By Phil Benson
We had the pleasure of attending and being part of Leeds Digital Festival 2024.
With over 200 events across 2 weeks, it was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about what challenges and innovation is occurring across different sectors of Tech in Leeds and the wider Yorkshire regional area.
The launch event saw speeches from prominent figures in the Leeds ecosystem including the outgoing Leeds City Council Chief Executive, Tom Riordan, who spoke of an ever-growing, thriving digital community and region where digital is leading the way for progress. Some highlights over the couple of week.
Tech for Health Equity:
Bridging the Gap
Hosted at BJSS, this was a fascinating look into our very fragmented and complex health care system. Focusing on health inequalities which exist within society and what solutions and programmes are available to address patient needs.
We have in many ways a ticking time bomb in terms of the under-investment and ever-evolving challenges presented in the health care system, where those who are already at a disadvantage unfortunately could be even further affected.
But it was heartening to see programme initiatives within NHS such as the Core 20PlUS5 designed to tackle & reduce healthcare inequalities and Health Tech companies like DigiBete who are making Diabetes information & care more accessible.
Healthcare is one of the biggest issues of our time and UK Black Tech has made it part of our mission to be at forefront of ensuring we are developing the right solutions and innovating in a practical way which has desired impacts for all.
Leeds Digital Careers Fair
This was a fantastic event with a mix of charitable, public, corporate, academic institutions and Tech companies under one roof matched with prospective talent from varied age ranges and abilities.
I had the pleasure of speaking to the audience about my experience transitioning and working in the Tech world and showcasing the work of UK Black Tech. An important theme we reiterated across the event was, with a £68 billion skills gap, it is essential to have a diverse talent pipeline in order for organisations to not just survive but to thrive.
Women in Leeds Digital (WILD) hosted a Social & ‘Career’s Digital Drop-in Clinic’.
At an event hosted by KPMG, I spoke to a number of people from diverse backgrounds and communities who wanted to work in tech, ranging from college students to established professionals, including teachers.
It was heartening to see young people, particularly from underrepresented groups who traditionally wouldn’t be exposed to or have access to many of these opportunities, really making it their aim to succeed and fulfill their ambitions. It is our job in the Tech and wider ecosystem to ensure they have as smooth and accessible path ways as possible in order to make this a reality and make our Tech ecosystem the most representative and innovative.
Regional Tech Spotlight on West Yorkshire: Trends and opportunities.
This was a really insightful event hosted by Tech UK.
Here, we were able to gain expert insights and information about supply chain and procurement in the public sector, and where spending and challenges currently exist within different regional authorities related to digital technology.
UK Black Tech, we aim to continue working with local and national governments to ensure we have a more equitable, representative, and impactful policy-driven solution to the challenges we all face together in society. That means having our voices, ideas and expertise heard in these key areas and discussions.
We were pleased to have made some fantastic new connections and welcomed a number of tech enthusiasts who joined our community, including our active Discord group.
We’re excited for more collaborations and partnerships with organisations to make progress and change the narrative on innovation in technology.