The first ever Virtual Island Summit (October 6-10th 2019) is bringing together experts from around the world to share information on sustainable practices and some of the most pressing issues for island communities.
The event will be completely free to the public, and over 5,000 registered guests are expected to join. Confirmed speakers include former Australian Senator Christine Milne from Tasmania, who was the second woman to lead an Australian political party, Godfrey Baldacchino, a world- renowned academic in Island Studies at the University of Malta, and James Stockan, leader of the Orkney Islands Council.
Other speakers will be announced in the coming weeks with representatives from places as diverse as Fiji, Jamaica, Greenland, Madagascar, the Isle of Man, Mauritius, Taiwan, Tierra del Fuego, Cape Verde and Japan.
Topics for the conference will be wide ranging, with the idea of finding commonalities across diverse island communities and sharing information. Panels are sustainable development, geopolitics, cultural preservation, journalism, communications and other topics pertinent to all island communities.
Former Prime Minister of Aruba Mike Eman, who is also speaking at the summit, greeted the launch with enthusiasm saying: “The Virtual Island Summit is bringing together island communities from around the world with a shared purpose of making their islands more sustainable, more prosperous and securing well-being for all of their citizens. This is a fantastic opportunity to exchange information between islands facing similar challenges and opportunities, and I am looking to sharing my own experiences and learning from all attending.”
Free access to world-class experts. The Summit will be a free event to attend in order to ensure maximum accessibility to expertise from a variety of fields.
Island Innovation
The summit prides itself on being ‘zero carbon’, meaning all sessions will be hosted online from the comfort of your own home or office – this is the first time ever an island summit has been done remotely. The event has a vision of a more sustainable world, and welcomes anyone interested to be a part of this unique project that is the ‘Virtual Island Summit’. With ever more efficient technology, summits like this could become the mainstream and help to reduce our need for flying.
The summit is hosted by Island Innovation, an organization working with diverse island communities around the world to develop innovative solutions for sustainable development and build digital bridges between far-flung islands. Founder James Ellsmoor said: “The Virtual Island Summit will recreate an in-person conference experience to the extent possible, maximizing opportunities to exchange information between attendees. Not only that, but we are avoiding greenhouse gas emissions by moving to an online platform – demonstrating how technology can now be used to eliminate the need for much business travel.”
More information and registration for the summit on the Island Innovation website: www.islandinnovation.co/summit
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