Slush. The snow and rain are not quite as mushy or persistent as one would expect. This geek festival was named after that mixture which makes it extra cold and miserable in the Nordics this time of the year. Thank God, this year, there is a sprinkling of rain on the opening morning and as I make my way out to the train station on day 2, there is a half-hearted snow fall which I quickly brush off my hat and face.
Inside the slush hall, it is deliberately dark with neon lights and signs blinking everywhere - Meeting Place, WC (toilets), Evergreen stage, Microsoft, Danske Bank, Google start-up...an innumerable number of names and brands - the familiar and the not so familiar. Apple is conspicuous by its absence (or maybe I just missed it).
Here in these halls much dealmaking will be done; and one is reminded of smoky gambling halls. Every conversation is a pitch, for one never knows when the person you are talking to is your next investor, or an angel, or advisor. Everyone here can share a nugget that might ignite your business.
People from 132 countries we are told, 20,000 of us are gathered here to talk and hear about the current and next wave of innovations, about unicorns, and interestingly,also, about stewardship of the earth.
The Finnish are nice people, kind people, and surprisingly very Americanized - they play a lot of soul and R n B -the event starts with a duo of two black rappers; they have very American bravado in speech...no Dutch or German accents here. Everyone here we encountered is generally young and speaks English. Perhaps the proximity to Russia is what pushed them into the hands of the Americans (Finland is a young country and owes its independence to the Bolsheviks in 1917). This American link is alive at Slush; many of the innovators have spent time in Silicon Valley, and paid their dues to the gods of technology and innovation in California's ethereal streets.
But, if they were Americans, they would be nicer Americans. They retain the Nordic traits of care for the earth and human solidarity (by way of example, Finland scores first in the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals). During Slush 2018, the UN launched it's first technology station in Europe in Helsinki (UN Technology Innovation Lab), and various sessions alluded to the SDGs.
I heard about Slush for the first time, only last year. So I am privileged to have attended it; to have met interesting people and links that might come to future fruition. And here, then is the lesson for Africa, that, as Africans, there is a better use of our time than wall-to-wall religious events. While we are at fasting or at night prayers asking for miracles, some are getting together to innovate and solve problems here on earth. No miracles there.
Inside the slush hall, it is deliberately dark with neon lights and signs blinking everywhere - Meeting Place, WC (toilets), Evergreen stage, Microsoft, Danske Bank, Google start-up...an innumerable number of names and brands - the familiar and the not so familiar. Apple is conspicuous by its absence (or maybe I just missed it).
Here in these halls much dealmaking will be done; and one is reminded of smoky gambling halls. Every conversation is a pitch, for one never knows when the person you are talking to is your next investor, or an angel, or advisor. Everyone here can share a nugget that might ignite your business.
People from 132 countries we are told, 20,000 of us are gathered here to talk and hear about the current and next wave of innovations, about unicorns, and interestingly,also, about stewardship of the earth.
The Finnish are nice people, kind people, and surprisingly very Americanized - they play a lot of soul and R n B -the event starts with a duo of two black rappers; they have very American bravado in speech...no Dutch or German accents here. Everyone here we encountered is generally young and speaks English. Perhaps the proximity to Russia is what pushed them into the hands of the Americans (Finland is a young country and owes its independence to the Bolsheviks in 1917). This American link is alive at Slush; many of the innovators have spent time in Silicon Valley, and paid their dues to the gods of technology and innovation in California's ethereal streets.
But, if they were Americans, they would be nicer Americans. They retain the Nordic traits of care for the earth and human solidarity (by way of example, Finland scores first in the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals). During Slush 2018, the UN launched it's first technology station in Europe in Helsinki (UN Technology Innovation Lab), and various sessions alluded to the SDGs.
I heard about Slush for the first time, only last year. So I am privileged to have attended it; to have met interesting people and links that might come to future fruition. And here, then is the lesson for Africa, that, as Africans, there is a better use of our time than wall-to-wall religious events. While we are at fasting or at night prayers asking for miracles, some are getting together to innovate and solve problems here on earth. No miracles there.
