One night a year, leaders in the technology and innovation sector gather for what some call the Oscars of Silicon Valley, where in a glamorous setting they turn their attention to the importance of not so glamorous technologies.
Launched in 2000, The Tech Awards is a program of the Tech Museum of Innovation, located in San Jose, California. This year was a retrospective of the past 15 years was recognizing technology that benefits humanity. Devex spoke with some of the leaders gathered about the ways innovation can improve lives in low resource settings.
“The key lessons were that smart, dedicated innovators who invest the time to learn what people living in poverty around the world actually want and need, can develop technological solutions that really make a difference,” said Craig Stephens, director of the public health program at Santa Clara University, and judging supervisor for The Tech Awards.
About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.
