Change makers,
norm breakers,
system shakers.

The future is shaped by those who imagine beyond the present.

The 2024 Impact Innovation Summit was designed for drivers of the tech, green, and social transformations needed to create the life, cities, and world we all aspired to.

The Summit provided a chance to connect, share, and learn with other like-minded change-makers, offering the time and space to actively explore disruptive innovation for the greater good.

“Impact Innovation Summit is something very different. I know hardly any cities putting on their own summit to invite people from the outside, to collectively co-create. It’s incredibly inspiring.”

Chelsea Collier, founder of Digi.City

24-hours of real-world Impact

The Summit 2024 gathered innovation drivers in the public sector, business, civil society, and academia. A wide yet balanced cross-section of impact makers whose collective projects and experience were igniting system change locally while addressing global challenges. It was a one-of-a-kind opportunity to connect with and learn from like-minded doers—marking the very first Impact Innovation Summit in Helsingborg, Sweden!

The grand opening

The future is shaped by those who imagine beyond the present

Carina Leffler, director of the city of Helsingborg, opened the summit along with Aliya Sabir, head of sustainability and startups at Hetch. Carina emphasised how the summit is a catalyst for bold, impactful partnerships – to tackle welfare and climate challenges.

After the opening statement, the headline speakers of the summit entered the stage.

Daria Krivonos spoke about the importance of embracing multiple futures and stressed the importance of foresight and flexibility in an unpredictable world where change is constant. Thomas Osdoba talked about the need for cities to embrace strategic innovation and multi-level governance to achieve climate neutrality and resilience. Continuing on the topic of sustainability, Brita Staal emphasised that sustainability should be seen not as a distant goal but as an immediate and concrete responsibility for everyone, from individuals to companies. As the last headline speaker, Niklas Madsen gave the audience insights on how to embrace experimentation and risk-taking, with a focus on process over predetermined outcomes.

Do you want more notes from the speakers? Below, there is a link to a presentation that you can download, containing all the key insights from every speaker.

Want to share the learnings from the summit? We have summarized all of them in a presentation for you.

Download PDF

The toolbox

Ignite your path to impact

The afternoon of the second summit day was filled with hands-on sessions. Learning from talented leaders, there was a wide array of insights and tangible tools to bring home.

On the main stage, Erik Fernholm guided participants through The Inner Development Goals, ending with thought provoking and challenging exercises.

Next Agents hosted two sessions, one on Rapid Learning Cycles and one on the Sustainability-Driven Innovation Matrix. Rapid Learning Cycles can support both innovation and sustainability by enabling more agile decision-making, while the Sustainability-Driven Innovation Matrix connects sustainability efforts with business innovation, aiming to align organizational goals across both.

In parallel, two sessions on foresight were held on one of the stages. Fredrika Yngwe from Planethon held a session on how future foresight can have significant impact on decision-making and sustainability. The other session, hosted by Karin Lycke, Sara Tunheden and Max Larcombe, emphasized the role of leaders in shaping preferable futures through innovative foresight tools.

The summit ended with a collective wrap-up session, led by Fernanda Torre, and Louise Callenberg, where all participants reflected on their learnings from the summit before, creating concrete actions to take during the next 3 months to work towards their individual goals. In short, what impact can we start to create – now and in the years to come.

“I think it is really important to participate in these type of events to learn from each other. I focused on going to sessions covering topics that I need to improve on.”

Participant

“As a business owner, I think Impact Innovation Summit is important for the region. The city is showing that they want something better for the future – not only for the city but for all of Sweden.”

Niklas Madsen, CEO and futurist at Superlab

In the media

Smart Cities Connect: A City Asks: How Can We Explore Disruptive Innovation for the Greater Good?

Meetings International: Impact Innovation Summit 2024 i Helsingborg: nyskapande teknik, grön och social transformation

IT-Hållbarhet: Impact Innovation Summit 2024: Nyskapande teknik och grön transformation samlas i Helsingborg

Change makers,
norm breakers,
system shakers.

The future is shaped by those who imagine beyond the present.