By: Jorge Avancini *
Last week, the second edition of the South Summit, a global innovation and technology event, moved Porto Alegre. The innovation platform is a landmark for the capital, due to its size and relevance, and shows the evolution of the city. By receiving 22,000 participants from 86 countries, Porto Alegre proves that it can surpass other Brazilian metropolises, such as São Paulo, when it comes to size to receive everything that an event of this type proposes and offers.
Porto Alegre already benefits from direct financial investment, resulting from the use of hotels, transport, food, retail and tourist attractions. The city also attracts attention, becoming the focus of vision, for a few days, of large investors and entrepreneurs, becoming a potential place to attract new investments to Rio Grande do Sul.
The public from Rio Grande do Sul, which has the facility to hold an event of this type right here, in its capital, benefits from lectures by great exponents of different areas. The South Summit, as its main proposal, brings innovation inspirations to make entrepreneurs think outside the box and understand what is happening in the rest of the world, in addition to connecting people, updating professionals, fostering contact networks and presenting what is done here for those coming from abroad.
From an administrative point of view, we understand that Porto Alegre does support mega events, and has everything it needs to host them. However, my question is whether the Cais Mauáthe space that hosted both editions, really has the infrastructure to support an event of such magnitude, since some obstacles and setbacks were very evident for those who participated in this last edition, and it did not leave a good impression.
Some of the negative points of the place chosen to host the South Summit are the lack of refrigeration structure to withstand the Rio Grande do Sul summer or the possibility of expansion. The public also complained about queues, which delayed admission to some attractions and panels, parking with insufficient space to meet demand and the food court which also failed to serve the entire public. Does the differential of the beautiful view from the pier, with the right to the Guaíba sunset, overcome three days in the heat and the fear of rain?
* President of the Union of Administrators of RS (Sindaergs)
