I had been sucking honey and gargling salt since Saturday, when I lost my voice almost entirely, and it worked. Fortunately my voice held out for my Tale of Tech City talk at the Place East London conference in Old Stratford Town. I kept most of my powder dry for the July 2 launch of the Centre for London project I have been working on, but still there was plenty to say.
The brief was what could Tech City mean for East London jobs? I said our in-depth analysis shows the much-hyped cluster is larger than anyone had previously thought, but the entrepreneurs within it are less diverse than London SMEs or British digital economy firms. To open access to a wide group requires rethinking the entrepreneurship culture, making financing easier for people without contacts to rich people, encouraging skills training and networking in local populations, and a more female-friendly environment (a theme from my undergraduate anthropology degree).
I came after Sir Robin Wales who spoke about Newham's great efforts - and success - about getting local people into jobs with some of the new employers (not least Westfield) coming to town. GLA Chief of Staff Sir Edward Lister told how the £9-24 billion cost of the Olympic Games will be the "least expensive of the projects" planned to upgrade infrastructure in East London.Newly annointed London Legacy Development Corporation Chief Daniel Moylan closed the event vowing that the park would not become a "shard of prosperity" - like Canary Wharf.
Thanks to the wonderful Jackie Sadek and Ross Sturley for organising a wonderful event.
The brief was what could Tech City mean for East London jobs? I said our in-depth analysis shows the much-hyped cluster is larger than anyone had previously thought, but the entrepreneurs within it are less diverse than London SMEs or British digital economy firms. To open access to a wide group requires rethinking the entrepreneurship culture, making financing easier for people without contacts to rich people, encouraging skills training and networking in local populations, and a more female-friendly environment (a theme from my undergraduate anthropology degree).
I came after Sir Robin Wales who spoke about Newham's great efforts - and success - about getting local people into jobs with some of the new employers (not least Westfield) coming to town. GLA Chief of Staff Sir Edward Lister told how the £9-24 billion cost of the Olympic Games will be the "least expensive of the projects" planned to upgrade infrastructure in East London.Newly annointed London Legacy Development Corporation Chief Daniel Moylan closed the event vowing that the park would not become a "shard of prosperity" - like Canary Wharf.
Thanks to the wonderful Jackie Sadek and Ross Sturley for organising a wonderful event.
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