Headline speakers for DigiFest announced
By Sarah Cronk, June 2024
Aren't spring and summer a great time to be in Eastbourne? The town enjoyed the wonderful Carnival in the bright sunshine over the bank holiday weekend, and on the horizon to look forward to we have the Eastbourne Tennis (with confirmed stars Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka), our annual Airbourne, plus many other great community events. What's on your radar?
Lush Co-Founder to Speak at DigiFest 2024
Rowena Bird, Co-Founder and Product Inventor at Lush
We are thrilled to unveil an exciting line up for this year's DigiFest. Industry legends Rowena ‘Ro’ Bird, Co-Founder and Product Inventor at cosmetics firm Lush, and Adam Goswell, Tech R&D and Digital Principle at Lush, will ignite the stage with insights into groundbreaking technologies, ethical innovation, and a visionary discussion on the future of retail.
"We're thrilled to host such influential and forward-thinking minds at DigiFest 2024," said Joel Fielder, CEO of Switchplane, the minds behind event organisers Chalk Eastbourne. "Rowena and Adam embody the spirit of innovation that drives our festival. Their unique journeys, passion for ethical practices, and transformative work at Lush are sure to inspire and challenge our attendees."
Podpreneur Alex Chisnall, Host of "Screw It Just Do It"
The festival's keynote session, affectionately dubbed "The Lush Hour," will kick off with a captivating fireside chat between Rowena and celebrated podcaster and entrepreneur Alex Chisnall (Founder of Podpreneur and host of the top-rated 'Screw It Just Do It' podcast). Together they will delve into the early days of Rowena's beauty career, her pivotal role in establishing Lush and shaping the brand's ethical foundation. Discover her passion for pioneering sustainable packaging solutions and her enduring commitment to ethical sourcing.
Adam Goswell, Tech R&D and Digital Principle at Lush
Following the fireside chat, Adam Goswell will take the spotlight to deliver a riveting presentation that offers a behind-the-scenes look at Lush's remarkable history and its commitment to pushing boundaries in the beauty industry. Adam will explore exclusive insights into the transformative work in AI, machine learning, and augmented reality and highlight their commitment to digital ethics. He'll also offer a tantalising sneak peek at Lush's first foray into consumer hardware with the groundbreaking 'BathBot' launch.
DigiFest 2024 takes place on Thursday, 10th October, and promises to be an unforgettable celebration of transformative technology and creativity, and its impact on business and society. Join us as we welcome these visionary leaders, explore the ideas that will shape our digital future, and celebrate Lush's unwavering drive to innovate with purpose.
Eastbourne DigiFest needs your help!
This year's event is set to be another amazing day of talks and workshops on everything from AI to ecommerce and everything in between, alongside our buzzing exhibitor zone. Our confirmed speaker lineup is fantastic, and as you've seen, includes the Co-Founder of Lush, Rowena Bird.
BUT to make this event the best it can be for our attendees, we rely on monetary sponsorship from local businesses, and unfortunately, we have yet to secure the funds we need.
We get it. Times are tough, so offering a large chunk of budget as a sponsor is just not achievable for some people at the moment. But the harsh reality is, if we don't secure the funding, we will have to start making adjustments to the event and scaling back - which we don't want to do. The venue has their fees and we have to honour them.
So, we are looking to you, our loyal and engaged Chalk Eastbourne community, to help keep Eastbourne DigiFest alive in its current form. In a 'Go Fund Me' style campaign, we are asking if each of you would be willing to support us with a small donation. Whether that's £5 or £100, if you or your business can spare a small amount to contribute to this event we would be truly grateful. And we will ensure that everyone who supports us is recognised in socials and on the day, along with our confirmed sponsors Switchplane, FOUNDRY, Vistage UK, University of Brighton, Bexhill 6th Form College, and Southern IT.
Eastbourne DigiFest 2024 is our opportunity to build upon the region's changing reputation, showcase our thriving CDT community, and secure economic and skills growth in the area for the future. Our sector needs this to happen if we want to ensure continued growth and security for all.
Will you help us?
As a "p.s.", even the small gesture of booking tickets for yourself and your team now will help us to secure funds for the event - if you're intending on coming, please get your ticket now rather than a week before, when we may already have made adjustments to the event.
One last thing...
A quick reminder that Chalk Connect is back next Tuesday, 4th June, running at FOUNDRY in the Beacon in Eastbourne from 5pm - 7pm. Listen to fellow attendees give lightning talks and chat with others in the CDT community. The event is free and all are welcome.
Until next time.
