The software, which has been built in-house for nearly a decade, has helped Web Summit scale to become one of the largest technology events in the world and has helped to improve the experience and outcomes of hundreds of thousands of attendees.

While the software was initially designed to complement networking at physical events, that same technology has now been developed specifically to enhance thousands of meaningful connections for attendees online as travel is restricted for business and companies worldwide as a consequence of Covid-19.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will be the first customer to run Web Summit’s conference software for its event – the Istanbul Innovation Days , March 23-25. The event aims to engage with individuals, communities, organisations and policy makers from different sectors who are building new futures, designing new paradigms and challenging the status quo.

“This is a milestone for Web Summit. We’ve agreed to run an event in March for the UNDP on our platform. We couldn’t imagine having a better first customer. It’s been a long journey, and we’ve taken it slow, perfecting the software over years. We’re in no rush for new customers, and we will take our time. In 2022, we hope to partner with other great events," says Paddy Cosgrave, co-founder and CEO of Web Summit.

“Istanbul Innovation Days has established itself as a meeting place for edge-thinkers and doers with leaders from government, academia, the arts, politics, science, and technology. This year, like so many other things in our lives, we’ve taken Innovation Days online but, using WebSummit’s advanced event management solution, that decision no longer feels like a compromise - in fact, our audience is likely to be more global and more diverse than ever before simply because it’s accessible from anywhere," says Robert Opp, UNDP's Chief Digital Officer.

About Web Summit
In the words of Inc. Magazine, “Web Summit is the largest technology conference in the world”.
Forbes says Web Summit is “the best tech conference on the planet”, Bloomberg calls it “Davos for geeks”, Politico “the Olympics of tech”, and the Guardian “Glastonbury for geeks”.

About UNDP
UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. The network helps countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities and institutional capabilities, and to build resilience in order to sustain development results.

UNDP’s Istanbul Innovation Days (IID) aims to engage with the ‘edges’ – individuals, communities, organisations and policy makers from different sectors who are building new futures, designing new paradigms, and challenging the status quo. The focus is on learning from practice and exploring avenues for system transformation to achieve the SDGs.
IID 2021 will explore the question of development and its futures, with the objective of unlocking alternative pathways to wellbeing. It does so by tackling the legacies of our past, exploring the ‘edges’ in the present, and accelerating the progress toward a plurality of futures.

Useful Links:
Web Summit website: https://websummit.com/
UNDP’s Istanbul Innovation Days: https://www.innovationdays.co/