DERRY IS hosting a late summer festival with a difference as it launches its first “digital” festival. The Culture Tech festival will bring together more than 90 industry speakers – local and international – 50 music acts and lots of different digital creators from all walks of life.
The four-day festival, which begins tomorrow, is the brainchild of Digital Derry, an initiative – set up by local private, public and academic organisations – that is working to grow a digital-focused economy in the city.
Festival organiser Mark Nagurski is confident Culture Tech will showcase the city in its best digital light. He believes the fact that more than 1,000 festival tickets have been sold in advance suggests there is a huge appetite for what Derry is about to stage.
He says what gives the Culture Tech festival such wide appeal is that it is part technology and media conference and part music and arts festival.
“We thought it was the right time to showcase not only what companies in Derry are doing but what the city has to offer. Instead of going to conferences to see what other people are doing, we decided for a change they should come and see what is happening in Derry.
“We’ve encouraged local people to get involved in Culture Tech [and] local companies to organise their own events, and we’ve made sure there are lots of things happening that also make it a family-friendly, inclusive festival,” he said.
Nagurski hopes Culture Tech will also inspire local people and businesses, not to mention visitors coming to the city.
“We want people to talk about this. We want them to get a chance to see what is happening in Derry, to encourage students and graduates to consider the digital economy as a career choice, whether it is in, for example, the local gaming industry or [the] development sector.
According to Sinead McLaughlin, chief executive of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, the ambition of those in Derry is for the city to be the best place in the UK or Ireland in which to establish a new digital business.
She believes the city has the infrastructure in place to make good on that ambition. Telecoms provider BT chose Derry as the first location in which to upgrade 100 per cent of its street cabinets with fibre broadband technology. Nearly 39,000 homes and businesses in Derry city will benefit from download speeds of up to 80Mbps and because the technology has been delivered on an open-access basis it means other broadband providers can also access the network.
According to McLaughlin, Derry’s new high-tech credentials mean those in the city no longer need to worry about being on the periphery of Europe when it comes to creating new economic opportunities for the city.
“We used to suffer because of our location but not any more. In terms of infrastructure we are exactly where we need to be,” she said.
According to Digital Derry, the city is currently home to more than 50 creative digital content companies as well as long-established inward investors such as Allstate, Fujitsu and Seagate.
Nagurski, who is also Derry’s official digital champion, hopes that at the very least Culture Tech will inspire a new wave of digital creative entrepreneurs and potential investors to look at the city in a different light.
If budding digital creators need further inspiration, there is also £20,000 (€25,200) up for grabs at the SeedComp 2012 finals, which will take place on Friday during Culture Tech.
SeedComp is hoping to find the most promising digital business ideas in Co Derry – the shortlisted team with the best new idea will walk away with a first prize of £10,000 (€12,600) and two runners up will get £5,000 (€6,300) each.
