Belfast will play host to a prestigious European technology conference for the next three years, with MIT Technology Review's EmTech Europe to be held there.
The city has been chosen for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 conferences, although this year’s will be held virtually on May 27th and 28th.
The conference brings together technology, business and culture, sharing research and discoveries.
"EmTech Europe will give a platform to Europe's most influential leaders in technology, policy and business to help start new conversations on how technology can create more opportunity and prosperity as countries look to rebuild economies and societies beyond this pandemic," said Tom Gray, curator of EmTech Europe, and group CTO of Kainos.
"Playing host to MIT Technology Review's flagship European conference for the next three years affirms Belfast's place as a growing global tech hub, and is a major coup for our burgeoning tech sector and wider industries across the island of Ireland.
“We look forward to welcoming delegates on a virtual platform this year, but are hugely excited for them to see what Belfast has to offer when we welcome them in person in years two and three.”
Previous speakers at the conference include Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff; Facebook's CTO Mike Schroepfer; and Yasmin Green, director of research and development, Jigsaw at Google.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Forging a Brighter Future”, exploring a sustainable, intelligent, healthy and equitable future.
"MIT Technology Review's mission is to equip audiences with the tools to understand and contribute to a world shaped by technology – our events bring that mission to life around the globe," said Nico Crepaldi, head of custom content at MIT Technology Review.
“Today we are delighted to see the EmTech series returning to Europe, better and stronger than ever before, with Belfast as its hub.”
The conference is being run in partnership with Belfast City Council.
