Elevate Toronto launches ambitious new technology festival

Three-day event will promote diversity, inclusion and Toronto's world class innovation ecosystem

TORONTO, July 11, 2017 /CNW/ - Leaders from Toronto's startup and corporate innovation community gathered at the top of the CN Tower to announce a new technology festival called Elevate Toronto that will take place September 12 - 14, 2017. This new festival will showcase Toronto's thriving tech ecosystem while promoting Toronto internationally as a world class destination for innovation, startups, talent and investment.

Toronto is already recognized for its leadership in Artificial Intelligence, FinTech, Blockchain, and other areas of emerging technology, which will dramatically alter how we work and communicate. During the conference portion of Elevate Toronto, experts from these fields will give keynote addresses.

In addition, diversity and inclusion are central themes to Elevate Toronto, a non-profit organization led by TechToronto, MaRS, #movethedial, OneEleven, Cossette and the Spotlight Awards in partnership with the City of Toronto. Part of its mandate is to engage under-represented members of the technology industry.

"There is no doubt that Toronto is becoming a global centre for innovation and technology," Mayor John Tory said at the launch. "Elevate Toronto will become a marquee event for the city to showcase its innovation ecosystem, its talent, its ambitions and our undisputable leadership in areas like AI and fintech."

"Toronto is an amazing city and is incredibly well positioned to capitalize on the current wave of emerging technology," said Razor Suleman, Cofounder & CEO, Elevate Toronto. "It's our time – startups and corporate leaders are aligning with the government's innovation agenda creating the perfect circumstances for accelerated growth."

Elevate Toronto is a grassroots initiative that empowers the technology community to shape the festival so that a breadth of startups and corporate innovators can showcase their work. Interested parties can learn more about how to contribute to festival programming by visiting www.elevatetoronto.com. Hundreds of free tickets will be also be available to improve access and ensure widespread participation of under-represented groups within this industry.

In the evening, the festival will foster social connections so that the startup community, potential investors, prospective employees, and strategic partners can interact in a more relaxed setting and exchange ideas.

Follow the developing conversation on Facebook /elevatetoronto, Twitter @elevatetofest, and Instagram @elevatetofest. The official hashtag is #ElevateToronto.

About Elevate Toronto:
Elevate Toronto is a collaboration between 17 technology organizations which came together to create a three day festival. It aims to be a world-class innovation festival where the globe comes to Toronto to discover, connect, and be inspired by the individuals shaping what's next. Elevate Toronto is a non-profit organization led by TechToronto, MaRS, #movethedial, OneEleven, Cossette Communications and the Spotlight Awards, in partnership with the City of Toronto

SOURCE Elevate Toronto

Kieran Lawler, Citizen Relations, 416-303-0799, [email protected]