The IBE-UNESCO at WEBIT Festival Europe

In Sofia, Bulgaria today, His Excellency, the President of Bulgaria officially opened the 11th session of the WEBIT Festival Europe. Among platinum participants is the Director of IBE-UNESCO. 
 
15,000 participants from over 120 countries converged to Sofia for the Festival.
 
In his opening remarks, the President highlighted that WEBIT proofs that there are no small or big countries when it comes to innovative capacity. What separates countries is the will to succeed and lead. "WEBIT," he said, "proves Bulgaria’s willingness to succeed and to lead. Not it’s size." He emphasized the need for speed and efficiency in innovation, noting how the time lag between innovation cycles continues to shrink. 
 
"Despite the pressure for speed," he said, "innovators and designers must not lose focus of the reality that algorithms created today will affect future social and political fabric of societies. This is a huge responsibility, the values, ethical, and moral dimensions of technology. And that is the responsibility of WEBIT, among others."
 
Also in the opening session were: the Mayor of the city of Sofia, the European Commissioner for the digital economy and society, Mr. Bill Gajda from VISA (the official sponsor of the 2019 WEBIT Festival Europe), and the Secretary of State of Spain.
 
Valencia, Spain was announced as the winner for hosting the 2020 Festival.
 
The opening was followed by the first keynote by VISA representative.

Stay tuned for more news from the festival!