Diversity and Inclusion leads to Innovation and Growth - and Victoria is up there - leading the charge!

When it comes to Diversity, Inclusion  and Innovation - Melbourne is up there, and the Kelly Hutchison’s of the world are the drivers of this change - She is driving this change by leading the charge with the Victorian State Governmebt initiative - “the Digital Innovation Festival “

Women Entrepreneur Cities Index listed the top 50 cities globally for women entrepreneurs and found Melbourne ranked 17th place for its ability to foster women entrepreneurship.

We are looking forward to adding value through our #bbglinkedinforum which we plan to launch in July 2019.

I 

Digital inclusion is one of the three themes of the annual Digital Innovation Festival.  #DIFvic actively encourages underrepresented voices and diverse stories from across the Victoria to be part of the festival. Read more about how our vibrant tech ecosystem is championing diversity. 

Diversity of ideas and people are at the heart of innovation. Including different voices and perspectives in the development process, can deliver surprising results. Diversity and inclusion are increasingly becoming differentiators in business as consumers become aware of who makes and manages the tech they use in their daily lives. Yet the tech sector that creates ground-breaking solutions does not always represent the society which uses them.

To fully realise technologies' transformative potential, everyone needs to be a part of shaping the digital economy. In order to create an inclusive tech ecosystem, organisations and individuals need to be engaged. At the macro level diversity means that all sectors have a seat at the table: business, entrepreneurs, not-for-profit and government. At the micro level individual groups need to be represented and collaborate to create positive change.  

Change is central to innovation and is essential to progress. The Victorian tech ecosystem is proactively addressing the issues of equity across a range of initiatives lead by LaunchVic, Victoria’s startup agency. Focusing on how we go about creating a diverse workforce and empowering underrepresented startup founders. They supported Change Catalyst to create a toolkit that offers best practices for making the tech industry more diverse and inclusive.

Encouraging allyship is another way to drive positive change. An ally is any person that actively promotes and aspires to advance the culture of inclusion through intentional, positive and conscious efforts that benefit people as a whole. According to Sheree Atcheson Award-winning Diversity and Inclusion Leader in her article in Forbes, everyone has the ability to be an ally as privilege is intersectional - white women can be actionable allies to people of colour, men can be allies to women, cis people can be allies to members of the LGBTQI+ community, able-bodied people can be allies to those with different abilities, economically privileged people can be allies to those who are not and so on.  

Gender in tech 

Diversity in the tech world has focused on gender, given the stats it’s not surprising. In Victoria, women are estimated to represent around 20 percent of the State's ICT industry and 30 percent of the workforce. Women continue to be underrepresented in ICT roles, significantly lower than in other professional occupations. Women comprised 28 percent of the national digital technology workforce; a figure that has remained unchanged since 2015 ACS: Australia’s Digital Pulse (2018)  

However, the 2017 Women Entrepreneur Cities Index listed the top 50 cities globally for women entrepreneurs and found Melbourne ranked 17th place for its ability to foster women entrepreneurship. Networks that support women in technology are thriving and the Melbourne chapter of the global Girls in Tech are back with their Catalyst Conference.

Geelong Youth Innovation Summit 2019 (Sat 11 May) and the girledworld WOW STEM Expo Summit 2019 program has been curated and designed just for Australian high school girls and early tertiary women, empowering, educating and equipping them to make informed decisions about their individual career pathways with the new World of Work front of mind.  

Supporting entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds 

LaunchVic is Victoria’s startup agency and is committed to the development of a globally-connected, diverse and inclusive startup ecosystem. Their third funding round supported programs that improved access and participation in the Victorian startup ecosystem for first-generation migrants and refugees. Another program supported entrepreneurial programs for Aboriginal Victorians, including Barayamal is the world’s first indigenous accelerator is looking for 5 innovative Indigenous startups to give a funding total of $50,000.  See a list of the organisations who are delivering real benefits on the ground.  

