Activate is the Guardian's platform for innovators working across all sectors who are using the internet and its associated technologies to change the world.  
On 3 May 2012 some of the world's most influential and inspirational figures will once again descend on NYC's Paley Media Centre to discuss and debate the critical issues and strategies driving a more connected, creative and cohesive planet.
They'll be examining the influence of web technologies on areas as diverse as global media and finance, the environment, citizenship and access, democracy, government and accountability, education, the developing world, society, health and humanity.
Understanding how and why web technologies are reshaping almost every aspect of society poses one of the biggest questions and offers one of the greatest opportunities of our time. 

Speakers 2012: Andrew Rasiej Founder of Personal Democracy Media

Andrew Rasiej is a professional doer, futurist, social entrepreneur, and Founder of Personal Democracy Media, which publishes information and produces events about how the intersection of technology, politics, and civil society is empowering new levels of citizen engagement. Among its offerings are TechPresident an award winning blog and Personal Democracy Forum, an annual conference held in New York City in June. He is also the founder a not for profit organization called MOUSE.org focused on 21st century public education, co-founder of Mideastwire.com, which translates Arabic and Farsi news and opinion pieces into English, and serves as senior technology advisor to the Sunlight Foundation a Washington DC focused on using technology to help make government more transparent. Andrew is the chairman of the NY Tech Meetup, a 23,000-member organization of technologists, venture funders, marketers, representing start up and more mature companies working in the technology industry in New York City. He is often cited in major international news outlets such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, BBC, SkyNews, Financial Times, Le Monde, El Pais, among others. Andrew coined such terms as: We-Government, Voter-Generated Content, and Videracy, to help describe the expanding digitally connected world we all now live in.