During the month of October, “Yokohama Gadget Festival 2019,” a new multi-stage public event to celebrate innovation will be held in Yokohama through a joint partnership with local SMEs, large corporations, and the city government.
The goal of Yokohama Gadget Festival is to provide a stage for open innovation between engineers, entrepreneurs, students, and citizens, as well as to interactively exhibit some of the most cutting-edge tech ideas and projects, such as Robotics, VR, Apps, art, and crafts from the largest corporations in Yokohama. Co-sponsors of the festival include: Nissan, Fuji Xerox, Shiseido, Mitsubishi Estate, Murata Manufacturing, Keikyu Corporation, and more.
Yokohama Gadget Festival is a two-part event: the first part was held last week in Minatomirai from October 17-18, and the second part will take place later this week from October 25-26. Part 1 targeted innovators from both inside and outside of Yokohama and consisted of discussion sessions on the latest trends of technology and innovation. Part 2 will focus on introducing cutting-edge technologies and future innovations in an easily-understood way through further discussions and panels with employees from some of the many R&D centers located in Yokohama, entrepreneurs, and artists/creators, as well as through special exhibition booths featuring exclusive demos. Booths displaying both current products and new prototypes will be manned by engineers and entrepreneurs, and children-oriented workshops will also be available focusing on programming and other interactive and engaging topics. Yokohama Gadget Festival 2019 is aimed to provide fun and interesting learning experiences for attendees of all ages and from all walks of life.
With employees from Yokohama’s largest global corporate entities attending, participating in panel discussions, and running demo booths, this event also presents a unique and invaluable opportunity for all attendees, including foreign visitors, to network and have casual business discussions with some of the Japanese tech scene’s leading experts and innovators. Admission to the festival’s many events is free, so we highly encourage all visitors to take advantage of this great chance to make important connections with global Japanese corporations.
Yokohama Gadget Festival 2019 is the latest result of a string of new initiatives following Mayor Fumiko Hayashi’s “Innovation City Yokohama” declaration back in January which have recently been rebranded under the new Yokohama Crossover (YOXO) logo. This festival likewise represents a crossover, or exchange, between major corporations, SMEs, startup companies, universities, and civic groups, and individuals.
For more information, check out the official YOKOHAMA GADGET FESTIVAL 2019 English website, which includes specific information on individual discussion panel topics, timeslots, and locations.
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