Fail Faire DC 2012

Fail Faire DC was back for another year of celebrating failure as a mark of innovation and risk-taking. We had have great speakers with fun, fast, Ignite-style presentations of their professional failures.

Audience participation was not only encouraged, it was mandatory! We are all peers and none of us is perfect. We had much laughter as we navel-gazed at where we have all gone wrong in ICT and international development.

Yet don’t forget that we are all here to LEARN from failure. Failure is no reason to be ashamed. Failure shows leadership, innovation, and risk-taking in pushing the boundaries of what is possible in scaling ideas from pilots to global programs.

At Fail Faire DC 2012, there was great value in examining our mistakes as we go beyond the easy and the simple. So while we encouraged irreverence and humor, we didn’t forget to learn something too. Fail Faire DC 2012 was hosted by the World Bank on Friday, November 16, in downtown Washington, DC.

Featured Speakers

• Dr. Tessie San Martin, CEO, Plan International USA
• Aleem Walji, Director, Innovation Labs, World Bank Institute
• Patty Mechael, Executive Director, mHealth Alliance
• Sean McDonald, CEO, FrontlineSMS
• Christine Prefontaine, Founder, Facilitating Change
• James Bontempo, Director of ICT & Innovation, JHU-CCP
• Carol Waters, Technical Advisor, Internews
• Merrick Schaefer, Senior Innovation Specialist, World Bank
• Neelley Hicks, Special Projects Manager, United Methodist Communications
• Dustin Homer, Associate, Development Gateway

Event Photos

Wondering how it went? Check out the photo stream from the event.