Migrants and refugees are important contributors to successful startup ecosystems. They are known to have high-risk appetites, having started a new life in a new country – often with no capital, no credit history, no assets, and no security. The risk-taking that defines a migrant’s experience often continues as they embark on entrepreneurial journeys to establish themselves. 

According to Startup Victoria diversity is the key to success and diverse leadership yields better business performance. Australia is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world, and our startups should be the same. Here in Victoria, we want to challenge the norm and lead by embracing diversity in our startups - starting from the top.  

Startup Victoria Pitch Night: Diversity and Inclusion on Tue 28 May will focus on diversity and showcase both leaders and up-and-coming startups that are led by Women, Migrant and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander from any industries. Startup Victoria are proud to partner with LaunchVic to showcase 4 diverse startups, as they pitch to a panel of hand-picked, expert judges as well as our usual community of founders, startups, investors and more. They will also be pitching to win the amazing Startup Victoria Prize Package.

Championing the underrepresented in the digital economy 

Melbourne is proudly home to the #TechDiversity awards which raise the profile of those who are building inclusion in the digital economy: to share their stories of courage and commitment, and to amplify their achievements, and to inspire others to act. 

#TechDiversity supports the increased participation of underrepresented groups and embraces women, people with a disability, people who recognize themselves as LGBTQI, Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, people of colour, older people, and those who may face discrimination around their religious beliefs. 

The 2019 #TechDiversity Awards are open for nominations launching at RMIT on 15 May. Nominations display outstanding expressions of leadership, behavior, commitment, and courage – key touchstones that embrace inclusion and drive diversity.

2018 winners include Grad Girls a 1-year program run by Vic ICT for Women for female university STEM students to discover and understand the pathways available when taking the next step in their career. If you are raising awareness and creating change through diversity initiatives or programs nominate by 30 June. Who knows, we may see you in the spotlight at the #TechDiversity Awards Gala Dinner on 12 September. Save the date!  

#TechDiversity is a great example of collaboration in action. It is an initiative spearheaded by a core committee of volunteers representing Mia Consulting Services, Method9, Nexec Leaders and MizTee. This core committee is supported by a wider team representing a number of industry groups and businesses – including the Australian Computer Society (ACS), Australian Information Industry Association Victoria (AIIA), Vic ICT for Women and the Victorian Government.

Who's in the spotlight?  

Events are a great way to explore ideas, learn new skills and build networks to challenge the status quo. Many high-profile conferences, events and taskforces lack gender balance, despite there often being no shortage of qualified women. It is estimated less than 15% of panelists in Australia are women. Less than 12% of experts cited in business newspapers are women. Such optics have consequences. There has been push back against #manels, all male speaker panels. The Panel Pledge seeks gender balance at every forum and the tech sector is responding.

Change Catalyst has created a guide to inclusive events and recommends creating programming that speaks to your local community and is oriented towards the topics and conversations that will best serve your audience. Look outside your normal circles to find diverse voices and no matter what your event programming, be sure to provide guidance to your speakers, presenters and facilitators to ensure that your content is created with an inclusive lens.  

Walking the talk, TechInclusion returns to Melbourne this year convening the tech industry to focus on solutions to diversity and inclusion. The theme this year is “Voices of Innovation” – featuring diverse, underrepresented voices building the innovative technologies and cultures of our future. Presented by Change Catalyst and LaunchVic it's an open invitation to learning new solutions, meet diverse people who care, be stretched in a safe environment, and gain new tools and strength to advocate for change. A highlight will be the interactive session focusing on allyship in tech.

This year's program features some great speakers including: Dr Manisha Amin, CEO at Centre for Inclusive Design; Aiman Hamdouna, Founder & Ceo At Hatch Quarter Pty Ltd; Gian Wild, CEO, Founder at Accessibilityoz and Michelle Sheppard, Transgender Community Liaison Officer at Fitted for Work and more.   

