The first blockchain global congress Convergence, The Global Blockchain Congress 2019, will be held in Málaga – Spain – next November 11th -13th at Málaga Trade Fair and Conference Centre (FYCMA). The official opening ceremony will take place on November 12th and the attendees will have a unique opportunity to learn about blockchain priorities and enjoy with a comprehensive program of activities, panels, workshops, hackathons, and culture events. The day before, November 11st, will be devoted to the “Global Blockchain Challenge” a pioneering initiative around the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The Congress – organized jointly by the European Commission, the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum, INATBA and Alastria – will bring together key industries and representatives from across the globe to discuss ideas and share experiences and insights into blockchain technology. The organization has announced new speakers and a comprehensive agenda covering a wide range of topics focused on the possibilities offered by blockchain technology to companies and societies. More than 1,500 highly qualified professionals will attend this event, including blockchain experts, regulators, policy makers, influencers, corporate representatives, researchers, and companies from different industries. The conference offers an unparalleled platform to explore and help build a common vision in terms of networking, collaborating, innovating and facilitating direct dialogue among attendees.
New participants announced
Industry leading speakers will be sharing their knowledge & experiences. The speakers and participants at the event are experts in a broad range of fields within the sector and belong to various organisations, governments and institutions:
• The latest participants include central banks such as the Bank of Japan with Yuuko Kawai, the Inter-American Development Bank & World Economic Forum with Caroline Anstey and Alejandro Pardo Vegezzi, the World Bank with Denis Robitaille, the European Central Bank with Dirk Bullmann of European Central Bank and OECD with Caroline Malcom. All of them join the speakers previously announced from relevant organizations: the European Central Bank, the Bank of Lithuania, the Bank of Spain and the Brazil Central Bank.
• The congress will be a meeting point for associations and organizations: Jennifer D’hoir of the French Digital Asset Association; Emmanuelle Ganne of the World Trade Organization; Vanessa Grellet, President of the Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition; Simona Pop of the Bounties Network; Caroline Dama of Grassroots Economics; Masamba Thioye of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; Bernhard Kowatsch of World Food Programme and John Karanja of BitHub Africa among others, together with representatives from bodies and government bodies including the India Blockchain Standards Committee and the Govern of Tamil Nadu (India).
• The event will also feature regulators including the Spanish Data Protection Agency, the European Data Protection Board, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers France, and the Japanese Financial Services Authority.
• The congress will include the participation of companies like Ledger, IPwe, Degun Digital Group, ConsenSys, Entreprise Ethereum Alliance, IBM, uPort, IOTA, Repsol, Everis/NTT Data and Telefónica.
• The Pompeu Fabra University, the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society of Harvard University, the Institute for the Future University of Nicosia, RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub, PTA-IASP and St. John’s University will join the academic institutions that had already confirmed its attendance, including the University of Málaga, the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center and the Korean Solbridge University.
• Claire Doole, from Claire Doole Communications-Training & Moderating and Pascal van Knijff, from Future of Trust CryptoDaily and Cuttingwood Academy, will be the masters of ceremony.
A comprehensive agenda
For three days, Convergence will provide a forum for participants to ‘converge’ on a wide range of activities, presentations, panels, workshops, hackathons, and cultural events.
The day before the official opening will take place the “Global Blockchain Challenge”, a pioneering initiative in which different profiles – developers, regulators and business people – will come together to address challenges around the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. A competition will take place for 10 hours, and the winners will be presented with the StartUp Europe – World Blockchain Awards by members of the European Parliament, industry leaders and international institutions.
November 12th – 13th – Official opening, keynotes, panels and meetings. During two days more than 60 panels, keynotes and roundtables will be devoted to several topics related to blockchain technology, among them:
• A World of Ledgers: DLT Five Years from Now. A high-level look at how blockchain and DLT might shape society over the mid-term through decentralization and disintermediation, and what challenges need to be overcome along the way.
• Tech Convergence. Exploring how blockchain can work with and support other emerging technologies to help resolve important current issues, in particular cyber security.
• Blockchain for a sustainable society and new business models. Envisioning how blockchain can support progress in meeting today’s social impact, environmental and sustainability challenges.
• Stablecoins and central bank cryptocurrencies. A practitioner’s deep dive into the great potential, as well as some of the pitfalls, of stable coins and central bank cryptocurrencies.
• Blockchain Platforms: Disruption of Data Monopolies? Discussion of how DLT and blockchain may either replace or strengthen the position of intermediaries, centralized networks, and data monopolies.
• Interoperability and Standardization. A look at the importance of, and challenges in achieving, standards for blockchain technology, as well as how the EU is supporting the development of DLT standards for government services.
• Blockchain and Data Privacy. Shedding light on the challenges faced by the blockchain industry when it comes to complying with data protection regulations, and exploring existing privacy-preserving technologies that can help ensure data privacy in both public and private blockchain-based platforms.
• Technology, Law and Ethics. Focus on the path towards a more human-centric development of emerging technologies and sketching the challenges faced by society and lawmakers in safeguarding democratic values and human rights during the 4th Industrial Revolution.
• Blockchain in Europe: An opportunity to understand more about the EU’s blockchain policy and funding initiatives as well as how to get involved and benefit. Roundtables: during the congress will be roundtables organized by INATBA and focusing on the following topics: education, energy, interoperability, supply chain, identity, healthcare, governance issues, finance, social impact, privacy, mobility, public sector, and real estate.
More than a Congress
Convergence, The Global Blockchain Congress 2019 is a platform for international collaboration and presents a unique opportunity for representatives from various industries, governments and companies to understand the benefitis of blockchain technology for societies. The main goal is to impart knowledge about the blockchain technology which is going to play an integral part in the industry and economy.
Sponsors and partners
Convergence is sponsored by por: Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad de la Junta de Andalucía, el Ayuntamiento de Málaga, Everis / NTT Data, Oracle, Grant Thorton, Extenda – Agencia Andaluza de Promoción Exterior -, Santander, Caixabank, Berchain e IECISA. Malta Business, Koin Post, Hackme up, Ágora, Fintech News, Territorio Bitcoin, Motril Digital y Blockchain Economía will be media partners for the Congress.
