The City of New Westminster is serving up an eclectic lineup of activities during Innovation Week 2018.
City council has proclaimed Feb. 23 to March 3 as Innovation Week in New Westminster. Everyone is invited to attend the opening reception in the foyer of city hall on Friday, Feb. 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., with the event including entertainment and the release of a special batch of Steel & Oak Brewing Co. beers that’s been specially created for Innovation Week.
The hackathon, a popular event during last year’s Innovation week, takes place on Saturday, Feb. 24 and Sunday, Feb. 25 at Douglas College. Using open data provided by the City of New Westminster, TransLink, Modo car coop and other partner teams will develop software and apps on this year’s transportation theme; the public is invited to view team presentations on Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m.
Children and youth are invited to get into the act on Saturday, Feb. 24 and enjoy free workshops and demonstrations at the youth centre.
Other events taking place during innovation week include: a public art tours (Saturday, Feb. 24); a non-profit town hall on the theme of “innovating your non-profit” and featuring a dialogue on diversity and inclusion (Monday, Feb. 26); a New West business and tech meetup (Monday, Feb. 26 ); an Innovation Forum put on by the Office for Small and Medium Enterprise, Public Services and Procurement Canada (Tuesday, Feb. 27); an Intelligent New West: A Smart Cities Dialogue (Wednesday, Feb. 28); a business expo (Wednesday, Feb. 28); a meeting of the Mobility Pricing Independent Commission, which makes recommendation to TransLink’s board of directors and Livable Cities event focusing on the theme of movement and mobility (Thursday, March 1); and Inspiration Day at Century House (Saturday, March 3).
The final event of Innovation Week is a PechaKucha New West event at Massey Theatre on Saturday, March 3 from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., when 10 presenters will speak about their passions, showing 20 slides lasting 20 seconds each.
Mayor Jonathan Cote said work being done in the city is about “putting New Westminster on the map” and showing the city is open to a new knowledge-based economy and supports a climate of innovation. He said Innovation Week builds on the work the city’s been doing with the Intelligent City initiative, which is attempting to foster innovation among residents, businesses and institutions.
Coun. Bill Harper said the biggest gain from last year’s Innovation Week was the partnerships the city was able to establish through the event. That included connections with organizations like the federal government and tech groups.
“When you really look at it – that’s the basic principle behind why are we doing it and what is the benefit,” he said. “The real benefit is – we have already had some pretty important tech hubs move into the city in a way that fortresses our economy and jobs. This is all a part of that integrated strategy. This has done a tremendous job.”
For details about Innovation Week, visit [email protected].
