Global Collaboration - Habitat Jam

I just spent an hour or so jamming.  Specifically, I was participating in Habitat Jam.  For the uninitiated, Habitat Jam is a Massively Parallel Conference, or MPC, in the tradition of IBM's WorldJam.  WorldJam, which took place in May 2001, was a 72-hour event to which all 320,000 IBM employees were invited to participate in discussions of cross-company issues.  Over 55,000 IBMers participated.  I was one of a handful of outside observers watching what happens when you put 55,000 people into a virtual room (see our report on WorldJam).

Habitat Jam is a 72-hour event discussed six topics of global importance, ranging from "Sustainable Access to Water", to "Finance and Governance", to "Humanity: The Future of Our Cities".  When I logged in, individuals from over 90 countries were actively participating.  7,000 people had already participated in the New Delhi Jam-related event.

The project is a gesture on the part of the Government of Canada, UN-HABITAT, and IBM to make the process of collective thinking inclusive.  It brings together experts, world leaders, and thousands of individuals who care about the future of our cities. 

It's still going on - you can join right now at http://www.habitatjam.com.