Web Summit aims to host debates not be their subject, CEO tells Lisbon opening

Web Summit should be a space for hard conversations, not be the subject of them, its new chief executive Katherine Maher told the Lisbon event on its opening night. Ms Maher was addressing the recent controversy around her predecessor and Web Summit co-founder Paddy Cosgrave, who stepped down last month following posts he made on social media about the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Mr Cosgrave had “always been outspoken, on stage and online”, she said.

“I think it’s important to say that I believe everyone, everywhere, has the right to express their views on what is happening in the world. This is true whether those views are wise and well-considered, or disposable and disappear in the doom scroll,” she said.

“But having a right to expression, and considering the weight of your words are two different things. As the new CEO, I have two things I want to make clear. The first is to reaffirm that right to ideas and expression. Web Summit is a place where you should come to be challenged, and prepare to challenge. There are too many important conversations we must have as a community and society, and we won’t shy away from hosting them.”

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Technology and society’s collective wellbeing required disrupters and innovators be willing to ask “difficult questions and challenge the status quo”, she said.

“Since joining I’ve been asked what the future of Web Summit will be. I can tell you tonight, as the new leader of this organisation of incredibly committed staff and as a long-time advocate for technology as a driving force for good for humanity and society, that Web Summit will continue to be the most important place to bring together and connect people and advance critical conversations about technology, society and innovation,” she said.

Organisers estimated up to 11,000 people attended the opening event. A total of 70,000 attendees are expected across the four days of Web Summit at the Altice Arena in Lisbon. Among the companies taking part are 23 Irish start-ups that have been chosen for the “Irish Island” showcase.

More than 2,600 start-ups and 900 investors are set to take part in the annual tech conference.

The event is trying to shake the controversy that saw Mr Cosgrave step down as chief executive and resign from the board of the company last month. A number of high-profile partners withdrew from Web Summit Lisbon, including Intel, Siemens, Google and Amazon Web Services. Speakers also pulled out following his comments on Israel’s action in Gaza, including Gillian Anderson and Amy Poehler.

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Ms Maher was subsequently appointed as chief executive and also given a seat on the board. Mr Cosgrave formally stepped down from the board last week.

This was not her first appearance on the Web Summit stage. She previously appeared on the main stage in 2019, when she was heading up the Wikimedia Foundation.

“As I stand here again, I see even more clearly how technology contains all our collective wishes for a brighter and better future. In this moment, technology may be both our greatest hope for progress and also our greatest potential divider,” she said.

“Because of this I believe that Web Summit’s role as a place for connection and community is more urgent than ever. It’s the only event where thousands of us meet to tackle these issues through the technology you build, the companies you found, and the ideas you champion.”

Ms Maher was also joined by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, who discussed artificial intelligence, and Portugal’s minister for the economy, Antonio Costas Silva.