International Technology Forum "Digital Bridge"

The capital of Kazakhstan will host the annual Digital Bridge international technology forum on 24-25 October 2019. Leading IT specialists and technology entrepreneurs will gather on a common dialogue platform to share experiences and innovative solutions in the field of digital development.

This year the forum "Digital Bridge" is held at the initiative of the President of Kazakhstan K.K.Tokayev to support young IT-specialists of the country.

The main goal of "Digital Bridge" is to create a dialogue platform between participants of the innovation ecosystem of Kazakhstan and to form a pool of modern technoparks among the countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

"This year we have planned the concept of the forum in this way: The Digital Bridge will be a large umbrella event for all discussions on the digital ecosystem in Kazakhstan. We want the Digital Bridge to really be a bridge that will unite different audiences - business, start-ups, government, corporations, and others who are involved in the promotion of digital ideas and intend to solve problems in this area or implement projects that will bring the real output," - said the Deputy Chairman of the Board of NIH Zerde, Pavel Koktyshev.

The key event at the forum venue will be the Next Tech Entrepreneur Forum strategic session. Open discussions will be organized for participants on various topics: Future education, venture financing, eSports, business incubation, digital media. B2B meetings between participants will also be organized here.

"We're going to put a lot of emphasis on the business environment: in a separate location, we will organize a platform where startups, investors, entrepreneurs, IT companies, specialists and media can find each other in one place and discuss specific topics in an informal atmosphere, "shirt-sleeve meeting," - added Pavel Koktyshev.

During the days of the forum, the annual Astana Hub Awards, which are awarded for the contribution to the development of IT-industry in Kazakhstan, as well as the Astana Hub Battle - competition between technology startups.

As part of the Digital Bridge, the official opening of Astana IT University and the Alem programming school will also take place, as well as a demonstration of the Digital PSC services. In addition, an important part of the forum will be an open discussion on digitalization issues involving five CDOs and a round table of SCO international technology parks.

The event is organized by the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the participation of JSC "National Info-Communication Holding "Zerde" and the international technology park of IT-startups Astana hub. The Forum is supported by JSC Kazakhtelecom, ERG and BTS Digital.

Registration for participants and accreditation of media representatives are already open on the forum website – digitalbridge.kz.