Doug Lansky, Lauri-Ann Ainsworth and Kate Brown, among the main speakers
The second Smart Island World Congress will feature prominent international speakers
The leading world congress on smart islands will feature 95 speakers, mostly with international profiles, who will discuss how to enhance relations between island territories while addressing challenges such as tourism, climate change, competitiveness and innovation. The event, organized by Fira de Barcelona with the support of the Government of the Balearic Islands, the Island Council of Majorca and Calvià Town Council, will be held for the second time on 23 and 24 April in Calvià (Majorca).
The leading speakers will include Doug Lansky, a consultant and international expert on tourism and future trends within the sector. He is the author of a dozen books, including two for the Lonely Planet publishing house and three for Rough Guides. He has written articles for publications such as National Geographic Traveler, Reader’s Digest, Esquire, The Guardian and the Huffington Post. He has also given lectures for the World Tourism Organization of the United Nations, at about a hundred universities around the world and at the head offices of National Geographic.
Another leading speaker will be Lauri-Ann Ainsworth, Director of Development and Communications of the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship – Caribbean. Ainsworth has far-reaching experience in the fields of marketing and communications and the entrepreneurial ecosystem, given that she has helped numerous startups to develop. The Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship – Caribbean was set up in 2011 by Virgin Unite, the foundation of the Virgin Group, owned by business tycoon Richard Branson. Its aim is to support new companies which contribute positive values to society.
Another of the main speakers will be Kate Brown, Executive Director of the Global Island Partnership, the UN association grouping island territories together. This is an entity which promotes cooperation among islands in areas such as natural conservation and sustainability.
The second Smart Island World Congress will be attended by prominent international institutional representatives. These will include the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (New Zealand), the Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, the Mayors of Zanzibar (Tanzania) and Port Louis (Mauritius) and the Deputy Mayors of Ajaccio (Corsica) and Hvar (Croatia).
B2B Space and Awards
A new feature of the congress this year will be an event for professionals titled Island2Island, during which the participating islands will be able to arrange meetings with each other and some of the participating companies, with the purpose of establishing commercial relationships and identifying business opportunities. The congress website will accept registrations until 21 April. In the meantime, the meetings between the participants will be arranged between 3 and 21 April.
As for the second Smart Island Awards, entries can be submitted until 5 April for the three categories: Smart Island, Smart Destination and Sustainable Development. The awards will be presented on 23 April during the congress.
Barcelona, 28 March 2018