Michael Roberts

Michael has had an interest in the application of technology especially as a tool for communication and collaboration.

The power of these ideas and many others created enough interest and momentum for Michael and two fellow colleagues to create @ Communications, an early Internet Start-up that helped put many of Canada’s music stars online for the very first time. Such artists included Anne Murray, Rita MacNeil, Stompin Tom Connors, The Rheostatics, 13 Engines, Tom Cochrane, and many others.

Michael later joined the Bellanet International Secretariat, c/o IDRC, and based in Ottawa Canada. Bellanet was a pioneer in the use of collaborative technology and knowledge sharing. It was during that time that Michael helped to create collaborative workspaces that later evolved into Dgroups.   Michael also initiated the creation of an XML markup language initially called DML or Development Markup Language, later to be adopted by the World Bank and the Development Gateway Foundation as the IDML standard.   AiDA, now Aiddata.org is the largest free and online International Development project/activity repository.

More recently Michael worked as Executive Director of Bellanet, helping to support its continued work and expansion of developing country partners in Costa Rica, Uganda, and Nepal. Today Michael is exploring social entrepreneurship, and ways to create social and economic collaboration between organizations and people in emerging markets such as Nepal, and established markets in North America and Europe and is excited to be part of the YIPL team.