If knowledge is power, then Melbourne Knowledge Week is your personal charger. MKW is packed full of interesting talks and events to help grow your mind and feed your curiosity. So make sure you check out what's on between 20 - 26 May around the city. 

DIF2019 Digital Inclusion program 

The DIF Team recommend all Event Partners read the Creating Inclusive Events Guide and consider how to make diversity and inclusion as part of how they approach their own DIF2019 event. All events are encouraged to make all efforts to achieve a gender-balanced program and consider other dimensions of age and international and local experience.  

The DIF Team actively seeks underrepresented voices and diverse stories from across the Victorian tech ecosystem. We work with event partners to identify speakers from diverse backgrounds and the DIF Hub program has an open EOI for speakers. If you’re interested to be a speaker please make sure you register or if have an event that focuses on diversity or inclusion sign up and post it to the DIFvic Online Events Hub.  

This year’s DIF Hub program will have dedicated Women Changing Tech Day and Digital Diversity Day to showcase the amazing people and solutions that are making a difference. Check out the program and spend some time outside of your comfort zone, open your mind to possibilities and step up and make a change for good.  

The DIFvic Online Events Hub digital inclusion events across the state from tech help and coding for kids in libraries, Meetup groups for female entrepreneurs and more are added weekly. You can sign up and create your account, for event alerts to receive a #DIFlist of digital inclusion events to your inbox.

Change Catalyst Reminder: Diversity and Inclusion is a journey, we’re all learning. It’s okay to make mistakes in the process. Listen and learn from the community and continue to improve. Congratulations on taking the first step!

About Kelly Hutchinson 

Kelly is a  self-confessed digital changemaker and ideas hacker. Results-oriented, she constantly envision ways to create shared value and see cross-sector collaboration as the key. 

As an international expert, Kelly harnesses  open innovation approaches to deliver positive change for business and communities. 

Teaching innovation and change management through practical case studies is how Kelly balances research and practice. 

She has ridden the entrepreneurship rollercoaster, working in her Melbourne-based family business and running two tech startups in Cambodia. Currently, Kelly works with the Victorian State Government delivering the Digital Innovation Festival which allows her to champion digital inclusion and emerging technology for the benefit of all.

Preparing Australia’s workforce for the digital future

Swinburne University of Technology Centre for the New Workforce just released their #futureofwork research report titled Peak Human Potential. One of the most striking, although perhaps not surprising, findings is that those workers in industries that have been digitally disrupted have the most accurate read on the skills needed for the future while those in industries not yet disrupted still value old, outdated models of expertise. The danger lies ahead when those older industries become digitally disrupted and those workers are caught flat footed. New systems of education and learning, new models of integrated work and learning are needed ASAP. 

Link below 

https://bit.ly/2Zgdlaz

Immigration driving Innovation and Growth of the economy

Great Insight from my innovation Guru, Heather Mcgowan 

“In Mary Meeker latest internet report 2019 (all 333 pages) she highlights what Chris Shipley and I have been saying for years. 

#immigration drives our #economy. 60% of our most highly valued technology companies were started by a first or second generation immigrant. #futureofwork #entrepreneurship” 

Mid year 2019 Spark Magazine is Out - “it’s the fuel for business”

Hi 

We are really proud to issue the Mid Year Spark Magazine - rich with content for entrepreneurs and business leaders.

It really live up to its mantra of “the fuel for business” 

Thanks to Paul Southwick for persevering with this project that will benefit us all! 

Here is the link ....

https://issuu.com/bsicomms/docs/spark_mag_autumn_2019_final-compres

There are some interesting articles that share with us the disruption and opportunities that will be coming with 5G

Hope you enjoy

Would love your feedback.

Best

Ivan 

Ps if you think it’s awesome - would you be open to share this? 

