Second Line Conference | : A Celebration of Innovation for the New Economy

The inaugural Second Line is an interactive conference celebrating the New Economy successes and strategies with disruptive innovation, value creation, and sustainable social impact. Set in New Orleans, we are bringing some of the world's leading innovators to demonstrate how design, experience, strategy, and technology can be applied to create new markets, exponential growth, and sustainable social impacts. This is not about intellectual theory, but rather about learning and sharing extraordinary work experiences with those who are actually doing it, around the country and around the world. We will compliment the more global perspectives with our local innovators who have fueled the renaissance for New Orleans.

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Why Second Line?

In New Orleans, the Second Line is a part of our traditional funeral services. The First Line refers to the procession of mourners from the church to the cemetery, accompanied by slow, dirge-like music. The funeral party is somber, grieving for their lost loved one.

Then, the Second Line is the parade flows out of the cemetery. Upbeat music and dancing celebrate their loved one's "next life" — an eternity of bliss, free from the tribulations of earthly existence.

In the same way, the Second Line conference is not designed not to mourn the failings of post-World War II capitalism, but to celebrate and nurture the evolving new forms of capitalism that are starting to take shape. Capitalism's "next life" is being shaped by those who see a profitable economy that is also socially responsible, equitable and sustainable.

Why NOLA?

New Orleans, America's current societal Petri dish after Hurricane Katrina, is the scene of disruptive innovation, leveraging creativity and design to tackle many of the problems also vexing the rest of the world. The renaissance is fueled by a combination of locals who returned and an influx of designers, technologists, artists, social entrepreneurs, and business professionals looking to put their ideas into play.

On-going experiments in social and business innovation maintain the interest of global change agents looking to apply the lessons learned here.

Against the backdrop of New Orleans the Second Line Conference will create an international forum to demonstrate how business can innovate through design, experience, strategy, and technology.