Inspirefest 2016 — a sci-tech festival like no other
Do you want to be inspired this summer and hear from some of the leading thinkers in the sci-tech industries while also enjoying casual networking opportunities in one of the world’s friendliest cities? If the answer is yes, then we have the perfect festival for you.
Inspirefest is a truly unique international sci-tech festival, which also celebrates diversity in STEM. Centred in Dublin’s vibrant digital docklands district, the festival is a unique exploration of pioneering thinking in leadership; science; design; society, technology and the arts. With diversity and inclusion at the core of its mission, the festival celebrates and challenges perspectives and norms relating to STEM and the arts.
Inspirefest held its inaugural event in June 2015, where more than 60 world-class speakers took to the main stage, and to say that they were a diverse bunch would be an understatement. Speakers ranged in age from 10 to an impressive 80 years old, they came from Africa, Iran, Italy, France, the UK, Ireland and the US. Experts in their fields, the professions represented onstage varied from Nobel-worthy astrophysicists to CEOs and presidents of some of the biggest technology companies in the world. In keeping with our mission to change the ratio in STEM, females and minorities represented 75pc of the speakers onstage, a feat unheard of at traditional sci-tech conferences.
Speakers included astrophysicist Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell; Ireland’s Prime Minister (An Taoiseach) Enda Kenny; MakeLoveNotPorn founder Cindy Gallop; Ixia president and CEO Bethany Mayer; Spacehack.org founder Ariel Waldman; Hillary Clinton’s former adviser Shelly Porges; Re/code co-executive editor Kara Swisher; Intel VP Margaret Burgraff; Techmums founder Dr Sue Black, Giant Spacekat co-founder Brianna Wu and 10-year-old Lauren Boyle, EU Digital Girl of the Year 2014.
Astia CEO Sharon Vosmek “Not since TED Talks have I learned so much and left so inspired, though TED could learn a bit from Inspirefest’s speaker sourcing.”
So, who attended? Well, we had world leaders, IT professionals, scientists, engineers, coders, programmers, entrepreneurs, investors, academics, teachers, students, business people, politicians, start-ups, influencers and policymakers. In keeping with our changing the ratio ethos, the event had 35pc male delegates, breaking the mould again for traditional sci-tech events that usually have 90pc white male audiences.
What’s in store for Inspirefest 2016?
Planning is already well underway, the festival will run from 30 June to 2 July 2016. This, the second year of the festival, will again showcase diverse perspectives on STEM and the arts, with workshops, presentations and panel discussions covering a range of themes, from the age of the machine, to the challenges facing the sharing economy.
The programme will also include a family-friendly fringe festival of indie music, documentary screenings, comedy, spoken word and slow food in Dublin’s Georgian heart — Merrion Square Park.
A range of high-profile speakers are already planning to make the journey to Dublin, Europe’s technology hub, including, Robin Chase, founder and CEO of Buzzcar and also co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar, the world’s biggest car-sharing service (and also one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People), and Silicon Valley based business guru Nilofer Merchant, recently described as the No 1 person likely to influence the future of management.
Check out the latest speaker line-up — www.inspirefest.com
Inspirefest promises to be an incredible, must-see festival with leading-edge future thinkers, amazing networking and investment opportunities and impactful insights into the sci-tech industry.
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Visit our website to buy tickets while the Super Early Bird offer lasts.
