We will organize the first Xprize think tank in Spain in order to tackle some of humanity greatest challenges locally
“No matter what the problem is, technology is always part of the solution.” We use this slogan both for the emerging technology conferences EmTech and internally to define the company´s philosophy. But we are not alone in relying on technology as a tool, the Xprize Foundation, our new partner, also believes that the most visionary minds and technologies can change the world.
This global organization based in California (USA) organizes think tanks around the world which unite the most influential professionals from the technological sector to debate and generate solutions to specific problems. In their effort to expand the reach of their goals, Xprize has commissioned us to organize the first think tank in Spain. The initiative will be celebrated in Madrid and will kick off in September. The Spanish capital will be the eleventh city worldwide to put their local gurus at the service of society.
On a global scale, the problems which the foundation aims to address are related to the energy crisis, space exploration and the possibilities of biomedicine, amongst others. However, one of the key aspects of Xprize´s global community is to “allow each local think tank to independently identify the areas in which they wish to work”, as indicated by one of the initiative´s founders, Jono Bacon.
Our CEO, Pedro Moneo, explains, “We want to create a think tank that unites people concerned about Spain´s important challenges, and resolve these problems through innovation, technology and entrepreneurialism”. This way of working, which combines local and global concepts “allows us to share knowledge across communities to create impact elsewhere”, Bacon says.
Each think tank decides on the actions which they want to carry out, from meetings and conferences to prototyping ideas for participation in the global competitions organized by Xprize. Bacon says that this way of working is a challenge in itself: “We still have no answers as to what will become of this community, but part of the goal is to pave the way for many people to get involved.”
In order to pave the way in Madrid, Xprize chose us to “coordinate the community and inspire more people to participate,” according to Bacon. Initially, we will be responsable for creating a workgroup which will begin to discuss the challenges to be addressed and the actions to be performed, followed by the consolidation of this community. “Opinno will be the organization that makes the magic happen,” states Bacon.
Since the beginning of their enterprise seven years ago, we have worked to create a community focused on innovation and technology. The production of events like EmTech and the Harvard Business Review (HBR) Summit, as well as competitions like Innovators Under 35 have made us the ideal partner for the launch of the Xprize community in Madrid.
