Simon Trace, the Chief Executive Officer of Practical Action, discussed appropriate technology for the developing world. Practical Action (formerly the Intermediate Technology Development Group) was founded in 1966 by E. F. Schumacher to further the goal of developing “technology with a human face,” Renamed Practical Action, the organization’s mission is to develop appropriate technologies that raise people from poverty without threatening their way of life. Included in this mission is that technologies should be developed locally, in collaboration with those who will implement them. Practical Action uses this localized approach for securing developing communities access to: energy; shelter; transportation; water and sanitation; food and agriculture; disaster mitigation; and communication.
The Schumacher Center and Simon’s Rock course on Globalization and Community Ecology hosted Simon Trace for a talk on the programs of Practical Action and also on the wider lens of technology’s role in poverty alleviation on April 7, 2008. He spoke at the Kellogg Music Center on the Bard College at Simon’s Rock campus at 7:30pm. The event’s cosponsor, Simon’s Rock course Globalization and Community Ecology, is an exploration of the nexus between place, community and forces of global production.
