From October 16-22, the world’s top thinkers, tastemakers, idea generators, and innovators descend upon Chicago for the seventh annual Chicago Ideas Week. Ideas Week is the largest affordable ideas festival on the planet, bringing a variety of talks, panels and hands-on labs to venues across the Windy City.
What Is Chicago Ideas Week 2017?
According to Chicago Ideas, the week-long event simply aims to inspire, connect, and empower people to make the world a better place. The nonprofit platform is “designed to inspire action through entertaining and accessible events, grassroots initiatives, and thought-provoking content.”
Largest ideas festival, huh? Believe it.
Chicago Ideas anticipates more than 30,000 to take part in more than 200 events and enjoy more than 250 speakers. This year features diverse events covering topics in business, politics, technology, and much more—there’s something for everyone. Better yet, most of these events only cost $15 to attend. Local places like the Harris Theater, Morningstar, and Venue SIX10 are among the venues hosting each event.
Who Will Attend Chicago Ideas Week?
Guests and speakers appearing at these events include writer Lena Waithe, Uber chief brand officer Bozoma Saint John, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, and fashion designer Zac Posen. Even megastar Kim Kardashian West was slated to appear at the event, but was forced to cancel due to a scheduling conflict.
There are plenty of other great speakers and events to check out, including:
- Collaborative Creative and the Evolution of an Idea: David Korins (stage designer of Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen), fashion designer Zac Posen, Second City Executive Vice President Kelly Leonard and others will discuss the role of collaboration in mankind’s greatest achievements. (Venue SIX10, 610 S Michigan Ave., Oct 16 at 4 p.m.)
- Innovating from Within: When the Entrepreneurial Spirit Never Stops: Business leaders like cosmetics icon Bobbi Brown, designer Rachel Roy, MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi and Flywheel CEO Sarah Robb O’Hagan share their own personal entrepreneurial stories. (Harris Theater, 205 E Randolph St., Oct 17 at 7 p.m.)
- From Catwalks to Pop-ups: How Streetwear Set the Pace for High Fashion: Fashion tastemakers Dapper Dan and Jason Mayden explain how pop-up shops have become an access point to high fashion. (Venue SIX10, 610 S Michigan Ave., Oct 19 at 4 p.m.)
- A Seat at the Table: Finding Equal Footing Through Storytelling: Lena Waithe, best known as Denise on Netflix’s Master of None, and Uber Chief Brand Officer Bozoma Saint John explain how they’ve used their own experiences as a tool for attaining social justice for women of color. (Harris Theater, 205 E Randolph St., Oct 19 at 7 p.m.)
- The Future of Work: Join Julie Smolyansky, CEO of Lifeway Foods, Dev Aujla, Founder of Catalog, Claire Lew, CEO of Know Your Company, and others in breaking down how work is changing, and what that means for people on all sides. (Morningstar, 22 W Washington St., Oct 16 at 1:15 p.m.)
Each event costs $15 to attend. If you’re interested in checking anything out, you can find out a full schedule of events here.
Connecting With Chicago
Ideas Week also features Idea Days — a special program designed to bring action-driven programs to students by putting Chicago Ideas programming in the hands of CIW YOU(th) Ambassadors. The YOU(th) program provides 500 high school students from underrepresented communities in Chicago direct access to Chicago Ideas Week programming.
According to Chicago Ideas, in giving students the opportunity to create impactful programs, Idea Days hone leadership, professional and problem-solving skills, while exposing their classmates to transformational ideas around the themes that matter most to them. Each Ideas Day consists of:
- Student Leaders: Participating students will develop invaluable leadership skills and a sense of achievement from having created an impactful event.
- Action Events: Hands-on activities to help students feel like they are contributing to a solution for a specific challenge.
- Stage Programs: Stage programs bring dynamic speakers to your school, inspiring students through energetic talks and presentations.
The rest of Chicago also takes note when it’s Ideas Week: Each year Mayor Rahm Emanuel, World Business Chicago and the University of Illinois invite a collection of engineering, design, and entrepreneurial university students to ThinkChicago so they get first hand experience with the city’s innovation ecosystem. According to the organization, the program takes place Lollapalooza and Chicago Ideas Week, and aims to retain and attract talent in Chicago’s technology sector.
If you’re an MBA student, entrepreneur, innovator, or just a curious mind in the Chicago metro, Chicago Ideas Week should be on your immediate schedule.