyviann@stanford.edu / (650) 497-9401