And rightly so. The choice of new venue was brave and as far as we can tell, well attended. The Square Space is one that we have visited before after some suggestions from others who are involved in similar ventures.
The team with which #swarm17 was designed and prepared is also a formidable one. It consists of select group of staff from HiveColab as well as a team of sponsors and supporters such as MTN, Dignited, Andela Hive Colab and Seacom.
The event is also taking place in the shadow of another (Economic Summit) event...no this event at least as far as I can see will cast its own shadows. It is going to consist of two days of 'grassroots heavy' engagement from people who matter and will do so by tackling:
1. Policy
2. Connectivity
3. Diversity: Time to ElevetHer?
4. News and Media
5. Social Media (New Media): Turning the World Upside Down
6. Investment
7. Startup Sense
8. Finance and Technology
9. The Digital Marketplace
9b. Sponsors Space
10. Hardware Innovation
11. What it takes to be Top Female Innovator: Giving her a square of her own in a clearly masculine world and space.
These summaries are my own but they are a useful measure of the scope of the activity that will take place. For most of our time here we will hear from that are getting their hands dirty in business.
There are a few hours left to the event and as before some conflict of timetables will take place. But those few dying minutes will be spent recreating the timetable for my own use as well as for TwitterRatti. In order to get the most of this we will dive right in and be fully immersed.
On the home front the range of activities will also experience a slight disruption. Apart from the occasional gardening, I will venture into an the untapped space of construction. Perhaps this will make the trip back to workshop and summit land a little more attractive? So we emerge from hiding callous hands still throbbing armed with relatively smart phone and a glorified kabiriti (with a neat torch...for night time travel) and a sense of hope for a buzzy fun filled day where I might even get to talk about drones (in the hardware panel).
I might be criticized for making reference to some of the speakers as heavy hitters but...this is what they are to me. People who distinguish themselves by being part of the creative space integrating with media in...putting it mildly troubled times.
