My other job

I have been involved with the International Development Design Summit (IDDS) since 2008. IDDS hosts technology design events globally that bring together people from all over the world and all walks of life to design prototypes and ventures that improve the lives of people in low-income communities. I have been an organizer for six summits in that time: Boston - 2008; Ft. Collins, Colorado - 2010; Kumasi, Ghana - 2011; Lusaka, Zambia - 2013; Arusha, Tanzania - 2014 (I was the lead organizer for this one); Cali, Colombia - 2015 (plus I spent 1.5 weeks at the summit in Chennai, India in July of this year). I really enjoy working with all of the amazing people who organize the summits and then meeting all of the amazing participants who attend.

Since February, I have been working with my friend Mustafa and his team to plan IDDS Lahore which will take place in Pakistan in January 2016. The summit will last for two weeks (all of the ones listed above lasted about four weeks, except for the one in Colombia--the length of the summit determines the scope of the projects that teams will work on there) and will focus on ICT (information and communications technology) solutions. I'm mildly competent at using my computer and smartphone, so my role will focus on bringing together the design and business curricula that participants will see at the summit. I'm really excited about this role.

But I'm also looking forward to the end of the summit. For the last few years, as soon as I finish one summit, we start planning the next. I love the intensity of the experience and the passion of the team, but it has also worn me down a bit. I'm relieved that the planning for this summit has rarely required me to join meetings that are scheduled in the middle of the night (ah, the pitfalls of meetings with people across timezones). Still, I look forward to finishing the workday and being done for the day. Of course, if the past is any guide, I'll get bored of that quickly and find some new project to fill my nights and weekends.