Second annual Virtual Island Summit, 6-11th September

When and where is it on?

The second annual Virtual Island Summit will be held 6-11th September 2020, and will be an entirely online event with participants joining from all over the world. All attendees need is access to the Internet and to download the (free) Zoom application. There is no cost to participate.

How many years has it been going?

In 2019, Island Innovation debuted its inaugural Virtual Island Summit with 4,000 participants. This will be the second staging of the event and has new features such as our Hubs and Ambassador programs, designed to involve more grassroots participants and help translate the talk into local action.

What was the inspiration to start it?

Island Innovation is passionate about renewable energy and sustainable development for remote, rural and island communities. Our founder and director, James Ellsmoor, saw many of these islands were finding solutions for sustainability, among other things, and thought there must be a way for these islands to share their knowledge and learn from each other.

There is just so much to be achieved from the exchanging of ideas and good practices to find sustainable solutions among the many diverse islands. The issues of globalization, climate change, etc, are common issues faced by most islands. How can these islands learn from each other to solve the many problems that arise from these issues? Why not have a platform where all these islands can come together to share their common experiences, in addition to their good practices and solutions.

What exciting things can people look forward to?

We are currently planning the 2020 agenda, however, attendees can expect thought-provoking insights from entrepreneurs, NGO leaders, academics and politicians. The Summit will also cover all 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in addition to other topics pertinent to island communities such as education, healthcare and transportation. There will be opportunities for cross-sector collaboration as we want to build digital bridges between island communities and the different organizations working in them.

What opportunities are on offer for those attending?

Those attending can expect interactive sessions in various formats including panels, keynotes and workshops; in addition to free access to world-class experts. This means attendees will be given the opportunity to ask questions to speakers and interact with other guests.

The Summit will imitate a traditional in-person event, with opportunities to interact with speakers and other attendees with the goal of creating an online community. There will also be opportunities to meet and network with persons from and working on islands around the world.

Who will be speaking?

We are currently planning the agenda for 2020 and it is due to be released in June. However, we are expecting speakers from over a hundred island communities, including the Arctic, Caribbean, Europe, Indian Ocean, Pacific Islands, South America and beyond…

Last year, our speaker list included Wayne Elliott (Caribbean Development Bank), Tajana Huzak, (Croatian Minister), Nilesh Prakash (Fiji’s Head of Climate Change & International Cooperation), Christine Milne (Australian Senator), Charlin Bodley (WIRE’s Programme Manager), Judith Ephraim (OECS Programme Coordinator, Sustainable Energy Unit), and Mike Eman (Aruba’s Former Prime Minister and Opposition Leader), among many others.

What tips would you give to people attending to get the most out of it?

In order to get the most out of this year’s summit, we encourage attendees to join our Facebook and LinkedIn groups. An in-person event screening several sessions was organized by the Regional Council of Guadeloupe, last year. This allowed for locally-based discussions on the islands and inspired our Hubs program for 2020 to create local discussion and encourage action. We are therefore encouraging attendees to participate in these in-person discussions where possible.

How can people book tickets/when does it usually sell out?

People interested in attending the Virtual Island Summit 2020 can register online (free of cost) on our website. We do encourage persons to register early, but what we would really like to see are registrants from our island communities, in addition to persons who may not be from an island, but who are working there or are interested in the islands. As mentioned, we are working on the 2020 agenda, which will be ready on or before June 2020. At that time, registrants will be able to see our full schedule for the Virtual Island Summit 2020.

Anything else you’d like to add/we should have asked?

The first-ever Virtual Island Summit held last year, included almost 4,000 participants from over 250 islands participating from places as diverse as the Caribbean, Pacific, Arctic, Patagonia, Europe, Asia, the Indian Ocean and many other island communities. Attendees were from a broad range of backgrounds representing entrepreneurs, public sector, NGOs and academia. We are expecting this year to be bigger and better with at least 10,000 participants worldwide!

For those unable to attend the live events in September, we will send them the replay link after the event. However, they must still register for the Summit to access the videos!

The Summit will utilize modern technology to minimise harmful greenhouse gas emissions and will be held entirely online making it a zero-carbon conference. Furthermore, given free participation, there are low barriers to join making it one of the most inclusive events covering global sustainability.

We encourage attendees to make use of the opportunity to interact with guests and speakers, and also network with persons from the many island communities who will be represented at the Summit.

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