Business
Conference breaks all rules!
It’s so unlike any other conference that an event being staged in the surrounds of Ashford Castle in November is officially known as an ‘un-conference’ – because it’s free to the point where they’ll even look after your kids!
The third annual CongRegation Digital Technology Un-conference takes place in Cong on Saturday, November 28 – and such is its unique nature that speakers have to actually audition to earn their ticket!
The event, which began in 2013, has attracted over 100 Irish and international speakers to discuss, debate and share insights into how work and personal life and society is being impacted by digital technology.
But it has also broken the traditional conference format, which sees speakers earning their ticket with a published submission on www.congregation.ie and presentations taking place in huddles of ten people in social venues throughout Cong village.
And this year the organisers have pushed the boundaries further by providing childcare for participating speakers to make the event family friendly.
The conference has also grown to include an evening of Augmented and Virtual Reality demonstrations and talks in Ashford Castle on Friday, November 27, and sporting activities in Cong Woods on Sunday, November 29.
The event will use a variety of venues in the village including coffee shops, exhibition spaces, restaurants and bars.
The range of topics to date from over 70 speakers ranges from how wearable technology impacts on health, the potential and issues surrounding drones, the future of content, cybercrime, power of data to how social media can be used for social good. Submissions will be accepted until the end of October.
Organiser Eoin Kennedy said that the aim of CongRegation was to revolutionise the way people communicate, connect and share information at events.
“But it is also to show that a small West of Ireland village can host a sustainable international technology event in the winter without the need for big infrastructure,” he said.
“We are delighted that Mayo.ie has come on board, which helps us to expand the event and the offering. We are very conscious that weekends are precious times for families and organizing childcare can be difficult so this year we have supervised workshop activities for families so speakers are free to take their minds for guilt free gallop.
“We have also expanded to a weekend of activities including a Friday evening display of innovative technology in Ashford Castle to social events on Sunday,” he added.
There is no charge to attend Congregation. Instead attendees produce a 600 written blog post, a three-minute video post or five-minute audio post which is posted in advance on www.congregation.ie.
The submissions are then presented in groups of ten people called Huddles will gather at each of seven venues, with two to three people speaking at each until everyone has presented their thoughts and ideas.
These groups rotate four times during the day to different venues to ensure attendees all connect with each other.
Any interested in participating is encouraged to send in a one liner on their suggested topic area to Eoin@congregation.ie
The new President of Local Ireland, the association representing local news publishers around the country, is Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan.
Mr Linehan takes over the presidency from Declan McGuire of the Connacht Tribune. His appointment was confirmed at the recent Annual General Meeting of Local Ireland at Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar, Westmeath.
Mr Linehan, who has served as Vice President of the organisation for the last two years, said: “The coming years are a very important time for local publishers with many important issues to be addressed, including the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations, defamation reform, the role and support for local publishers in public service reporting and helping publishers develop commercial digital offerings.”
Speaking at the AGM, Mr McGuire acknowledged the work done by the Executive in the past two years under the direction of Executive Director, Bob Hughes, on several projects related to the publishing industry but most especially the successful conclusion of the long-running campaign for the abolition of VAT on newspapers.
He also wished Mr Linehan the very best in his new role as President of the association for the next two years.
Mr Hughes thanked Mr McGuire for his leadership and support during his term of office and said he looked forward to working with Mr Linehan on the key policy priorities for the association, including Government supports, Government advertising, fair remuneration for content from the tech platforms and the reform of the legislation for defamation.
Local Ireland members also elected Seán Mahon, Managing Director of the Southern Star, as Vice President for the next two years.
The shortage of affordable housing is the single biggest impediment in attracting and retaining workers in the West, according to business group Ibec.
At a ‘Regional Insights Series’ meeting in the Galmont Hotel in Galway last week, employers were told that capacity constraints and labour supply are the key challenges facing business growth in the region.
Ibec Head of Regional Policy Helen Leahy said: “There must be greater focus by government on enhancing quality of life issues such as housing and infrastructure which are driving labour shortages in the region.
“Ibec’s vision for the West is to realise its potential to become a globally competitive location. An inadequate supply of affordable housing is now the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible.
“Labour shortages are a real concern for businesses in the region. People decide where to live and work based on quality of life and access to high quality services and amenities. Industry tends to follow talent, and in this regard, the region needs to have all the building blocks in place as the attraction and retention of world-class talent becomes increasingly competitive on a global level,” said Ms Leahy.
Amongst Ibec’s priorities for the West are:
- Addressing housing and infrastructure challenges
- Transitioning towards a new growth model with Net Zero energy powered by Atlantic offshore wind resources
- Adapting businesses to the new economic realities
- Enhancing capacity and skillsets to achieve sustainable development objectives
- Investment in people and skills
- Creating competitive advantage through digitalisation
- Innovation as a key driver of productivity growth
One in five Galway businesses want to go fully cashless, as the move towards card payments and tapping continues unabated post-Covid.
In all, 22% of Galway businesses would like to be fully cashless, according to a survey carried out by BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA), a provider of payment technology solutions, which asked Irish businesses about the current payment landscape as well as business confidence and concerns.
Over one-third (36%) of Galway businesses were unaware there is no contactless limit on mobile wallets – just below the national average – while 54% believe the increase in card over cash transactions has helped them run their business.
Six out of ten Galway businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost-of-living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns; 62% believe their business will grow over the next twelve months despite global economic uncertainty.
Unsurprisingly cost-of-living increases and running costs were the main concerns the majority of businesses had.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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