1. Inequitable Access to Education and Technology in a Knowledge Economy

Papers/project proposals should cover one or more of the following:

• Define a knowledge economy and the changing technological needs in the increasingly globalized world
• Examine the responsibility of global governments, organizations, universities and individuals in facing the digital divide
• Explore how to provide access to technology in the developing world
• Show how higher education can be mobilized toward closing the digital divide
• Explain how to train and provide education and access to technology without causing "brain drain"
• Explore how to ensure that students with special needs have equal access to education and technology

2. Media: A Tool for Social Impact

Papers/project proposals should cover one or more of the following:

• Show how to draw media attention to traditionally underrepresented locations/events (i.e. Darfur crisis, Northern Uganda crisis, African news, etc.)
• Examine the effect of media on outcomes of relief efforts (i.e. Kashmir earthquake with little aid vs. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand Tsunami relief or Hurricane Katrina vs. Rita and Wilma)
• Show how you are using or have used media as a tool for social impact
• Explain how you plan to use media as a tool for social impact
• Describe the role of institutions of higher education in the media world
• Explore the role of educational institutions and the media in educating the general public about children with special needs

3. Responding to Natural Disasters as a Global Community

Papers/project proposals should cover one or more of the following:

• Explore the way that technology has improved the prevention of natural disasters
• Examine how technology has improved immediate and delayed response to natural disasters
• Show how aid can be sustained for natural disasters after the initial shock and media attention has waned
• Explore how foreign nations as states react to natural disasters in other countries
• Describe how institutions of higher education have been or could be mobilized to respond to natural disasters
• Explore the role of educational awareness to natural disaster preparation
• Examine the role that official (i.e. UN) and non-official organizations should play in responding to Natural Disasters (before, during, and after)

4. Harnessing Education and Technology to End Poverty

Papers/project proposals should cover one or more of the following:

• Examine how education has been or could be used as a tool to fight poverty in both the developing and developed worlds
• Examine how technology has been or could be used as a tool to fight poverty in both the developing and developed worlds
• Explain how education and technology can be used as business tools to end poverty
• Explore the role that education/technology plays in ensuring/facilitating future self sufficiency for those with special needs