{"id":14465,"date":"2024-04-09T11:09:24","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T09:09:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kingkong-mag.com\/?p=14465"},"modified":"2024-04-30T11:45:03","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T09:45:03","slug":"wallonia-sxsw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingkong-mag.com\/en\/wallonia-sxsw\/","title":{"rendered":"Wallonia at SXSW: being inspired, networking and understanding future trends"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nSouth by Southwest (SXSW) took place from March 8 to 16, in Austin, Texas. A festival of music, cinema and emerging technologies, first held in 1987 and considered the largest digital, innovation and creativity gathering in the world. This year, 17 Walloon organisations were in attendance. Why is it so vital to take part in it? What are they hoping to gain? And in what frame of mind do they return to Belgium? We put these questions to them between two talks\/receptions\/networking sessions.\n\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n

SXSW<\/a>, four letters we often heard mentioned at kingkong. An event we had been told was THE most important digital, innovation and creativity gathering. <\/strong>An event which professionals the world over would not miss for any reason. And they weren\u2019t lying. SXSW is much like the United States itself: immense! This year, with kingkong, we were lucky enough to travel there as part of the Walloon delegation, with the whole trip being arranged by the Walloon Export and Foreign Investment Agency (AWEX<\/a>) and WBI<\/a> (Wallonie Bruxelles International). We were inspired, we made discoveries, we networked and\u2026 in a word, we were totally mind-blown. But we will explore that aspect in another article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In total, 17 Walloon organisations flew away to Austin, Texas, starting from March 7. On March 8, the first arrivals met up at the Mort Subite, Austin\u2019s Belgian Bar. All wearing the wake! (By Digital Wallonia)<\/a> baseball caps. A brand-new label which represents the creative community in Wallonia. An initiative driven by the KIKK<\/a> non-profit association, within the remit of one of its missions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Entrepreneurs, project owners, researchers, academics discuss and share the reasons for their presence in Austin. \u2018To get inspired,\u2019 is the immediate response offered by Alexandra G\u00e9rard<\/a>, managing director of Stereopsia<\/a>, the premier avant-garde XR event in Europe. \u2018I am here for XR: the experiences, the talks, the pitches, and the people. It\u2019s the place to be to meet the international XR community. I am aiming to boost Stereopsia\u2019s visibility. This Walloon delegation context is important as well, not solely for the financial support, but for the close contact which gives us a week of communal life together.\u2019 \u2018We are stronger when we are all together in terms of brand and representation\u2019, confirms H\u00e9loise Devaux<\/a>, business development director at La Grand Poste<\/a>. Even more so when we are part of the wake! label. Being all together, being supported by the AWEX and the WBI, makes us stronger than if we had each turned up as a small organisation independent of one another.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of the network<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is the second time that H\u00e9loise Devaux is taking part in SXSW. Her objective? To get La Grand Poste talked about internationally. \u2018My aim is for it to become an unmissable site when people come to Belgium. I also want to go and meet other creative hubs and incubators. Amongst these valuable contacts, H\u00e9loise cites Jeanne Dorelli<\/a>, Senior Director for Strategy and Operations at Z\u00fa<\/a>. This Quebec incubation programme supports and propels entrepreneurs who use technology to revolutionise the creative industries, in generating innovative projects and world class intellectual properties. \u2018We got in touch last year, and we bumped into each other by chance at the Belgian drinks reception. It means we can share our experiences and offer facilities to the startups we support, even if La Grand Poste is a meta-incubator.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The network. Everyone agrees, it\u2019s the most important aspect. After only 48 hours of attendance, G\u00e9r\u00f4me Vanherf<\/a>, Director of La Grand Poste, considers that he could go back to Belgium. \u2018I could return already and I would have everything I wished for. It\u2019s not only a question of meeting new people, but of maintaining the connections, spending a few nice moments with the people we know and who we might only meet once a year.\u2019 It was on returning from its first visit to SXSW in 2017 that Wallifornia Music Tech<\/a> was created, a music and technologies innovation programme developed in partnership with LeanSquare<\/a>, Les Ardentes<\/a>, the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre de Li\u00e8ge<\/a> and the KIKK festival<\/a>, whose objective is to make Belgium a touchstone in terms of innovation in the music industry. \u2018The impression I have regarding my fourth participation in SXSW is very positive. I can see, in all humility, that the Wallifornia brand is functioning very well on an international level. We really maintain very strong links with Austin and the whole delegation attending this event. That also means we can come and meet startups, discover the innovations, see what is going on. And above all to attract speakers, investors, entrepreneurs to our conference and our accelerator, held each year in Li\u00e8ge.\u2019 The next edition will take place from July 9 to 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Li\u00e8ge creative sector is widely represented at SXSW. Coralie Doyen<\/a>, Program & Partnership Leader at Noshaq<\/a>, is also attending. Her aim here, curating the Wallifornia Music Tech. \u2018For me, who creates programmes, puts in place conferences, events, it\u2019s exactly what I need. I would love to meet people working in the music industry in the Latin countries, South America or Africa. I have come here with that focus in mind and I hope to leave with several key avenues and profiles.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Une publication partag\u00e9e par kingkong (@kingkong.kikk)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>