A two-week festival set to shine a spotlight Cornwall’s thriving tech industry is launching this
month.
Software Cornwall’s Festival of Tech launches on Thursday 16th November, 10.15am to 2pm,
at the Eden Project. Businesses are invited to attend and share ideas to help shape the
festival’s line-up.
The lunchtime event will feature a keynote by Georgie Barrat, tech trendsetter and TV
presenter with Channel 5’s The Gadget Show. A frequent contributor to platforms including
The Guardian and Marie Claire, Georgie is a global speaker on future tech trends and
champion for women in tech.
The Festival of Tech, supported by the Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, is being
planned for 12th to 25th February 2024. Next week’s launch event will offer insights from
Software Cornwall and partners TECWomen CIC and Screen Cornwall about how to get
involved.
Niki Davies, director at Software Cornwall, said: “Our mission with the Festival of Tech is to
elevate Cornwall’s stature as a prime hub for tech business, both within the county and
nationally.
“We’re proud to have secured a significant award from the Shared Prosperity Fund to
develop this event. Our goal is to spotlight Cornwall’s thriving tech industry and inspire
individuals to explore tech-centric career pathways, thereby bolstering our local economy in
the long term.”
Sign up is fully funded, and includes a lunch plus a chance to share ideas and feedback to
shape the festival.
Holly Patton, co-director at Software Cornwall, said: “The Festival of Tech is a brilliant
opportunity for businesses and organisations to raise the profile of their products and
services, connect with potential clients and attract new talent.
“We are really keen to use our lunchtime launch event to drive ideas to ensure the events
and activities we deliver for the two-week festival are valuable and help drive the
development of our growing tech industry in Cornwall.”
TECWomen will be hosting an event, the CTRL ALT DEL summit, aimed at encouraging
inclusivity within the tech industry.
Caitlin Gould, TECWomen’s founder, said: “We can’t wait to bring together tech companies
and inclusivity communities together for a day exploring how to reboot the tech industry to
create more accessible and inclusive innovation, products and services so we can all work to
create a brighter future for all.
“With a huge number of tech-for-good organisations in the South West we believe that
Cornwall is the perfect location to host such a critical global conversation.”
Festival Of Tech has received £453,699 from the UK Government through the UK Shared
Prosperity Fund. Cornwall Council has been chosen by Government as a Lead Authority for the fund and is responsible for monitoring the progress of projects funded through the UK Shared
Prosperity Fund in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Louis Gardner, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for economy, said: “The Shared
Prosperity Fund provides an opportunity to direct investment that will deliver outcomes for
our communities and drive good growth in our economy.
“Our Good Growth ambitions are about boosting Cornwall’s long term economy, bringing
with it well-paid jobs and business growth. Software Cornwall’s Festival of Tech will shine a light on this
growing sector, hopefully encouraging more residents to pursue a career in this area and
businesses to invest.”
Get tickets to Software Cornwall’s Festival of Tech launch here:
www.cornwallfestivaloftech.co.uk
