Events

Our weekly connection for the tech and innovation ecosystem. Furthering entrepreneurs one conversation at a time.

Curious about what's happening in the innovation ecosystem in Alberta?

Join us at Lunch Without Lunch every Wednesday to hear about the players, events, and news that are making our innovation ecosystem thrive. This weekly meeting is a regular check on the pulse of the community, open to people of any age, wage, or stage of company.

LWOL features entrepreneurs who share their stories through the lens of the 

Please note if you are coming to the IN PERSON sessions, please RSVP to which ones you are coming to in the questions prior to registration, so we can account for numbers! Thank you :) 

November 22- In Person ONLY  KPMG Pitch Stage at Platform Calgary - We will be joined by Allie Knull 

November 29 - VIRTUAL - Review of 2022 Scorecard

December 6- VIRTUAL - We will be joined by Waitwell

December 13- HYBRID- cSpace Treehouse- Learn all about - Make More Creative/cSpace

December 20- IN PERSON ONLY- Holiday Potluck- Platform Calgary Kitchen

Online Lunch Without Lunch 2023

Curious about tech, entrepreneurship, and innovation?

Rainforest Alberta is a movement that builds an inclusive culture within Alberta's tech sector. 

We'd like to invite YOU to explore opportunities in careers in tech and entrepreneurship. 

Join us on November 15 at 4:30PM MST at Platform Calgary during Innovation Week to explore Calgary's startup ecosystem and learn everything you need to know to navigate the YYC tech community. 

If you are already working within the innovation ecosystem, please come and bring a friend who is new to it! 

Please try your best to be on time as we will be starting our adventure promptly at 4:30pm! 

Co-Hosted by CITI, IncluCity, Platform Calgary, and SAIT. 

Discover the Innovation Sector

Rainforest Alberta Community Onboarding

Join us for an IN-PERSON LWOL only on July 12 at NOON at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. We will enjoy nature to spark our creativity and network! 

Meet at 11:45 am inside the building and we will start the walk at 12pm

LWOL July 12- In Person- Creativity Walk

The YYC Queer Innovation Meetups hosted by Amber Rowden to bring those who identify as LGTBTQS+ and are working in the tech sector, to meet and collaborate with the bigger  LGBTQ2S+ community and the bigger tech community. 

This meetup group is open to anyone who identifies as part of  the LGBTQ2S+ community, innovation community, and supportive allies. It is a safe space to make friends, collaborate and share ideas and have a good time doing so while breaking barriers and gaps in the tech industry and across sectors for those in the LGBTQ2S+ community. 

YYC Queer Innovation Meetups

Join us in the Platform Calgary kitchen for COFFEE COLLISIONS. Make new connections over coffee. Then join us for hybrid LWOL (LWOL Location TBD) 

Coffee Collisions

Join Rainforest Alberta for an interactive look at the Scorecard Assessment. Why are we keeping score? What can we learn through measuring the 6 pillars? What can we change as a community? Everyone is welcome!

Rebecca Kirstein Resch: Founder of inqli ; Kylie Woods: Founder of Chic Geek, Christa Hill & Renee Matsalla; Founders of Tacit Edge and Brad Zumwalt: Founder of Zinc Ventures and Co-Founder of Rainforest Alberta and more! 

Join us in person on January 19th at 4PM in the KITCHEN located on the second floor of Platform Calgary. Please take the WEST ELEVATOR to the second floor- where someone will let you in the door

Innovation in YYC: Why are we keeping score?

Come and join the #RainforestAB community for a drink to kick-start the holidays and celebrate 2022! 

Drop by anytime between 3pm-6pm at Two House Brewing Company in Calgary, Alberta (1901 10 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T3C 0K3) 

Holiday Party 

Want to learn more about how inqli & Rainforest Alberta are supporting a more inclusive and equitable innovation ecosystem in Calgary and across the province? Join us for the “Get to know inqli” virtual demo series! Join us and learn about:

Join us on Thursday January 5 at 4PM and January 12 at 3PM. 

https://wb1djx03u3q.typeform.com/rainforestpilot

Get to know inqli- Demo Days

Rainforest Alberta and inqli are embarking on an exciting pilot within the Calgary tech ecosystem.

inqli is an inclusive knowledge-sharing tool that we’ll be using to convene 

 in the innovation ecosystem. We like to call the inqli platform our “treehouse”. It’s a digital space to make connections and move you forward through your journey in tech and innovation. The platform matches individual’s questions to others diverse perspectives, knowledge, and to the opportunities available across our ecosystem. 

Join us on Friday for a soft launch of the inqli platform! We’ll explain what the pilot is all about and demonstrate how inqli works. At the end of the session you’ll get 

We look forward to to seeing you on Friday!

Learn all about inqli 

Rainforest is rethinking leadership - the leadership characteristics that got us here will not get us to where we need to go in our exponentially changing world. To match the velocity of change, we need trust. Join us to explore a new way of leading to foster trust within our ecosystem.