FUTURE PREDICTIONS

:

In 1998, Kodak had 170,000 employees and sold 85% of all photo paper worldwide.  Within just a few years, their business model disappeared and they went bankrupt. What happened to Kodak will happen in a lot of industries in the next 10 years - and most people don't see it coming. Did you think in 1998 that 3 years later you would never take pictures on paper film again? Yet digital cameras were invented in 1975. The first ones only had 10,000 pixels, but followed Moore's law. So as with all exponential technologies, it was a disappointment for a long time, before it became way superior and got mainstream in only a few short years. It will now happen with Artificial Intelligence, health, autonomous and electric cars, education, 3D printing, agriculture and jobs. Welcome to the 4th Industrial Revolution. Welcome to the Exponential Age.

Software will disrupt most traditional industries in the next 5-10 years.

Uber is just a software tool, they don't own any cars, and are now the biggest taxi company in the world. Airbnb is now the biggest hotel company in the world, although they don't own any properties.

Artificial Intelligence: Computers become exponentially better in understanding the world. This year, a computer beat the best Go player in the world, 10 years earlier than expected. In the US, young lawyers already don't get jobs. Because of IBM Watson, you can get legal advice (so far for more or less basic stuff) within seconds, with 90% accuracy compared with 70% accuracy when done by humans. So if you study law, stop immediately. There will be 90% fewer lawyers in the future, only specialists will remain. Watson already helps nurses diagnosing cancer, 4 time more accurate than human nurses. Facebook now has a pattern recognition software that can recognize faces better than humans. By 2030, computers will become more intelligent than humans.

Autonomous Cars: In 2018 the first self-driving cars will appear for the public. Around 2020, the complete industry will start to be disrupted. You don't want to own a car anymore. You will call a car with your phone, it will show up at your location and drive you to your destination. You will not need to park it, you only pay for the driven distance and can be productive while driving. Our kids will never get a driver's license and will never own a car. It will change the cities, because we will need 90-95% fewer cars for that. We can transform former parking space into parks. 1.2 million people die each year in car accidents worldwide. We now have one accident every 100,000 km, with autonomous driving that will drop to one accident in 10 million km. That will save a million lives each year.

Most car companies may become bankrupt. Traditional car companies try the evolutionary approach and just build a better car, while tech companies (Tesla, Apple, Google) will do the revolutionary approach and build a computer on wheels. I spoke to a lot of engineers from Volkswagen and Audi; they are completely terrified of Tesla. 

Insurance Companies will have massive trouble because without accidents, the insurance will become 100x cheaper. Their car insurance business model will disappear.

Real estate will change. Because if you can work while you commute, people will move further away to live in a more beautiful neighborhood.

Electric cars won’t become mainstream until 2020. Cities will be less noisy because all cars will run on electric. Electricity will become incredibly cheap and clean: Solar production has been on an exponential curve for 30 years, but you can only now see the impact. Last year, more solar energy was installed worldwide than fossil. The price for solar will drop so much that all coal companies will be out of business by 2025.

With cheap electricity comes cheap and abundant water. Desalination now only needs 2kWh per cubic meter. We don't have scarce water in most places, we only have scarce drinking water. Imagine what will be possible if anyone can have as much clean water as he wants, for nearly no cost.

Health:  There will be companies that will build a medical device (called the "Tricorder" from Star Trek) that works with your phone, which takes your retina scan, your blood sample and you breathe into it. It then analyses 54 biomarkers that will identify nearly any disease. It will be cheap, so in a few years everyone on this planet will have access to world class medicine, nearly for free.

3D printing: The price of the cheapest 3D printer came down from $18,000 to $400 within 10 years. In the same time, it became 100 times faster. All major shoe companies started 3D printing shoes. Spare airplane parts are already 3D printed in remote airports. The space station now has a printer that eliminates the need for the large number of spare parts they used to have in the past.

