Minister Harris to provide opening address to Inspirefest this Thursday

The Minister for Health, Simon Harris T.D., will give the opening address to Inspirefest at 9 am this Thursday morning 21st June (at The BGE Theatre, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2).

Inspirefest (21st & 22nd June) is Europe’s leading conference of technology, science and the arts. It is unique and different from traditional tech events in that it has diversity and inclusion at its core. Taking place in the vibrant surroundings of Dublin’s digital docklands and with 50 keynote speakers from 20 countries, the attendance of 3,000 delegates is approximately 65% female.

Inspirefest aims to celebrate and challenge our perspectives and norms relating to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) and the arts. The themes for this year’s event vary from Environmental and Marine Science to Space Exploration, tackling the biases in Artificial Intelligence and the Talent Dividend that can be created by companies embracing those with difference from Autism to Blindness and beyond.

Speakers include:

• Surbhi Sarna, the 32-Year old whose start-up nVision Medical has just sold to Boston Scientific for US $275m
• Liza Donnelly, Cartoonist and Writer for The New Yorker and leading Me Too advocate.
• Claire Lee, Head of Early-Stage Banking at Silicon Valley Bank
• Beatboxer, Reeps One – The collision of technology and the arts will also be tackled with renowned Beatboxer, Reeps One teaming up with Nokia Bell Labs’ Experiments in Arts and Technology (EAT) group to perform a world-first duet between himself and his digital beatboxing artificial intelligence (AI) twin.
• Zoe Philpott returns to Inspirefest to collaborate in the development of her latest interactive story: Ada’s Army. With a bag of postage labels, a chair and five hundred metres of string, Zoe will be inviting Inspirefest attendees to update history with the overlooked STEM greats who just happen to be women.

Speakers also include Tim Leberecht, Co-Founder of The Business Romantic Society, Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, founder of Stemettes, and Dr. Easkey Britton, champion surfer, artist, scientist and explorer.

Now in its fourth year, Inspirefest will be topped off each day with the usual range of cultural Fringe activities, culminating with an After Party at CHQ on Friday evening with music from Hvmmingbyrd and entertainment from Bright Club (Stand Up for Geeks), among others.

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