The workshops take place on the third Friday of every month. Who will the speakers be? The most suitable people to talk about entrepreneurship and innovation
Santiago de Chile, 10 May 2012.- Five young people from Fundación Telefónica Chile have a new meeting on the third Friday of every month. Telefónica’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Cultural Transformation departments are organizing a series of Innovation Workshops in which different experts will share their views on the topics of creativity, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
Federico Sánchez, architect and director of the Design School at Universidad Diego Portales, was chosen to open Telefónica’s series of lectures on Innovation before an audience of 100 collaborators, including members of Fundación Telefónica’s Young People's network.
Innovation Through Language
Sánchez referred to the possibilities for innovation that language offers, stating that, in his opinion, people have drifted away from symbolic language, adopting a merely operative one.
“Innovation is a connection to the truth of words that is reached by resorting to etymology”, said Federico. During his presentation, the architect spent some time explaining the Latin root of different words that explain their true meaning, and indicated that innovation is not always what it seems.
“In fashion, the new is temporary, and disappears from one season to the next. I rebelled against fashion a long time ago. I use my father’s and grandfather’s jackets and stay away from the harmful consumerist game. Innovation is not a value per se, and it is not always good” emphasized the architect.
Entrepreneurship and innovation are not synonyms.
Regarding entrepreneurship, Sánchez highlighted the importance of separating this concept from innovation. “We often confuse entrepreneurship and innovation. People say we are innovative entrepreneurs. There are wonderful startups, but they are exactly the opposite of innovation. For instance, what Ralph Lauren, the emperor of fashion, did was re-visit a series of traditional values. He rebelled against innovation as a continuous value per se”, he pointed out.
For the architect, innovation is a challenge that requires one to reflect, take charge of their surroundings, and take on an ethical duty.
“We must progress from understanding to living. By means of a simple demonstration exercise, we will realize that words pave the way to innovation. They help us build an idea, because the word conveys it. When engaging in an innovative process, what we have to do is to communicate, understand, and position ourselves in the world,” concluded Sánchez.
These workshops provide a great wealth of useful information for the young members of the audience that aspire to develop entrepreneurial projects, and who today form part of Fundación Telefónica’s International Young People's Network.
