Impact Blog

As we close out 2020, Startup Tucson and the TENWEST team have continued to evaluate how TENWEST and our organization have the most impact in our community as we look towards recovery and resilience and how the festival can best…

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the technological advances it brings are changing our lives as politicians, business leaders, and academics try to keep up. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is here. As the physical, digital, and biological worlds collide through…

As part of the 2019 festival, TENWEST organizers hired artist Amy Jorgensen to create a collaborative art piece aimed at demonstrating if we are a cities of do-ers or dreamers. The below is a summary of the findings. Read more…

How do the individual community members of the city of Tucson promotepositive and impactful change? Not everyone can run for office orengage in urban planning, and very few have time to engage inmeaningful civic activism or advocacy. This installation attempts…

Did you know the average conference attendee averages around 61 pounds of waste a day?! With TENWEST occurring over 10 days and expecting thousands of attendees, that really adds up. In our mission to continue to make an impact, the…

Meet with representatives from production and distribution companies, state and local officials, convention and visitors bureaus, tourism and more Tucson, Ariz. – Tired of seeing film production fly over or drive past our state? The Arizona Film Expo (AFE) has…

If you feel stuck and don’t know what to do to grow your music career, let me help you out. Hi, I’m Björgvin Benediktsson, author, audio engineer, and entrepreneur. I’m also running the Music Accelerator for TENWEST during SAACA’s Creative…

The Old Pueblo, New Idea series is about featuring local heros who are transforming our community. Often, we don’t even know the incredible talent located right here in the Old Pueblo! In series two of #OldPuebloNewIdeas we feature Dr. Bryan…

The Old Pueblo, New Idea series is about featuring local heros who are transforming our community. Often, we don’t even know the incredible talent located right here in the Old Pueblo! In our first of the series, we talk to…

Happening as part of Tucson Meet Yourself in the TENWEST Pavilion October 11-13, 2019 | Open daily from 11am – 6pm Presented by Local First Arizona in collaboration with TENWEST and Tucson Meet Yourself Interactive experience in the heart of…

Heritage Pop-Up Market in Tucson Meet Yourself TENWEST Pavilion: October 11-13, 2019 | Open daily from 11am – 6pm Presented by Agave Heritage Festival and McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship in collaboration with TENWEST, Sysco, UNESCO Tucson City of Gastronomy  Interactive…

For startups, talent is everywhere, but power is not. By TENWEST Speaker Allie Burns, CEO at Village Capital. Originally posted on medium.com People often use the phrase, “Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not.” I might take this one step…

Arizona’s Optics Valley is home to some of the field’s leading research centers and businesses in science, engineering and manufacturing. From your smartphone to your car to medical instruments, optics technology enables the products and devices we use everyday. In…

Innovation districts drive economic growth by bringing together innovators, researchers, and entrepreneurs. For the last 50 years, innovation has been concentrated in areas like California’s Silicon Valley and Boston’s Route 128. Now, a new model is emerging: urban innovation districts….

Smart cities can improve many aspects of the quality of life such as safety, cost of living, jobs, environmental impact, and health. By 2050, 68% of the global population is expected to live in cities, a 13% increase from the…

Creative economies benefit individuals and society as a whole by creating jobs, economic impact, and community pride. The creative economy is on the rise, but what exactly is it? The creative economy is defined as the industries at the crossroads…

Tucson Meet Yourself, a gem of Tucson’s cultural and heritage legacy, has officially become the gateway event for TENWEST Impact Festival. This partnership is deeply intentional on the parts of both events. Jim Griffith, founder of Tucson Meet Yourself, once…

Festivals bring many benefits to cities around the world. From tourism, to economic development, to community building, there are many reasons cities of all sizes opt to host festivals. TENWEST Impact Festival does more for Southern Arizona than simply provide…

To get you as excited as I am about everything, we put together a fancy listicle for you. People love listicles – or so we’ve been told by everyone who’s ever forwarded us a Buzzfeed article… Anyways, here’s just a…