Calendar: November’s Business and Cultural Events

tue, november 04
Flush
World Toilet Summit & Expo
Macau

"Open defecators see no reason to own toilets," says Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organization and summit organizer. Here's one: The 2.5 billion people world- wide without access to a WC drain developing nations' economies. Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, for example, lose an estimated $9 billion a year due to poor sanitation, according to a report by World Bank economist Guy Hutton to be presented at the event. How do you create demand? Make potties a status symbol! "Toilets will have to be sold like Prada products," says Sim, the rare man who uses the word "excreta" in conversation. At the same time, they must be affordable, so think Ikea's business model -- mass production, low price, and great design. Something to ponder in one of the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel's eight lobby restrooms. -- David Lidsky

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tue, november 04
Fuel
Energy 2030
Abu Dhabi

Given that oil has bought pretty much everything that Abu Dhabi has, the emirate has been remarkably pragmatic in planning for a less fossil-fuel-reliant future. Two years ago, it announced the Masdar Initiative, a plan for a city powered entirely by renewable energy. If that project's motives seemed too image-conscious and perhaps far-fetched, the Energy 2030 conference might help substantiate Abu Dhabi's alt-fuel ambitions. Some stars of the energy scene -- including peak-oil theorist Matthew Simmons -- will gather to imagine the world's power structure 22 years from now and what can be done to ensure that it's less dependent on oil and gas. -- Chip McCorkle

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wed, november 05
Solve
Web 2.0 Summit
San Francisco

The organizers of this summit have huge faith in Web 2.0: This year's theme is how the Net could solve everything from global warming to genocide. Each speaker will have 10 minutes to explain. Expect big-conference regulars (Mark Zuckerberg! Arianna Huffington! Al Gore!) to wax lyrical about the wisdom of Web crowds and their values -- openness, optimism, entrepreneurship. If there's anything bigger than their talk, it's their ambition. "It's never 'Is it too big a problem?' " says program chair John Battelle. "It's 'Is it big enough?' " -- JLA

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thu, november 06
Give
Philanthropy Roundtable Annual Meeting
Naples, Florida

There's an art to charitable giving. And for participants of this exclusive event -- reserved for those who plan to give away at least $1 million in the next year -- it's not easy, especially with increased calls for transparency and government oversight in the ballooning nonprofit sector. Newark mayor Cory Booker and Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy, a longtime philanthropist, will speak, and sessions will eschew happy talk in favor of "vigorous debate," says Philanthropy Roundtable president Adam Meyerson. For instance, microfinance leader Maria Otero of Acción will square off against Shell Foundation director Kurt Hoffman on the best approach to eradicating poverty: Should it come from the grassroots empowerment of the poor, or can it happen effectively only with big business and market-building intervention? -- Jennifer Vilaga