OPENING WORDS BY FOUNDER, TIMOTHY ROWE
Venture Café was amongst the first convenors to transition to virtual programming as the pandemic emerged, and similarly, in 2022, we were also amongst the first to reintroduce largescale physical events as the virus receded.
Being there to support our communities when and how they need is something we pride ourselves on.
I believe we all share a view that the world faces many challenges. I believe we also share a view that there are relatively few obvious avenues to fix these problems, but that one avenue, arguably the most promising avenue, that can address many… is innovation.
New, creative ideas implemented at scale have the power to solve global problems. New genetic technologies cure diseases. New energy technologies cleanly power our communities and farms. New ways to spread and share information and promote learning and understanding, and make everything around us operate more efficiently, with less waste.
Venture Café is, and has always been a place for people to come together and share solutions like this, to find like-minded individuals, and to open doors to make solutions and ideas like this have a better chance of seeing the light of day. Past and present Venture Café participants have done all of these things. And these technologies move the needle.
Globally, we have empowered over 600K innovators, creatives, developers and civicminded leaders for nearly 15 years in 11 cities around the world, building a global community of communities.
Once people get to know Venture Café, they quickly realize that it is a vital, needed component of any innovation ecosystem. I encourage you to discover why!
Timothy Rowe
Founder & Chair, Venture Café Global Institute
