Dear Editor,
Twice my colleague and I submitted a panel idea with confirmed panelists, who are known in their field, to SXSW Eco ["
Future Perfect," News, Oct. 7] and solicited support from the Austin-based members of the advisory board. I attended all of the conferences except in 2015 and have completed their survey each time.
My impressions:
Speakers have shared creative ideas, but many do not effectively relate how their ideas can help Central Texas.
As with all SXSW conferences they have a business-to-business focus and people/businesses of lesser means normally cannot benefit due to high admission costs and weekday scheduling.
The founding Austin-based SXSW Eco advisory board need to consider if they are participating actively enough in supporting panel submissions through the panel picker voting process. If not, it may be time for them to make way for others who prioritize this responsibility so submissions from Central Texas get the consideration and support they need.