The Canary Islands Business Digitalization Show, DigiON Canarias, promoted and financed by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and organized by Infecar, already has its tickets on sale (from 8 euros at digion-canarias.es/) and proposes a wide program for its first edition on March 15 and 16.

DigiON Canarias is born to deepen the important role that the island has for the development of the digital sector, as a space for connection and debate that will include within its two days a business exhibition, advice area and mentoring entities.

The fair will open at 9.30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 15 with the words of the president of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, which will kick off a program of presentations in collaboration with South Summit, a leading platform for business and innovation in Europe. During the day, current international topics such as aid for digitalization, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and the metaverse will be discussed, together with national and international speakers who are leaders in the sector.

These presentations will serve as a meeting point for entrepreneurs, investors and startups, where Félix Barrio Juárez, general director of INCIBE-National Cybersecurity Institute, will speak about the challenges of cybersecurity during the first day of DigiON.

Also on Wednesday, March 15, the director of the Center for Analysis and Prospective of the Civil Guard, Enrique Ávila, will participate in DigiON Canarias, who will address the ‘Risks and threats of the digital era’, and how to defend oneself against this new challenge and recommendations to live safely with this ecosystem. In addition, the founder and CEO of SaturnoLabs, Natalia Rodríguez, will also delve into ‘Artificial Intelligence’, its potential and possibilities. The promoter of SaturnoLabs, an innovation laboratory focused on the creation of products with the highest technology, will also focus on the democratization of technology, one of the axes of this innovation and research group.

The afternoon program on Wednesday March 15 also features the CEO of Union Avatars, Cai Felip, who will speak on ‘Digital identities through avatars and the new universe of the metaverse’. This company focuses on the production of realistic 3D avatars for a virtual identity in the metaverse, which bring a scenario between the virtual and real world, to advance the paradigm shift, eliminate fraud and safeguard privacy.

The UNWTO Startups competition for island destinations brings together around a hundred international companies, four of them from the Canary Islands.

On Thursday, March 16, the Canary Islands Business Digitalization Show, DigiON Canarias, will serve as the epicenter of debate on the main lines of technological innovation, socioeconomic and business development, economic modernization, social progress and tourism linked to the attraction of foreign investment.

DigiOn Canarias will host for the first time in the islands the World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Island Destination Startup Competition (https://www.unwto.org/unwto-tourism-tech-adventures-canarias-2023), a global startup competition to find more sustainable business models that offer intelligent answers and solutions to the challenges faced by island destinations. This international competition already has 60 startups registered, three of them from the Canary Islands.

In addition to the words of the technical coordinator of Economic Development, Energy Sovereignty, Climate and Knowledge of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Raúl García Brink, the opening ceremony will feature the UNWTO spokesperson and former Secretary of State for Tourism, Isabel Oliver. Both will kick off the conference, which will be attended by a dozen international experts and will delve into aspects such as new technologies applied to sustainability and innovation and digitization for island destinations.

Among the topics to be addressed on March 16 are the formulas and solutions for ‘Improving entrepreneurship and sustainable economic opportunities for island destinations through successful governance and technology models’, where specialists in the field will participate. Notable among them are Malta Tourism’s Deputy Director General and Director of Strategic Development, Leslie Vella; Senior Tourism Officer of the Directorate of Quality Assurance and Licensing of Tourism Enterprises of the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Olga Theocharous; the director of the Tourism Office of Mali Losinj, Croatia, Dalibor Cvitković; the tourism industry professional from the island of Elba, Italy, Claudio della Lucia; the professor of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Sergio Moreno; and the general director of the Society for Economic Development of Gran Canaria (SPEGC), Cosme García.

‘How to leverage innovation and digital transformation to strengthen competitiveness and build resilience in the island tourism ecosystem in the post-covid era’ will be one of the central themes of Thursday’s event, in a panel discussion featuring the founder and director of Island Innovation, James Ellsmoor; the director of Global Tourism Innovation Hub, MasterCard, Jennifer Ruiz; the CEO and founder of Archipiélago Next, Miguel Quintanilla; the director of programs of the TIU Foundation, Jost Neumann; the head of Strategic Projects Amadeus for Destinatios, Ramón Sánchez; and the director of Digital Business and Strategic Consulting Atlantis Technology, Zulay Rodríguez.

The Canary Islands Business Digitalization Show, DigiON Canarias, seeks to unite the different agents of the sector and will include a mentoring area with professionals who will help visitors to make a diagnosis of their company and advice, referring them to the different exhibitors as appropriate, with the aim of offering comprehensive care in the same space.

Tickets to participate in DigiON Canarias are already on sale on the official website of the event (digion-canarias.es/visitantes/) at a general price of 8 euros for both days.

The Canary Islands Business Digitalization Show, DigiON Canarias, is promoted and financed by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and organized by Infecar, Feria de Gran Canaria, thanks to the support of the official collaborator Cajasiete; the Sociedad de Promoción Económica de Gran Canaria (SPEGC), Inetel, Archipiélago Next and Proexca as sponsors and the collaboration of the Chamber of Commerce of Gran Canaria, and the participation of OMT and South Summit.