IEEE Smart Village Unveils New Web Presence and Newly Sponsored IEEE Global Classroom at the Posner Center for International Development
IEEE-wide humanitarian program welcomes participation at IEEE Smart Village events during 2015 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting in Denver, Colorado
IEEE Smart Village, a global humanitarian program helping remote, energy-deprived communities build toward sustainability with renewable energy and technology, today launched its new website (www.ieee-smart-village.org) to the world and to crowds assembling this week in Denver at the annual IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) General Meeting (GM). It also unveiled the new IEEE Global Classroom at the Posner Center for International development.
“This is an important week for IEEE Smart Village as we actively engage online and in person with volunteers who want to make a difference,” said Ray Larsen, co-founder of IEEE Smart Village. “This program depends on volunteers and in-kind donations, and our new website is where like-minded people come to learn how they can positively impact off-grid communities around the world. We’re gaining real traction in 2015 by taking IEEE Smart Village to the next level.”
These latest video interviews with some of the dedicated IEEE Smart Village volunteers who are attending this week’s IEEE PES GM, describe what IEEE Smart Village does and how it is changing people’s lives.
“We are in the business of trying to create commerce and employment and education,” said Robin Podmore, co-founder of IEEE Smart Village. “We’re putting in companies that villagers can own and generate income from, we’re not just giving people light bulbs.”
Ray Larsen and Robin Podmore originally founded the IEEE Community Solutions Initiative in 2009 to address energy poverty and billions of people with no access to the electric grid. The global humanitarian effort, which in 2014 became IEEE Smart Village, an IEEE Foundation Signature Program, goes beyond providing electricity and takes a holistic approach to community empowerment by raising up and educating local entrepreneurs to establish sustainable communities right where they live.
IEEE Smart Village is a donor-led program with the goal to deliver basic electrical and educational services to more than 50 million people by 2025. IEEE Smart Village is currently serving more than 50,000 people through local partners in Cameroon, Haiti, India, Kenya, Nigeria and South Sudan.
IEEE Smart Village is conducting a series of meetings co-located with the IEEE PES GM at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, Denver, Colo., 26-30 July 2015. For more information on the IEEE Smart Village meeting series and how to attend, click here.
For more information on IEEE Smart Village, including how to get involved and to donate, please visit: http://ieee-smart-village.org.
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