Web Summit is near. Taking you down to Lisbon city where ideas are green and the sunlight is pretty

I grew up in Lisbon. Not in the poster picture narrow streets of the old neighborhood of Alfama, nor the glamorous and nostalgia prone Chiado, but in a surrounding area, where I could have access to the bustling center of the city in few minutes but also retreat to a quieter place, whenever I wanted to.

(Hey, if in your idea of paradise, traffic isn’t featured, stop reading here :)

During these years not much has changed in the places that used to represent the city and, therefore, to attract tourists. They are more or less the same now, except for eastern areas of the city such as Parque das Nações or Marvila, that are now also suitable for some touristy exploration.

Perhaps the (increasingly difficult) traffic is the main noticeable change when looking at former postcard pictures, it can be now endured or evaded through an array of options uch as Tuk Tuks or the recently implemented bike scheme, instead of carriages (that by the way you can see at the new Museu dos Coches — a major public investment).

Tuk Tuk over the tram tracks and next to the bikes at the World Bike Tour Event, in downtown Lisbon

The startup scene

But yet another thing has changed that is not as noticeable by looking at postcards is the the tech or startup scene. Nowadays it is (perhaps too) common to see co-working spaces emerging out of the woodwork, inside the façades of elegant buildings or old wharehouses alike, where one has to be somewhat indiscreet to learn about what others— typing away furiously on their computer- are working on.

Some startups have conquered national and international stardom, and are mentioned when Wired or another tech publications, make a list of the hottest players on the block. For locals, the same names have been replayed over and over again, begging for some new players — perhaps those typing away in co-working spaces — to come along.

Now even the most conservative companies from traditional sectors have incubator programs aiming to attract young people looking to be the ones to cash in the final prize. Nevermind that, many times, the company itself doesn’t use any of these ideas nor incorporates the agility of development of these new ideas into its own DNA — and uses it just as something more like marketing thing, like corporate social responsibility used to be some years ago — but you can argue is a start.

Web Summit

Perhaps the event that has mostly contributed to the normalization and social acceptance of entrepreneurship was Web Summit — the world’s largest tech conference brought to town last year, and with still one more year to go, to fullfill the agreement established with the Portuguese Government. It used to be hosted in Dublin, Ireland, but after fallout of the founder — Paddy Cosgrave — with the Irish Governament, is started to look for warmer destinations.

Many tech events remain attractive to a somewhat tech or business clientele, but this was given so much focus that is now somewhat also a social events where you can find your friend that is a physician, your other friend that is a school teacher or even your aunt (if they could afford or were given the ticket, why not?)…all curious to experience on first hand what is flooding the newspapers and tv during the periods before and after the event.

You will bump into someone you know here too. Took this picture at last year’s event, this is the location of the main stage, where the keynote speaches take place.

Besides the heavy promotion made through many available channels I think this happens because there is a wide diversity of mini-conferences, panel discussions, presentations happening in the same place, that go from purely conceptual to somewhat technical but seldom (at least to what I have seen last year) go to the very low techical detail of what it takes to implement a certain technology or develop a certain feature. No this, is not for the tutorial folk, looking to learn new hacks, but rather for people looking for food for thought over the latest tech developments and future trends, and to seeing its main protagonists.

You can say there is something in it for you looking for praticality— there are many startup stands in the exhibition floor, (I bet) ready for you to ask what are the parameters they have used to make their neural networks more effective, or to enquire over the nuts and bolts of their recently launched or to be launched product. So sure, there is some space space for drilling down into the details of some the startups exhibiting. But overall think that the event is not conceived to be overly technical and instead to cater to a much broader audience.

The speakers are also from different walks of life: among the majority of CEOs, CTOs of big tech companies such as Stewart Butterfield from Slack or Wener Wogels from Amazon, you will find the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres (himself a portuguese prime minister in a former life) or François Hollande (fomer President of France), and don’t forget Sophia, the Robot, that premiered last year on the main stage (although with some glitches).

Gary Vee asking people to stand up in last year’s event

So you or the friend you are brining with you should be fine…You can read my take on last year’s event.

Meetups

One thing that was somewhat paused during summer that is bound to restart with the reentrée are the “meetups”, that display the typical variety of topics, but tend to dive much deeper into practical aspects of what is beeing discussed. A few years ago, meeting strangers to have a discussion was something unheard of (and something your God-fearing grandmother would be suspiscious about) but now it is becoming a common place.

First meetup of the VR/AR Association in Portugal at Fábrica Moderna, that counted with the presence of Global Executive Director Kris Kolo

Is also a becoming a common place that many of these meetups are held in english and not in portuguese (sometimes even, ironically, when there is no foreigner in the room), and I see this much more difficult to happen in countries such as Spain, Italy or France.

People (fashionably) waiting for instructions at one of the Product Tank meetups in Lisbon. The speaker was an American that moved to Lisbon. This took place a Farfectch offices, a unicorn company whose founder is portuguese.

So if you speak english you should be fine.

Surroundings

After (or instead of) the Web Summit and the meetups, there is plenty to explore — the riverfront with its ravishing MAAT museum, the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown (gosh, I love that name), and cycle lanes has become one of the most pleasurable areas for a stroll and you can even venture to go to the other margin, where if you have the patience to walk for around 20 minutes you can reach the beaches, where in mid October you can still see people bathing.

MAAT museum, it even shines in the night. Took this picture on one of Octobers warm nights.

If you opt to stay in the city centre, don’t miss the sunset in Terreiro do Paço, or uphill from the Castle of Saint George (this seems odd in English).

All in all , the core of the city remained the same, it has just an increased shine to it, that attracts more and more people. And while shiny is good, much better is authentic and warm sunlight.

Lisbon has been know for its special light for a long time.