The Web Summit. How to define my experience of it? Fabulous is probably an understatement as I believe no one word can fully grasp the richness of these 4 days. And paradoxically, though it is one of the most acclaimed tech and business events in the world, the treasure itself are the people behind all of the tech. 71,033 attendees, 42% of which were women, to be more precise. 160 countries, 17 stages, 26 content tracks ranging from AI all the way to environmental issues, health, communication and more, 2296 startups, 1081 investors, over 2000 members of the media, 342 partners, 1050 speakers…
The sheer enormity of the numbers speaks for itself, however, each of these numbers is a whole universe - a person. All along through the event, I felt honoured to be amongst so many human beings with big dreams and the courage to implement them in ways I still fail to fully comprehend, as the fast pace of technological advancement is something that is still settling into my cells, after this massive exposure to the real deal.
There was controversy, innovation, open-minded discussion and debate, questioning of the status quo, the purposes and the outcomes, countless perspectives on the hottest themes we are all faced with, all happening simultaneously, be it in conversations taking place in the many lounges and meeting rooms, be it on the stages or in the food court, on the street or amongst the audience.
I had been meaning to attend the Web Summit since 2017/18 and now I finally did. My purpose: to learn. To evolve, To open new horizons within me. After all, though I am not what one would call a tech or finance expert, very far from it, tech and finance serve and influence me every single day, as they do every earthling, so I figured it’s about time I discover more about what is really going on in these fields.
And what a fortunate opportunity to be able to have access to the Women in Tech highly discounted tickets - Web Summit’s pledge to achieve 51% of female attendance, bringing about more equal opportunities in the world of business as part of UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 5 - Gender Equality.
And this year there was the added bonus of the first Book Summit - all about being an author and publisher in this day and age - which I am. And then the Planet Tech and the Future Societies stages and the Growth Summit and the Crypto and Money Conf and the Health Conf and the Content Makers and the Corporate Innovation Summit and even the Sports and Fashion and Music Conferences and the Night Summit… and more, so much more that I honestly could not get to it all. Especially it being my first time here and me just allowing myself to bathe in the whole thing, with no rush and absolute respect for my rhythm and pace.
I come away with the feeling that something this massive needs more days, eventually half of them with talks and stages and the other half just for networking. With my heart filled with such a level of gratitude and abundant joy, celebration and faith in humanity that again words would be limited to describe - so I will share my feeling instead, with a breath, beyond the words, in the spaces in-between.
Some time ago I would have felt very challenged to be amidst so many people at once, as the energetic impact it would have had on my body would have been quite uncomfortable, considering I was hyper sensitive to people’s thoughts and feelings as my own extra sensorial senses were becoming more present to me and developing, but none of that happened this time and for me it is one of the greatest gifts possible - to be able to be amongst an immense crowd and remain in my own Presence, feeling the bliss, love and peace in my heart and being able thus to be this that I Am, more completely than ever, no matter where or with whom, with no physical discomfort. This in itself is a richness grander than all of the billions and trillions of dollars that were discussed throughout the conference because now I get to be able to love and admire my fellow humans even more, as we share the same space, at the same time, anywhere around the world. And this, in turn, allows us all to be even more in synch with each other to honour this magnificent planet and all of its creatures and use our intelligence wisely to bring about the economic and social revolution that is underway right now and that speaks of loving more than fearing, of implementing trust more than hatred, of coming together for the common good and for our own greater good, more than persisting in staying divided.
Individually and collectively, what I come away with from this incredible Web Summit is with the knowingness that “this can be done” and that brings tears of joy to my eyes.
So thank you. To each and every single person present, be it staff, speakers or attendees. And of course a big and long hug of gratitude to the organisers who keep on allowing themselves to defy the meaning of “possible” and came up with this idea of a Web Summit in the first place.
I could say so much more, but I feel there is no need right now, as silence itself speaks volumes as well and each one can drink from it in their own unique way, free to be and explore whatever your heart invites.
The rest of the pics are of the special moments in-between…
And of course, one of the most special ones was the extraordinary immersive experience of what is usually called a concert but which gains a different depth and meaning when it is Estas Tonne creating the sound of who we are. So grateful it happened to be exactly on the first day of the Summit (not part of it) and I got to be there to listen and swim in it live. Thank you Estas Tonne, for coming to Lisbon, Portugal right now!!! The message again, in sound and in words, was Faith in Humanity, coming back to the pure innocence of who we truly are, on this soul journey of being human. Remember. Which is nothing but - come back together, within and all around.
Hmmm and the ocean… Iconic symbol of infinite horizons and the immense oneness of all that is.
Ah and… Twinkle! The most loving little kitty I have ever come across and which happened to show up out of nowhere in my garden on Saturday (29th Oct), just a few days before the Summit. After asking around to find out whether he belonged to any of my neighbours - going up and down the street in search of his home - I had to come to terms with the fact that he had chosen my home to be his, which was not hard at all, as he is just adorable! And he sure is wise because he chose an extended family that is in love with him through and through so when I left him with Joana, Rafael, Barbara, Sofia and Ivo he felt at home as much as he felt at my place. So yeah! Now I/we have a kitty named Twinkle because he sparkles bright like the stars in the sky and brings delight to all of our hearts.
And to make us even more grateful, when Joana who came to spend the weekend at the beach with me, and Î were leaving the Hotel, we were happily surprised by being charged 20€ less than we had initially been told, despite our room being amongst the best. We had to smile at how life keeps on giving us its gifts, small and large and in endlessly creative ways.
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