Put Your Finger On the Global Pulse

The US Government this week launched Global Pulse 2010.  Global Pulse is a way to reach out to those affected by US policies and ask key questions and get ideas that will help us better shape these policies to improve lives around the world. 

Between now and Wednesday, thousands of people from over 130 countries are participating together virtually  to find shared solutions to common challenges, engage with US foreign policy leadership, and simply connect with each other -- through an online event called Global Pulse 2010. What we hear will help inform how we can fulfill the President’s vision of a foreign policy based on mutual interest and mutual respect, including a more comprehensive engagement with the world around common challenges. Sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with the Departments of State, Education, Commerce, and Health and Human Services, Global Pulse will engage participants to collaborate on discussions around pressing societal challenges, build upon each other’s contributions, and identify ways of moving forward. 

As the Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, and someone who has worked throughout my career to spur entrepreneurship -- both social and business -- in countries across the world, I am proud to serve as a Jam Host for the forum Advancing Entrepreneurship, Trade and Economic Opportunity. In my first post, I challenged participants to define entrepreneurship and identify which policies best create a supportive environment for entrepreneurship at the national, regional, and local levels.  I look forward to learning from the diverse experiences shared in these conversations -- ranging from academia, government, civil society, non-profits, business and the private sector -- and understanding how to catalyze entrepreneurship and innovation in a way that best works in communities around the world.

In his June 4, 2009 speech in Cairo, President Obama stated, “There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from one another, and to seek common ground.”  Global Pulse 2010 answers this call to engage and partner with the international community in a meaningful way.  And you can still participate:  I encourage you to visit Global Pulse 2010 and join me and my colleagues from across the government in this conversation over the next few days.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Sonal Shah is Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation