Technology is a bridge between us all.
Together we are European tech, united.
These were TNW CEO Myrthe van der Erves words during the opening ceremony ofTNW Conference 2022.
Tech is evolving, she says.
To stay ahead, we need to discover the next in tech, now.
Those words are more than idealism, and carry real urgency.
We seem to be hopping from health to political to economic crisis.
What better place to discover the future of tech than the startup hub that is Amsterdam?
While we see technology as a unifying force, a unifying message needs a bit more than code.
Local still trumps global
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And it certainly doesnt take into account the cultural differences.
The Dutch are different from the Danes.
And never treat a Belgian like a Dutchman even though they might speak the same language.
I face these challenges daily as I help organizations navigate this fragmented world.
Communicating across borders and cultures goes beyond language.
Your message might be on brand, but it would still be foreign.
Or take the French, who Lexi says have a highly attuned radar for everything that isnt French.
Scaling internationally and at pace is a massive challenge in and of itself.
In her experience, this leads to regulatory nightmares.
This is fundamentally true for comms too.
Access to information aside, it has had something of a cultural imperialist influence.
The basic mode of communication is English; outside that language, the amount and quality of information dwindles.
And lets not forget the online silos and echo chambers that social media has created.
TNW Conference left me optimistic about the future and how emerging technologies can break down these barriers.
Whether thats telling stories around a campfire or using digital technologies to transport our voices halfway across the world.
The TNW Conference highlighted the cracks beginning to widen in these borders that have separated us.
And that makes me incredibly excited about the future.
