SXSW: International agendas drive the participation of the Government of São Paulo
The São Paulo delegation met with representatives from Dell, the Government of Quebec, Austin City Hall, among others, to discuss cooperation opportunities
InvestSPFocused on attracting investors, seeking partnerships and cooperation opportunities, the São Paulo Government delegation has a busy schedule during its participation in South by Southwest (SXSW). Meetings with delegations from other countries and international companies are being held in Austin, USA.
The delegation from the Government of São Paulo is made up of the secretaries of Culture, Economy and Creative Industry, Marília Marton, from the Civil House, Arthur Lima, from Economic Development, Jorge Lima, and Supply, Guilherme Piai, and the president of InvestSP, Rui Gomes .
To start the program, on Friday (8), the São Paulo delegation participated in the opening event of SXSW, holding networking meetings with delegations from 35 different countries. The meeting was also attended by the Mayor of Austin, Kirk Watson, the CEO of the Austin Technology Council, Thom Singer, and the Chief Programming Officer of SXSW, Hugh Forrest.
Austin and São Paulo
A meeting was then held with representatives from Opportunity Austin, a regional economic development initiative that has more than 360 partners. Austin is home to a wide variety of companies across a variety of industries, reflecting the city's status as a booming business center. At the opportunity, they were received by the CEO of Opportunity Austin, Edward Latson, and the Vice President of Global Technology and Innovation, Corey Rose.
And the program didn't stop there, Casa São Paulo welcomed the CEO of the Austin Technology Council, Thom Singer, for a meeting on cooperation opportunities between the two regions, focusing on common themes such as the semiconductor market, energy transition and innovation. The possibilities of partnerships to support investors interested in the State of São Paulo and for São Paulo companies interested in entering the North American market were also discussed.
The Government of São Paulo also met with executives from the Austin Chamber, which was one of the supporters of the mission of CreativeSP, the creative economy internationalization program, at SXSW, assisting with strategic local contacts. During the meeting, opportunities to expand the partnership for future government initiatives were discussed.
Another important meeting held was with the manager of the Cultural Investment Program, from the Economic Development Department of the City of Austin, Laura Odegaard. On the agenda were the projects and opportunities that both regions have to build a more resilient and equitable community.
Technology and inovation
Dell Technologies' Director of International Relations, John Howard, received the São Paulo Government delegation and presented the company's innovative and revolutionary direct-to-consumer business model, in addition to sustainability and social responsibility initiatives such as e-waste, and also the advanced use of IoT – internet of things – and AI – artificial intelligence – in the company's data centers.
Still focusing on technology and innovation, the XR Experience tour was held, in which the curator of XR at SXSW, Blake Kammerdiener, presented the virtual reality experiences that are trending around the world.
São Paulo and Quebec
With the aim of reinforcing the partnership between the Government of São Paulo and the Government of Quebec, in Canada, in the areas of business, innovation and cultural cooperation, the two delegations met last Sunday (10). The meeting was attended by the Minister of Economy and responsible for the Fight Against Racism of the Government of Quebec, Christopher Skeete, the delegate at the Quebec Government Office in Houston, Frédéric Tremblay, the director of Exports for the United States Market, from Investissement Québec, Dominic Cousineau, and the director of Economic Affairs at the Quebec Government Office in Houston, Ozlem Tuncel.