Berlin, 17 August 2023 - Technology that promotes and enables diversity can only truly be effective if the people developing the technology, and those leading technology companies, are themselves diverse. A full day of keynotes and panel sessions at this year's IFA Berlin will be discussing all these areas of diversity to ensure the industry is progressing at the rate it should to be fully inclusive.

The packed agenda of sessions geared towards diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), particularly empowering women in technology and seeking equality in emerging technologies, takes place on 3 September. It will feature a range of influential speakers from the likes of SingularityNET, the Prince's Trust, and Founderland. Attendees at the event will hear first-hand accounts of innovation and case studies of how industry leaders can build for a diverse future, where technology benefits the many, rather than just a few.

'The pace of technology advancement is exciting and throughout IFA 2023, we will be looking at how we can best use new innovation to benefit society,' said Oliver Merlin, Managing Director of IFA Management GmbH. 'But we also have to make sure no section of society is left behind. The DEI programme at IFA will discuss equality in both the technology and organisations in the tech industry.'

The day begins with an exclusive breakfast networking session for women in tech and allies. This early morning gathering will set the stage for engaging conversations about the industry's challenges, including AI bias, the future of work, pay transparency, mental health and wellbeing, and much more.

The first of the keynote sessions will be entitled 'The path to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI); the future of humanity depends on diversity'. Delivered by Janet Adams, Chief Operating Officer at SingularityNET, this session will look at decentralising AI to improve diversity and using AI to address fundamental global issues.

As well as investigating the technologies taking us to the future, the DEI programme at IFA Berlin will also concentrate on the people leading us there. Currently, there's a lack of female representation within the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Overcoming this disparity will be a key talking point of the session entitled 'Barriers and breakthroughs to advancing diversity'. Here, Rumina Ali, Corporate Employability Lead at The Prince's Trust, and Charlene Hunter MBE, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Coding Black Females will uncover the barriers to building strong talent pipelines in STEM careers and how educators and businesses can contribute to the change.

A separate panel session will examine why so many women leave the tech sector, and will feature Dr Sarah Qureshi, Chief Executive Officer and Cofounder of Aero Engine Craft Private Limited, and Mina Kolagar, Cofounder and Co-CEO of PANTOhealth.

Empowering diverse founders and creating a more inclusive landscape of entrepreneurship will be the subject of another panel discussion. Among those taking part in the engaging talk will be Deborah Choi, Managing Director and Co-founder of Founderland, and JP Nacier, Chief Technology Officer at Movinx and Advisor at Caesar ventures. The pair will also be joined on stage by the inspiring Laila Zohaib, Managing Director - The Migrant Accelerator and Pamela Hsieh, Venture partner - Simsan Ventures.

Capping off the day will be a keynote session by Rika Nakazawa, Vice President at NTT who will discuss the role played by senior leadership in shaping DEI success at their organisations.

The full Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programme at IFA 2023 can be found here:
https://www.ifa-berlin.com/dei-women-in-tech-programme

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

IFA 2023 will take place from 1-5 September at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds (Messedamm 22, 14055 Berlin). Tickets are available online in the ticket shop at www.ifa-berlin.de.

IFA Management GmbH is a joint venture of gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH (owner of the IFAtrademark rights) and Clarion Events Ltd, which is responsible for organising IFA in Berlin