The Norwegians want to learn from us

The Norwegians want to learn from us

Why a bunch of Scandinavian entrepreneurs spent a week touring Toronto

Photographs by iStock

Earlier this year, the leaders of Norway’s tech scene turned to Toronto. They thought they could learn something about inclusion from a city where half the residents are foreign-born and the mayor refuses to speak at tech events that aren’t sufficiently diverse. In April, the government organized a “diversity boot camp” for eight Norwegian founders. They spent a week touring some of Hogtown’s entrepreneurial hot spots and met with local ­innovators. They also went on a historical tour highlighting Chinatown’s immigrant past and ate dinner at O.Noir, where servers are visually impaired. After the boot camp concluded, the founders returned to Norway to host workshops and tweak their companies’ hiring practices to be more inclusive.

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