ABOUT

FACTORY17

From plastic pollution to Amazonian wildfires, our current global challenges are a wake-up call forcing us to undertake radical changes. The world may seem to be in chaos, but chaos is a necessary precursor to change. Now more than ever before, it is crucial that each one of us steps into our own call to adventure and takes action towards achieving the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Factory 17 is a unique event that brings together the top Accelerate2030 entrepreneurs from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe alongside Geneva’s visionaries, disruptors and change makers who have all responded to their own call to adventure. Through an evening of powerful storytelling, our innovators will share their inspiring personal stories of how they undertook their Hero’s Journey towards creating a new, sustainable future.

"We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today.

We are confronted with the fierce

urgency of now.

This is a time for vigorous and positive action."

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR

WHAT IS THE

HERO'S JOURNEY?

In ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces’, Joseph Campbell shows how all great stories of the world have one central theme: the hero’s journey. This archetypical drama which Joseph Campbell outlines in 17 steps forms the backbone of some of the most powerful stories ever told. It is an immensely helpful framework for understanding our own call to adventure that leads us towards growth and transformation.

This journey is one that we each have the opportunity to take.

On a dramatic scale, wild opportunities may happen once or twice in a life-time. On a smaller scale, we navigate this journey every day, as we make choices about whether to be defensive or speak our truth, whether to repeat a familiar pattern or change it, and whether to stay in our comfort zone or move into Where the Magic Happens.

ACCELERATE2030

Born out of the Accelerate2030, a global program initiated in Geneva with the mission to scale the impact of entrepreneurial solutions for the SDGs, Factory17 offers concrete opportunities for engaging directly with the bright minds shaping tomorrow.

2019

THEMATICS

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

HEALTH & WELLBEING

These stories of adventure will explore Circular Economy, The Future of Food, Gender Equality and Intrapreneurship amongst other topics that parallel the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals

SUSTAINABLE CITIES

INTRAPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

AND MUCH MORE!

Thomas Vellacott

CEO WWF Switzerland

2019

SPEAKERS

Factory17 is a platform for sharing inspiring stories from the top Accelerate2030 entrepreneurs, Swiss startups, intrapreneurs and visionaries who have each taken their own hero’s journey with the vision of creating a future equal to their human potential. The evening will showcase such stories and their ‘toolkit-for-change’ that have spurred our speakers into their own hero’s journey.