Member Article

Tickets now on sale for major new tech festival

TICKETS are now on sale for key events at a major new festival to promote and celebrate the north east’s growing tech sector.

TechNExt Festival, organised by regional tech network Dynamo and its partner Sunderland Software City, will be held throughout the north east from June 19-23 this summer.

Now tickets for three of the Festival’s anchor events have gone on sale.

Dynamo Director Sarah Thackray explained: “We’ve had a huge amount of interest in TechNExt since launching last month and we wanted to get tickets for three of our key events on sale as soon as possible.

“Our industry dinner in Durham on Tuesday, June 20 will give attendees a chance to connect with peers, tech entrepreneurs and business leaders across the region. It’ll be a fantastic opportunity to mix and network with leading figures from the regional sector.

“On the following day, we’re hosting a day-long conference at City Hall in Sunderland and the tickets now on sale are for the TechNExt Main Stage, a single stream of thought-provoking talks from leaders in tech and related industries.

“The big social of the festival, the party, will also take place on June 22 also in Newcastle at Revolucion de Cuba, and tickets for this event are now also on sale.”

Free tickets for another of the Festival’s major events, a tech talent fair, at the BALTIC in Gateshead, also on Thursday, June 22, will be available closer to the event. The aim of this event is to inspire, motive and inform the next generation of tech and digital talent, as well as showcase regional tech employers to anyone looking for a role in the sector.

As well as the curated key events, TechNExt will feature a vibrant showcase programme of fringe events. Tech companies and organisations have been submitting ideas to populate the programme, which aims to have more than 30 events for people to attend.

Fringe events can be any size and aimed at any target audience, as long as they’re free of charge and fit the festival theme of ‘technology, the future and us.’ Dynamo organisers can offer support for companies in finding a venue or speakers, and can also provide advice on timing your event. Organisers would also like to hear from organisations if they have a speaker or a venue to offer for free.

Headline sponsors for TechNExt are Digital Catapult, Newcastle Strategic Solutions, Opencast and Sage.

Paul Struthers, MD UKIA, Sage, said: “Sage was born out of the North East more than 40 years ago by two ambitious graduates. To this day, our engineering and innovation hub is based in the region, helping to develop products that support SMBs globally. We know first-hand how much talent there is in the North East tech scene.

“Tech NExt is celebrating all that the region has to offer, showcasing its tech brilliance while opening its arms to share experience and welcome opportunities for growth in the sector.”

TechNExt is being planned as a Good Festival, with ‘for good’ being a core value of every element of the programme.

Sarah explained: “Delivering a Good Festival means we’re focusing on quality, inclusivity, diversity, accessibility and sustainability. It also means delivering a diverse programme and we aim to make our core events truly accessible, considering those with different protected characteristics and ensuring we meet their needs and make them as welcome as possible.

“In practice this means offering funded and supported places for the Main Stage conference and the party, creating a buddy system for the curated events, and limiting the carbon footprint of our events. Our ‘buddy’ system will enable anyone who would like one to ensure they can make the most of the festival experience.

“We will also encourage our festival partners and fringe programme hosts to consider the accessibility and sustainability of their events, and can offer guidance through a code of conduct we’ve developed.”

Sarah added: “We’ve had such a positive response to the launch of the Festival, and we’re looking forward to bringing the region’s tech sector together through a week of fantastic events.”

Dynamo members are eligible for a 20 per cent discount on tickets (a discount code will be shared with members from the Dynamo team).

To book tickets, to submit an idea for the Fringe programme, or for more information about go to their website.

Dynamo North East is made up of tech organisations, large corporate employers in the region, consultants, technology hubs, education providers, local government and suppliers to the industry. Dynamo relies on the support of the region’s tech organisations to help achieve regional growth in the sector, promote the region externally, develop skills and education, and support regional research and development.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Hoults Yard .