BIL:PIL founder Jonathan Sheffi sat down with us yesterday at the Myelin Repair Foundation offices and gave us the inside scoop.
Jonathan Sheffi, Founder of BIL:PIL
What follows is an MRF exclusive:
“Lanyards,” he said. “We need lanyards and name tags. We hope a pharma company or law firm will donate some lanyards, because we really could use some. Don’t those people have boxes of that stuff lying around?”
Admittedly, Sheffi did talk about the BIL:PIL conference too. He described the scheduled speakers (illuminating), the attendees (enthusiastic), and the atmosphere (collaborative). So what, exactly, is BIL:PIL?
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You may have read about the TED conference: a massive (and massively popular) annual convergence of speakers, movers, and agitators who gather to showcase the latest ideas in “Technology, Entertainment, [and] Design.”
TED quickly caught on among the digerati, and spawned a number of mini-cons including TED MED; which invites policy wonks, physicians, and authors to hold forth on trends in healthcare, medical research and technology, and consumer genetics. If you want to rub shoulders with the who’s who in healthcare, TEDMED is the place to be.
But every Ted has its Bill. Or, in this case, its “BIL.”
BIL, well, bills itself as an “unconference:” it’s participant-organized and donation-driven, and provides an irreverent counterbalance to the wide-eyed earnestness of TED.
And because everyone loves a good analogy, now there’s BIL:PIL. The BIL unconference on medical and healthcare issues, BIL:PIL will be taking place in San Diego this year on October 30 & 31. It’s scheduled on the heels of TEDMED so that the attendees of the bigger gathering can pop right over to BIL:PIL once they’re done.
It sounds like it’s going to a phenomenal exchange of ideas and an ideal networking venue for people who are passionate about healthcare. A couple of us from MRF will be there, so come by and say hi.
And if you happen to have some lanyards lying around, give Jon a call.
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For further reading on BIL:PIL, check out Dr. Val’s recent post at the Better Health Blog.
Gee, if I knew Jonathan needed lanyards I probably could have found enough (from previous medical conferences I’ve attended over the years) to supply BIL:PIL’s needs from my own home.
Nice blog!
Comment by Dr. Val — August 13, 2009 @ 7:51 pm
[...] Tierney in Creative Expression, Opportunities, Take Action on Sep 22nd, 2009 | no responses As we wrote earlier, MRF President Scott Johnson will be speaking at the BIL/PIL 2009 Conference in San Diego, CA. [...]
Pingback by Big Ideas to Real Outcomes: BIL-PIL 2009 | The Myelin Repair Foundation Blog — September 28, 2009 @ 12:53 pm