Web Summit 2021 : Lisbon World Capital of Innovation Because Carlos Moedas Is The Mayor of Innovation

The newly appointed mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, was the first official of the host city, Lisbon, to take the stage.

Carlos Moedas is not stranger to the Web Summit. During his opening speech he confirmed to have previously attended the event notably in 2016. According to the Mayor, that Web Summit was very important to him as regards to networking. That is during that event that he met key individuals whom, as he stated, “helped him in his [then] career” , as an European Commissioner.

These new connections are also what helped him create the European Innovation Council.

I’m the Mayor of Innovation. My DNA, my friends, is Innovation.

Mayor Carlos Moedas during his opening speech at the Web Summit 2021 in Lisbon

Through a story of Steve Job, Founder of Apple, recounted by biographer Walter Issac son, related to the importance of details, the Mayor of Lisbon conveys a message that, details are important but also that, nothing should be left undone in a project. The emphasis was put on the fact that, every single detail has its importance.

Because of that [McIntosh engineers signing their name inside the computer boxes] detail, they were great.

Mayor Carlos Moedas during his opening speech at the Web Summit 2021 in Lisbon

Sustainability & Innovation

Sustainability is an important issue moreso today with the issue concerning the Climate Changed. The issue was discussed during the G20 summit and now at the COP 26 Summit.

The Mayor of Innovation talked about sustainability and the dream of “making cities carbon neutral“. As far as he is concerned, the details of that sustainability is that “you can make transportation free to people so that they don’t use their cars”.

The Mayor continued to discuss another sustainability issue, energy poverty. It is a challenge for every single home to heat their own every winter. In order to have a sustainable country, one has to fight energy poverty, said he. However, Moedas is certain that, with the right details, these issues could be fixed.

Those are the details that I will work [on] in Lisbon

Mayor Carlos Moedas during his opening speech at the Web Summit 2021 in Lisbon

Concerning Innovation, his dream to to make Lisbon the World Capital of Innovation, he said. And for that to be possible, one of his many steps for Lisbon to be able to attract new businesses, like the ones present at the Web Summit but also to be able to keep them in Lisbon through the offering of business opportunities through innovation.

Another dream is in the founding of the Lisbon Unicorn Factory. The Mayor made the promise to have that project going next year. According to Moedas, the Lisbon Unicorn Factory is a “place where young people can transform their ideas into businesses” thus creating jobs and purposes.

Moedas closed his speech with a message that, Lisbon is the right place to do that [innovate] and that Lisbon is the “only city that intersects details and dreams“.

Whatever you do in life,

Whatever is your project,

Dream big

Go deep on the details

Mayor Carlos Moedas during his opening speech at the Web Summit 2021 in Lisbon.

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