Prestigious international conference comes back to Irish shores this October, bringing high-profile invited guests including global technology entrepreneurs, investors and economists
In international conference circles it can be unusual for a conference to come back to the same city a second time. However, this October, approximately 150 international technology company founders will descend on Dublin city in Ireland for the second year in a row to an invite-only conference, F.ounders.
The first F.ounders conference took place in October 2010 and included the founders of Twitter, Skype and YouTube.
International conference attracts interesting speakers
“F.ounders is an international conference that is attended by 150-200 of the world’s top tech company founders. We add a selection of top investors and also bring in some really interesting people. Last year we brought Peter Sutherland who was then international chair of Goldman Sachs, Justin Lin who is the chief economist of the World Bank, Mary Robinson who is a former UN High Commissioner and a number of interesting speakers together,” says conference Communications Manager Daire Hickey.
This year, in late October 2011, leading technology entrepreneurs, CEOs and investors from China, India and around the world are set to gather in Dublin for the second round of F.ounders.
The draw of Dublin
So how does one draw such an influential group of delegates to Dublin? While a lot of them will attend to see each other and network, says Hickey, there are other draws for these high-profile international delegates apart from the conference itself.
“There is a genuine interest in coming to Ireland. What probably helped the conference last year is the vibrancy of a city like Dublin,” explains Hickey.
Last year’s conference started with a pub crawl. The delegates were bunched into groups of 10-15 to allow people to get to know each other. Each group was led by a ‘cultural ambassador’ who brought their group to their favourite pubs in Dublin. These ranged from Irish entrepreneurs to Government senators.
Dinner at the Lord Mayor’s residence
“We continued with a dinner in the Mansion House in Dublin, which is the Lord Mayor’s residence,” adds Hickey. The Lord Mayor of Dublin even made an appearance to welcome the delegates to his city.
The venues connected to the conference have also played their part in capturing the imaginations of delegates.
Imaginative venues rich with history
The conference doesn’t take place in regular hotel venue conference rooms. “We took advantage of one of Dublin’s fantastic buildings, the Royal College of Physicians, next to the Irish parliament on Kildare Street. We hosted it in a building with great history which was particularly important to our American guests – it had history and it looked interesting.”
In addition says Hickey, the compact nature of the city was hugely important. A bus was used just once – delegates walked everywhere. “They stayed in the Westbury Hotel which is just off Grafton Street, the main shopping thoroughfare, and they walked to the Royal College of Physicians which is just three minutes away. People were happy to walk to the two or three blocks to get to the venue. They got to see a little of Grafton Street and a little of the buzz.”
Walking tour lets delegates see the city
A historical walking tour of Dublin was also held at the end of the conference which gave delegates a chance to become familiar with the city.
“A lot of people go to conferences and they don’t really get a chance to see the city,” says Hickey.
How Dublin compares to other conference destinations, such as London or Paris, is that often delegates have been there before, he adds. “Going to an event in Dublin certainly has an allure. It’s something new for a lot of people, it’s a bit different. That’s a positive thing in our favour.”
Tapping into Dublin’s informal atmosphere
The organisers decided to bring the conference back to Dublin because the city’s relaxed and informal nature works in harmony with what they were trying to create.
Indeed, many of last year’s delegates have since returned to Ireland for a holiday and to explore more of what the country has to offer.
Ireland’s draw as a destination
As for the 2011 delegates, Hickey says that Ireland is still a draw as a new destination for those who weren’t at the first F.ounders conference. Returning delegates who saw that the city was part of the event are also happy to come back in that regard.
“Being able to use some of the fantastic buildings in the city, buildings with great history, is a big deal. This year we hope to use Iveagh House – which is the Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters – thanks to the Government. We also hope to use Dublin Castle which has a fantastic conference venue and facility to host one of our dinners.”
Site of historic State visits
Dublin Castle is the same venue where Queen Elizabeth II gave a historic and widely reported speech while on a State visit to Ireland in May. The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, will also host the F.ounders in her official residence, Arás an Uachtarán.
Last year Fáilte Ireland hosted a gala dinner for the founders at the headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Iveagh House, showcasing iconic Irish food and demonstrating Fáilte Ireland’s commitment to training service staff within the tourism industry to the highest standards.
F.ounders is organised by the team behind the Dublin Web Summit, a series of conferences originally aimed at a domestic audience. The October 2011 summit will be marketed at an international audience for the first time, and as with last year some of the delegates at the F.ounders event will speak at the Dublin Web Summit. It takes place over two days in the RDS, from 27-28 October.
Discover coverage of the 2010 F.ounders conference on the Meet in Ireland F.ounders section.