Since 2013, NT100 has celebrated inspiring tech initiatives that are transforming lives around the world. NT100 has developed into an influential campaign of which we’re really proud. Over 1,700 global, socially motivated tech projects now feature on our Social Tech Guide, including 400 case studies of ventures NT100 has raised to prominence over the last four years.
Curating NT100 has opened our eyes to what it takes to establish and scale social tech initiatives – irrespective of geography and resource availability. In 2016, we celebrated our Everyday Tech Heroes – those inspiring individuals using tech to address social issues they face in their personal lives. This demonstrated that tech needn’t be the preserve of experts; anyone can spark the development of digital solutions to tackle a social challenge.
To mark NT100’s fifth birthday, we’ve researched the 400 ventures featured, gaining insights into what’s helped them grow. We believe that when social leads and tech follows, the results are truly transformative. To do this at scale will require collaboration across civil society, business and government. That’s why we want to spark a global conversation about how to build a future where social transformation is the driving force behind tech.
At our celebratory event on 29th November, we’re going to ignite the conversational fuse by bringing together an impressive and diverse line-up of guest speakers to discuss their views on the future of tech and society. We’ll hear from Matthew Gould, Director-General for Digital and Media at DCMS, Kate Wolfenden, co-founder of WWF’s Project-X, Bunmi Durowoju, Senior Business Development Manager at Microsoft, and Elsa D’Silva, co-founder of 2015 NT100 venture Safecity. And we’re opening up the conversation as widely as possible using #NT100is5.
We’ve got exciting plans to extend this conversation into 2018 by sharing more inspirational stories of tech ventures that are achieving social impact and exploring how we can help shape the future. To join the conversation and hear the latest, follow @nominettrust on Twitter and use the hashtag #NT100is5.