THE MEET UP: #1 Women in Tech
23 October 2019 at DoubleTree by Hilton, Lincoln UK
Photo credit: Electric Egg
On Wednesday 23 October 2019, Frequency International Festival of Digital Culture will convene its first inaugural event bringing together the collective voices, from across the creative industries and education sector alongside key influencers and policy makers, to champion Women in Tech and help shape the future of digital for all.
Setting the stage for an exciting 5th edition of one of the UK’s leading digital culture festivals, THE MEET UP will explore ways in which we move diversity forward in a technological age. The focus for 2019 will bring passionate and committed individuals from across the UK to reflect and debate the issues of gender inequality in the tech sector.
THE MEET UP 2019 will champion Women in Tech by foregrounding the new frontiers of digital innovation and creativity. The gathering will advocate for diversity and social inclusivity in innovation processes, seeing this as a key driving force to attain an alternative future through cultural transformations.
We are faced today with a world in which technology embedded in our everyday lives is predominantly conceived and programmed from a one gender perspective – a perspective rooted in platforms controlling our social interactions, in products and services we use and in the content we consume, shaping the future to come.
Whilst we are seeing an inspiring rise of female influencers paving the way for the next generation of talent to enter the digital economy – our most active future sector – there is still much to do. We need to ensure we engage and encourage the coming generations to walk in the paths of these individuals who are charging forward and resetting the course of digital innovation.
Taking place in the stunning historic city of Lincoln, THE MEET UP will be a packed day of influential speakers, creative technology showcases, panel discussions and informal working groups. Activities across the day will be led by established professionals, influencers and inspiring individuals, who are regionally, nationally and internationally active in this issue; with a positive space to engage, encourage and enable an ongoing debate and achievable actions beyond the day.
THE MEET UP will be co-hosted by Uzma Johal MBE, co-director of Threshold Studios and Frequency Festival and Ghislaine Boddington, Co-Founder and Creative Director of body>data>space / Women Shift Digital.
Speakers include:
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, a recognised thought-leader in the tech sector and listed among the world’s top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes (2018) and co-founder of Stemettes in delivering the keynote and hosting a conversation with rising talent Akeelah Betram, Creative Director, Ultiverse; Jennifer Mackown, Senior Software Developer at ScholarPack; and Amy Thornley, User Experience Designer at the BBC.
Dr Imafidon MBE said: “Sharing the stage with emerging talent is something we should do more often and I’m excited to open up their vision of the future for the Frequency audience. Looking forward to the rest of the day too, I will end the day with an overview of the positive change we can do together to move forward with gender equality in tech and beyond.”
Donna Close, Director, AMP Culture, Associate Director at Festivals and Events International, and Associate Director at Threshold Studios hosting an experienced panel of women: Joanna Clarke, Group CEO of NBV, NWES and Enterprise for London Enterprise Agencies; Kerryn Wise, Researcher and Lecturer at De Montfort University, QuestLab Digital Dance Artist and Dance Ambassador, National Dance Company Wales; and Faye Bowser, Head of Distributed Energy Systems UK at Siemens.
THE MEET UP will lead into the fifth iteration of Frequency, the biennial international digital culture festival in Lincoln, from 24-27 October 2019. Frequency is renowned for city-wide digital takeovers in non-traditional spaces, including exhibitions of site-specific work, live performances, world premieres, and interactive experiences open to all. Frequency 2019’s theme is Disruption = Cultural Reinvention, and will consist of four jam-packed days that will challenge perceptions, capture imaginations and inspire change.
Tickets to THE MEET UP are available to book via: Frequency.org.uk/TheMeetUp
Tickets: £65 / £50 Freelancers / £40 Students
(Students must bring a student ID. Freelancers must bring a business card)
For enquiries please email events@frequency.org.uk.
For announcements follow #TheMeetUp #Freq19
