New Orleans High-Tech Economic Development Announcements Set Table for an Aspen Institute/NOLABA Sponsored Socrates New Orleans Salon
New Orleans, LA – New technologies are changing the world, and New Orleans, dramatically. How we work, learn and communicate in the business world (and in our private lives) is evolving at breakneck speeds.
New Orleans is becoming known as a city for creators and innovators, the very type of people that are driving the economy’s future growth. Just in the last year, high tech companies like DXC Technology, a worldwide Fortune 250 company, and Austin-based Accruent, joined GE Digital, IBM, Align, and iMerit in choosing New Orleans for new hubs.
High Tech Yet True to Its Culture
On October 11-12th, the Aspen Institute Socrates Program and the New Orleans Business Alliance will co-host a Socrates Salon and bring thought leaders together to explore how emerging technology trends are impacting education, business and society; and what that means for the workforce, business productivity and leadership.
“The Aspen Institute Socrates Program is honored to partner with NOLABA to bring Dr. Connie Yowell, a national leader on the future of work and education, to New Orleans,” said Socrates Program Executive Director Cordell Carter. “With some recent and significant technology announcements taking place in New Orleans, what better place than the Big Easy to launch a debate and exploration of the future of work and innovation?”
The Salon, “Change and Opportunity: The Future of Work and Learning”, will examine the ways New Orleans has reinvented itself to welcome inclusive technology companies, entrepreneurship and innovation, while simultaneously staying true to its history, culture and people by providing its residents with the tools to reinvent themselves work-wise. Registration opens in August.
The Aspen Institute Socrates Program provides a forum for emerging leaders from various professions to convene and explore contemporary issues through expert-moderated dialogue. It also creates a unique professional network and engages people with ideas to move into action.
“The New Orleans Business Alliance cannot be more delighted to welcome the Aspen Institute’s Socrates Program to New Orleans,” said Quentin L. Messer Jr., NOLABA president and CEO. “Long before New Orleans became globally known as a tourism leader, the city was (and remains) a center of intellectual thought. The Socrates Program allows our city to welcome some of the foremost thought leaders to discuss an issue of vital importance to our community.”
Dr. Connie Yowell, the visionary CEO of Collective Shift, is a former policy analyst for the U.S. Department of Education during Bill Clinton’s Administration and a former associate professor at the University of Illinois.
The Socrates New Orleans Salon includes a public panel and reception on Thursday evening at 7:00pm. Yowell’s Salon seminar is October 12th from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Socrates seminars are designed for optimal balance between serious content and cross-disciplinary thought for busy professionals.
“As a hub of entrepreneurial innovation and rich history, New Orleans is a prime location to engage in this debate and consider the opportunities and challenges presented by an increasingly digital world,” Yowell said.
About the New Orleans Business Alliance
A public-private partnership between the business community and city government, the New Orleans Business Alliance is the official economic development organization for New Orleans. Formed in 2010, NOLABA’s goal is to position the city as the ideal intersection of commerce and culture. Focused on holistic economic development, NOLABA works to attract new business investments to New Orleans, assist incumbent businesses with growth, while offering New Orleans citizens comprehensive talent development programs beneficial for both jobseekers and employees alike. Economic development matters only because people matter. By pursuing an inclusive economic development strategy, all New Orleanians will have enhanced economic security.
NOLABA is an Accredited Economic Development Organization from the International Economic Development Council, the largest economic development membership organization. Only 70 economic development organizations globally and four in Louisiana have earned accreditation. Visit nolaba.org for more information.
About the Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
About the Socrates Program
The Aspen Institute Socrates Program provides a forum for emerging leaders from various professions to convene and explore contemporary issues through expert-moderated dialogue. Socrates also provides the opportunity for participants to enter into a diverse professional network, and into the broader range of the Aspen Institute’s programs. The seminars are designed as values-based Socratic explorations to facilitate the exchange of ideas. Socrates programs include day-long salons in major US cities and weekend-long seminars in Aspen and abroad. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org/socrates.
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aspen institute, economic development, New Orleans at the Center
