Alberta Chamber of Technologies...

I attended a meeting last evening that focused on the a new organization called the Alberta Chamber of Technologies. There was good discussion on whether such an organization should even exist and if so in what capacity, why, how should it operate, who should participate and what do we want to accomplish.

My take on it is simple. This province needs a wake up call. There's more to life than Oil and Bio-tech. There is a tremendous amount of ICT, IT and other types of technology companies that exist in Alberta but are truly without representation. Sure there are industry associations that are doing their best to broadcast their message but they tend to be very specific. This is more of a macro look at all technology-based business. I'm all for it. That's why I volunteered to be on the Interim Board Selection Committee. Many people have put their names forward to be considered for a board position and it'll be the job of this committee to determine the criteria for leadership before a formal election can take place. This is a great opportunity to set the tone in a small way for the start of what I believe will be a great organization.

The other really important message sent last night was that this should be an organization focused on collaboration with other Chambers and like minded groups. There's strength in numbers and certainly when lobbying politicians, suggesting they wake up and smell the coffee and take notice of some of the issues facing new and existing high-tech companies.