Drop in during the following times during Innovation Week IN PERSON at Platform Calgary ( Main entrance lobby by the Tree) 

What if you exchanged judgement for curiosity? Drop in for leadership power hour to explore the power of taking a simple assumption and substituting it with inquiry.

What if you created space for others to use their voice, rather than taking the space with your voice? Drop in for leadership power hour to uncover the value of sharing the sunlight and the power of leading with a focus on people first.

What if you can create abundance by connecting others? Drop in for leadership power hour to help us solve a challenge in our community by fostering connections between others.

What if you said what you meant, with kindness? Drop in for leadership power hour to explore how you can lead with kindness, authenticity, and integrity. Learn how you can exchange the corporate F-word (feedback) for a more candid and compassionate approach that emphasizes progress.

What if every time you spoke, you were role modeling generous leadership? Drop in for leadership power hour to reflect on the lasting impact our words and actions have on the broader ecosystem. Share the words that fundamentally impacted your journey, and thank the person responsible.

Rainforest Leadership Power Hour

Join Rainforest Alberta, Calgary Innovation Coalition and Platform Calgary in this educational and enlightening exercise led by Pam Sparklingeyes

You will get to participate in an interactive exercise, focused on sharing some of the key historic events between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples of Canada. The facilitators will lead participants through a script of events that will cover topics like treaty-making, colonization, resistance, land rights, and residential schooling. This is an opportunity to better understand and appreciate the history within Canada, as we work towards reconciliation and healing. 

KAIROS Indigenous Blanket Exercise

Join us on Friday Feb 17 at 7PM at Prologue Cafe | Cocktails - 

 with any questions before or on the meetup date!

To connect with the community please join our whatsapp community: 

https://chat.whatsapp.com/LLRN4SA0yJ3AF2S5GrasND

https://www.instagram.com/queerinnovationyyc/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/yyc-queer-innovation-meetup/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1279376952836654

Queer Innovation Meetup

Want to protect your start-up against cyber attacks?  

Join Rainforest Alberta and CyberSecure Canada for an engaging workshop and learn about cybersecurity essentials, ranging from password policies to software automation. 

Learn about the Government of Canada's lite-touch cybersecurity certification designed specifically for smaller companies and associations to improve their cyber resiliency and how to obtain the CyberSecure Canada Certification. Once obtained, businesses can leverage the certification in strategic business development, client relationship management, and they can show their value chains that they take cybersecurity seriously. 

If you are a firm, start-up, or founder who want to know how you can best protect your business against cyberattacks that have increased exponentially over the last decade and rapidly this past year as firms have shifted their practice online because of the ongoing global pandemic, this event is for you.

Protecting Your Business Against Cyber Attacks

 as he takes us on a virtual tour and shares the story of 

 Join Nicolas Beique as he shares the story behind Helcim

After the panel discussion, we will take part in facilitated networking through breakout rooms.

Zoom link sent via email once registered.

Rainforest Alberta is a movement, building community in the tech and innovation ecosystem in the province through opening conversations around culture, leadership, and other focus areas.

We believe Alberta is primed to be a global destination for growing your tech venture right in this province. Come to a meeting to find out why, or for more information, visit www.rainforestab.ca

Online Lunch Without Lunch

Registration for the Rainforest Alberta Calgary Summit is now closed. If you are interested in attending please send an email to info@rainforestab.ca

confirming that you will be able to attend.

What would Calgary’s innovation ecosystem look like if every idea and interaction stemmed from a place of trust, collaboration, and diverse thinking?

Join #RainforestAB for our annual Calgary summit, where we will explore how to maximize the nutrients of our ecosystem - talent, ideas, and capital - through human behaviour. Optimal social behaviours allow these nutrients to move freely, like in a Rainforest and increases the velocity of innovation. Building this type of culture is not an easy feat. It requires an understanding and commitment to our 

Join us for an interactive morning of deep conversation around the social contract, the state of the ecosystem, and how we can better support the growth of innovation in our city.

This will be a unique morning and will require your participation. We ask that you set aside time for these fundamental conversations and trust-building with ecosystem partners and entrepreneurs. 

Whether you have been around #YYCtech for a while or are new to the community, we want to see you there. All are welcome!

Rainforest Alberta Calgary Summit

Rainforest Alberta sprouted from the award-winning book, 

The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley

. In this book authors, Victor W. Hwang and Greg Horowitt introduce a radical theory to explain the nature of innovation ecosystems - human networks that generate extraordinary creativity and output.

Join the Rainforest Alberta community and one of its co-founders, 

 in exploring how the pillars of our ecosystem are optimized by social behaviours. These behaviours require trust across social barriers, encourage diversity and promote experimental collaboration. Greg will also share insights from his upcoming book.

Brought to you by Rainforest Alberta and support from Bow Valley College.