Former Nightclub Promoter Develops ‘Thirst’ for Global Change

INVENTURE$ 2020 closing keynote to share personal journey of redemption


CALGARY, Alberta, March 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Scott Harrison, founder and CEO of Charity: Water, spent almost 10 years as a nightclub promoter in New York City before realizing that for him, happiness isn’t found in cars, real estate and “conventional successes.” While travelling in developing parts of the world, Harrison became aware of the world’s clean water crisis and changed course to found the life-saving non-profit organization Charity: Water in 2006. Harrison will give the closing keynote address at Inventures 2020 in Calgary, a conference hosted by Alberta Innovates, June 3-5, 2020.  

Turning his full attention to aiding the world’s 785 million people without clean water to drink, Harrison created public installations and innovative online fundraising platforms to spread awareness. Since then, Charity: Water has raised over $450 million, funded over 51,400 water projects in 28 countries, and will provide more than 11 million people with clean, safe drinking water.

Harrison was recently recognized in Fortune magazine’s 40 under 40 list, Forbes magazine's Impact 30 list, and was #10 in Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” issue. He has also been recognized as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. In October 2018, Harrison released, Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World, his New York Times best-selling memoir, from which net proceeds go to fund Charity: Water projects around the world. Harrison will take centre stage at Inventures 2020, sharing his compelling story and taking questions from the audience, Friday, June 5.

Inventures is a global innovation experience hosted by Alberta Innovates to bring together the world’s top innovators to benefit from ‘creative collisions’ with each other. Now in its third year, Inventures is gaining global interest as “the” place to discover new technologies, markets, capital and customers.

“Scott Harrison’s story is inspiring and is one that will make us all strive to be more courageous, more generous and more innovative in our own ventures,” said Alberta Innovates CEO Laura Kilcrease. “His words will be the perfect parting gift for the over 4,000 attendees at this year’s event.”

Tickets are available for a limited time at an Advance Price of $399 at https://inventurescanada.com/buy-tickets/

For more information about Inventures 2020 and Scott Harrison, please contact Katie Burnett at Katie.Burnett@albertainnovates.ca or 780.306.2596.

Inventures 2020 is where 4000+ ambitious startups, scaleups, investors and industry leaders from around the world come together for three days of awe-inspiring creative collisions. Inventures is an unforgettable experience that opens doors, opens minds and erases boundaries, bringing entrepreneurs and startups together with venture capitalists, angel investors, service providers and thought leaders.