Berlin’s digital scene will be in the spotlight in April at SinnerSchrader’s eighth NEXT conference highlighting the trends of the world’s digital economy. More than 2,000 tech people from all over the world are expected to participate at the event.
The newly-revealed line up includes renowned Silicon Valley-based tech blogger Robert Scoble, Wolfraum Alpha search engine’s creator Stephan Wolfraum, and the digital head of Obama’s re-election campaign Harper Reed, with the event aiming to explore which innovations will shape our economy the most in the next 12-36 months.
This year’s NEXT theme is ‘Here Be Dragons’ which, as ambiguous as it may seem at first, will focus on what lies ahead, “the unchartered territory”, such as technology becoming transparent, rethinking interfaces, digitalisation and the growth of mapping.
NEXT programme director Peter Bihr said: “The theme plays with the notion that there are no general business instructions any more. It’s time to cross borders, discover unknown territories and seize new opportunities there. At NEXT13 many visionaries will give thematic overviews and practical tips on the digital trends of tomorrow that are worth exploring today.”
The conference began as a small party for digital agency SinnerSchrader in Hamburg but due to demand for tickets and good feedback the event grew. To deal with its increasing popularity the event moved to Berlin in 2010. This year it will be held at the Berliner Congress Centre on April 23 and 24.
Amongst the 2,000 participants will be representatives from large corporations, business developers, marketing experts, techies and startups. There will be workshops and three stages; the dome stage where expert international leaders will present, the white stage where case studies will be presented, and the start up stage where NEXT start up finalists will present.
The NEXT Berlin programme of sessions and speakers is almost full but you can still apply here, and vote for your favourite startup here.