A confluence of thought leaders

From the creators of Confluence Festival comes a thought series featuring leaders from local tech, design, education and creative firms.

The two-day event is titled “Unlocking Creative Capacity: How to Grow a Rainforest Innovation Ecosystem” and is scheduled to take place April 16 and 17 at Kendall College of Art and Design. The series will explore a community efforts to expand creative capacity across the region.

“Rainforests flourish because of biodiversity and a balance between collaboration and competition,” said Brian Cohen, Executive Director of Confluence. “This year’s series explores how that dynamic can be applied to innovation ecosystems to create an open network that expands diversity, creates rapid paths to market and achieves value in cooperating within competition. By challenging conventional norms, our region can create a system that connects accelerator programs, innovation hubs, capital, government agencies, and startups in ways that achieve results beyond the sum of their individual capacities.”

Founded in 2021, Confluence is a multi-dimensional ideas festival that connects the worlds of art, music, science, and technology through programs and shared experiences. The team produces a range of programming each spring and fall.

At the 2024 spring eventt attendees will have an opportunity to go behind the scenes at some of the city’s most innovative organizations. Each visit will be hosted in the offices where the ideas come to life.

“We are excited to be part of an event that explores important ideas and engages in serious conversation that affects our entire innovation community,” added Chip LaFleur, CEO of LaFleur Marketing and Orchard Insights. “This series is a great example of startups, entrepreneurs and established companies all coming together to find new and interesting ways for our region to thrive.”

Tickets and complete details are available here .