At the end of this year, new smart phones will have 3D scanning possibilities. You can then 3D scan your feet and print your perfect shoe at home. In China, they already 3D printed a complete 6-storey office building. By 2027, 10% of everything that's being produced will be 3D printed. 

Business Opportunities: If you think of a niche you want to go in, ask yourself: "in the future, do you think we will have that?" and if the answer is yes, how can you make that happen sooner? If it doesn't work with your phone, forget the idea. And any idea designed for success in the 20th century is doomed in to failure in the 21st century.

Work: 70-80% of jobs will disappear in the next 20 years. There will be a lot of new jobs, but it is not clear if there will be enough new jobs in such a small time.

Agriculture: There will be a $100 agricultural robot in the future. Farmers in 3rd world countries can then become managers of their field instead of working all days on their fields. Agroponics will need much less water. The first Petri dish produced veal is now available and will be cheaper than cow-produced veal in 2018. Right now, 30% of all agricultural surfaces is used for cows. Imagine if we don't need that space anymore. There are several startups that will bring insect protein to the market shortly. It contains more protein than meat. It will be labeled as "alternative protein source" (because most people still reject the idea of eating insects).

There is an app called "moodies" which can already tell in which mood you are. Until 2020 there will be apps that can tell by your facial expressions if you are lying. Imagine a political debate where it's being displayed when they are telling the truth and when not.

Bitcoin will become mainstream this year and might even become the default reserve currency. 

Longevity: Right now, the average life span increases by 3 months per year. Four years ago, the life span used to be 79 years, now it's 80 years. The increase itself is increasing and by 2036, there will be more than one year increase per year. So we all might live for a long long time, probably way more than 100.

Education: The cheapest smart phones are already at $10 in Africa and Asia. Until 2020, 70% of all humans will own a smart phone. That means, everyone has the same access to world class education.

Robert M. Goldman MD, PhD, DO, FAASP

www.DrBobGoldman.com

World Chairman-International Medical Commission

Co-Founder & Chairman of the Board-A4M

Founder & Chairman-International Sports Hall of Fame

Co-Founder & Chairman-World Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine

President Emeritus-National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)

Chairman-U.S. Sports Academy’s Board of Visitors

FREE Health Longevity info newsletter at: www.WorldHealth.net

#DrBobGoldman

#DrRobertGoldman

#A4m

#ISHOF

Investing at the cutting edge on innovation

The world is changing at a rapid rate - digital disruption will come - and those who back it should benefit big time! 

Catherine Wood of Ark Invest puts her money where her mouth is - she  looks at disruptive innovation in the public markets and invests at the cutting edge of Innovation. 

Catherine speaking at the Morgan Stanley  conference on Wednesday 5 June 2019

Photo from AFR Thursday 6 June 

She backs companies in the fud zone - when there is fear uncertainty and doubt. 

The vision is there , the technology is emerging, the prototypes are built and the opportunity of the technology becoming ubiquitous is in sight. 

She relies on Wright’s law - where costs decrease and volume increase - and profitability emerges 

Case in point calls and data - where mass usage has been able to drive the cost of calls to zero and create Unicorns such as Zoom! 

These are some of the bleeding edge innovations that Ark Invest is backing 

Blockchain - cryptos - Ark Invest is a backer  of bitcoin - it should gain ubiquity with the advent of quantum computer power - last year $1.3tr of transactions, and each transaction had significant fees - there is an unmet need for x border transactions -and she expects bitcoin will drive these huge transaction fees to zero 

Genome sequencing - developing cures 

Ai , Robotics and Energy Storage - paving the way for ubiquitous Electric and self driving cars  - autonomous taxi platforms $7tr by 2028 - she is backing Tesla - with 10pc of her portfolio committed to it  - people are  walking away - but she believes will be the best investment - She believes Tesla will have similar narrative as Amazon! 

Win or lose - Ark Invest is up there in my estimation! 

Innovative solutions to loneliness

4 innovative solutions to loneliness - what can we do in Australia to solve this disease