On May 1-2, 2013, the U.S. Department of State, Unreasonable at Sea, the Stanford d.School, and the Aspen Institute will co-host Unreasonable@State, a two-day event with workshops held at the U.S. Department of State to explore how entrepreneurs around the globe are launching innovative business approaches that leverage design thinking to tackle global challenges such as climate change, food insecurity, and poverty.

Building on Secretary of State Kerry’s agenda to strengthen development and diplomacy through economic growth, Unreasonable@State will highlight how the U.S. Government is promoting global entrepreneurship to create jobs and opportunities while addressing critical social, environmental, and development challenges.

Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Jose W. Fernandez, Acting Special Representative for Global Partnerships Thomas Debass, Unreasonable at Sea Founder Daniel Epstein, and Executive Director and Co-Founder of Stanford d.School George Kembel will deliver opening remarks highlighting the State Department’s efforts to support social entrepreneurs. In addition, USAID’s Chief Innovation Officer Maura O’Neill will lead a panel discussion featuring Jeff Hoffman, Founder of Priceline; Kudo Tsunoda, Head of Innovation at Xbox; Valerie D’Costa, Programme Manager of the World Bank’s InfoDev; and Jonathan Ortmans, President of the Global Entrepreneurship Week to discuss the role of public-private partnerships in promoting entrepreneurship and design thinking around the globe. Fifteen entrepreneurs that participated in the Unreasonable at Sea program will present their business innovations at the event.

More information about the event can be found at www.unreasonableatstate.com. Follow the conference and workshops live on Twitter through @GpiatState and @BeUnreasonable and via hashtag #unreasonableatstate.

The event will be held in the U.S. Department of State’s Dean Acheson Auditorium located at 2201 C Street, NW at 23^rd Street Entrance between C and D Streets from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

- Pre-set time for video cameras: 12:00 from the 23rd Street entrance lobby.
- Final access time for journalists and still photographers: 12:30 from the 23rd Street entrance lobby.

Media representatives may attend May 1 events upon presentation of one of the following: (1) a U.S. Government-issued identification card (Department of State, White House, Congress, Department of Defense, or Foreign Press Center), (2) a media-issued photo identification card, or (3) a letter from their employer on letterhead verifying their employment as a journalist, accompanied by an official photo identification (driver’s license or passport).

Press Contact:
Lorin Kavanaugh-Ulku, Global Partnership Initiative, U.S. Department of State, kavanaugh-ulkulm@state.gov, 202-647-0944.