The State Department and the Graduate School of Business (GSB) jointly hosted the Rio+2.0 conference last week to discuss the use of technology and social media in advancing sustainable development solutions, according to the Stanford Center for Social Innovation.

The conference, held Feb. 2 to Feb. 4, was in preparation for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development that will be held in Rio de Janeiro June 20 to 22.

“We will explore existing and proposed technologies and the opportunities as well as attributes of the innovation culture, and the role of governments and civil society in fostering broader innovation,” the U.N. web page on the Stanford conference states. “The event will be interactive, combining talks and panels with audience participation through breakout sessions and a final ‘unconference’ session.”

More than 400 global policymakers, development professionals and technology innovators attended the conference, according to the State Department website. Government representatives from the Department of Agriculture, the Department of State, the Environmental Protection Agency, the White House and the Governments of Kenya and Indonesia spoke at the conference in the Knight Management Center.

Executives from CMEA Capital, eParachute.com, ESRI, goBalto, Google, Guidewire Group, Intel, Omidyar Network, OpenIDEO, O’Reilly Media, Mightybell, Noventi Quick Eagle Networks, Yola, Inc. and Yonja Media Group were among the private sector attendees.

— Alice Phillips