The interactive segment of SXSW is coming to an end, and we, too, are saying goodbye to Austin. Time for a recap: What remains of the Texas tech festival?
As we reflect on the past few days at SXSW, an image comes to mind: people standing in line. In front of conference rooms, at trade show booths, in front of bars and restaurants—people are waiting everywhere in Austin. It often happens that the back of the line isn't allowed in. Those turned away usually leave the scene calmly. The Americans' composure is admirable. The few people in line who complain usually don't speak English.
“The most important thing is preparation”
However, it must be said: The wait is worth it! The quality of the sessions and the speakers is exceptional. Maria Driesel, CEO and co-founder of Inveox, says to Munich Startup:
"SXSW is ideal for networking, and the sessions are great. A highlight for us was Joe Biden's talk."
The former US Vice President presented his initiative against cancer on Sunday.
Photo: Munich Startup
Also Toposens-Co-founder Tobias Bahnemann draws a positive conclusion:
"SXSW has been a really exciting event for us so far. We've also been able to make some great contacts."
He cannot yet say whether Toposens will be back at SXSW next year:
“We invest a lot of time in it, so maybe only one of us would come, even though it’s definitely a great event.”
Maria Driesel and her co-founder Dominik Sievert However, they announce that they will definitely travel to Austin again. The Inveox CTO says:
"The most important thing is preparation: Which sessions do I want to attend and who else is there? You sometimes meet people here who would otherwise be very difficult to connect with."
Using technology to combat hate
One of the exceptional speakers at SXSW is Jonathan GreenblattIn a panel discussion with the editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune Evan Smith The CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)—one of the oldest and most effective civil rights organizations in the United States—spoke about the current explosion of crimes against American minorities, especially Jews. Greenblatt previously worked as an advisor to Barack Obama.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRjeDgODLhD/
Antisemitism, according to Greenblatt, has always existed in the United States. But the rapid rise in hate crimes and threats against Jews is historically unprecedented. He also considers the communications of the new President Donald Trump to be one of the triggers of the wave of hate: While he is certainly not an anti-Semite, his refusal to respond to hate crimes and his failure to mention Jews in Holocaust commemoration addresses and encourages anti-Semites. Greenblatt also relies on modern technology as a means of combating hate: The ADL wants to support the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to filter hate comments online.
Winner in interview
At the pitch competition held at the German Haus, Deoxy won the Health Startups category, securing a €15,000 media budget from Heise Publishing. In the Wearables category, Antelope from Nuremberg took home the win and the media budget. If you want to learn more about Deoxy, check out today's video from WERK1. Florian Bergmann talks to the winners about SXSW and the Bayern Munich party the night before at the German Haus:
https://www.facebook.com/werk1muenchen/videos/790237007790208/
Here you can find the other articles from our SXSW diary:
SXSW – Day 1: How weird is Austin?
