Around the world, visionary change agents are incubating new approaches to the planet’s toughest social and environmental challenges. Yet they’re often doing so without taking advantage of the latest tools and thinking in technology, communications, innovation and design.

The Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellows program is designed to help fill that gap -- to equip world-changing innovators with vanguard tools, insights and relationships that can help them take their innovations to scale.

This year, Pop!Tech will select up to twenty high potential change agents – chosen from around the world and from many different social-innovation fields – to participate in a unique, cutting-edge Fellows program designed to accelerate their impact. Fellows will participate (all-expenses paid) in the 2008 Pop!Tech conference, the annual gathering of thought leaders and change agents that will convene October 22-25, 2008 in Camden, Maine. Fellows will also take part in a unique, multi-day in-depth leadership and skills development program prior to Pop!Tech that will cover four areas that are critical to success in creating “big bet” social programs:

* Embracing the Social Web – how to organize ecosystems of support and collaboration online
* Leveraging Design Thinking – how to use design as a strategic tool for innovation
* Effective Communications and Digital Storytelling – how to effectively communicate with the media, and how to create communications that effectively make the case for support
* Taking Innovations to Scale – how to identify the vanguard edge in social innovation and how to deal with issues of scale

Training sessions will be led by some of the world’s most successful social entrepreneurs and renowned specialists. Fellows will also have year-round access to Pop!Tech mentors and a network of support to aid in the advancement of their ideas, projects and collaborations.

Fellows will be selected based on their proven track record, as well as their interest in and high potential for generating significant cutting-edge, multidisciplinary, and socially beneficial innovations in fields such as education, energy, technology, global healthcare, economic development, environment, conservation, peacemaking, human rights advocacy, media, journalism and related fields.

To ensure diversity, both from a cultural and experiential perspective, at least one-third of the class will consist of participants from outside the US and at least one-third will be 35 years of age or younger.

Nomination forms for Fellows are available here. Self-nominations are also accepted.  The selection of Fellows will be made on rolling basis throughout 2008.