Sunday, May 19, 2024

Nordic Innovation Summit

 It seems that not only does the chilly weather make people stronger but also keeps people energized, and more optimistic about the future to make a difference

When I headed back from Vancouver to Seattle I participated in the Nordic Innovation Summit event so I could learn more about Nordic culture and the ideal philosophy they intend to advocate. 

The innovation summit was held in the local Nordic museum. The museum exhibits Nordic art culture, which includes crafts, paintings architecture, costumes, etc. The Nordic Region consists of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, quite many immigrants from those regions moved to Seattle and made a significant impact on the local culture decades ago. 

The Nordic Innovation Summit advocates environmental protection, equal opportunities, advanced technologies, public transportation affordable healthcare, etc,

I walked through the exhibition inside the museum. It displays the crafts made of different materials, some contemporary art paintings, and the costumes and tools that Nordic people used to make a living. Some say Nordic people are the happiest in the world. Is it true? The staff there cheered me up as she told me that I was the only person with a last name starting with “Z.” I told her that Z represented "zest in innovation."


The agenda of the conference was very fulfilling. I went there a bit late due to traffic. But I was at the right time to participate in a few speeches about how AI and other emerging technologies impact our society from a global perspective and how those technologies could reinvent Nordic culture as well. Many speakers and audience flew from Europe to the US to participate in the event; they looked friendly and enjoyed their travel. Here are the highlights of the agenda:

  • Nordic-US Collaboration for Livable Urban Futures
  • Urban Innovation Crossing the Atlantic
  • No Infrastructure? No Problem for Clean Hydrogen
  • Washington as a Hydrogen Hub
  • The Nordics and the State of Washington
  • Pioneer the Possible
  • Advanced Nuclear: Key Element in the Clean Energy Transition
  • Thought Leaders in Next-Generation Nuclear Energy
  • From Vikings to Vanguard: The Nordics in the new security environment
  • Accelerate climate action with Renewable solutions
  • 5G as the Glue That Integrates Wireless and Cloud
  • AI Deployment - Trainwreck or Trailblazer
  • Responsible AI:A Global Perspective
  • A Nordic Perspective on Generative AI
  • How Adaptive AI is Protecting Consumers
  • Industrial Symbiosis as a pathway to sustainable economic development
  • Collaboration to Make Stockholm Climate-Neutral by 2030
  • How to "Energize" Lund for Climate-Neutrality
  • A look at sustainable aviation at the fastest-growing airport in the US and the world's leading producer of Sustainable Aviation Fuel
  • Trans-Atlantic exchanges enhance learning and drive innovation

There were a few seminars brainstorming climate changes, clean energy, technology and transportation, sustainable economic development and society, etc. Although I only participated in the event for a couple of hours, I felt more connected with Nordic culture. It seems that not only does the chilly weather make people stronger, but also keeps people energized, and more optimistic about the future to make a difference.

 

The Nordic Innovation Summit is a yearly event held in Seattle, Washington, designed to foster collaboration and exchange of ideas between the innovative ecosystems of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. My two cents of suggestions for the event: Make the seminars more interactive, it seems there was not enough time for people to ask questions. Also, the organizations could hold a series of events to educate more people about related cultures and philosophies to advance a hyperconnected and interdependent global society.




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