About 3,500 MetaCenter Global Week attendees will fan out through downtown Orlando from Oct. 17-19 — all of them here for the tech conference produced by Innovate Orlando, the city’s newest economic development organization.
“The downtown Orlando market has never had a citywide convention,” said David Adelson, Innovate Orlando’s CEO. “A lot of cities have these, but in Orlando, conventions happen at the convention center.”
Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts will be the home base for summit activities, with a roster of speakers from major tech companies from around the world speaking on tech topics throughout the venue. The Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater, North Atrium, Steinmetz Hall, South Atrium, PNC Bank Suite and Kessler Rooftop Terrace all will be used — but it doesn’t stop there. Events are planned for Church Street and The Beacham, the city’s classic 102-year-old theater.
Orlando Inno asked Adelson for the play-by-play. Here’s what he said:
What is the purpose of MetaCenter Global Week?
We’re showing the worldwide tech community that Orlando is the next digital innovation hub. This is the first year for this summit — it’s a foundation to build on for years to come.
MetaCenter Global Week is a huge undertaking. When building out the agenda for the summit, what was your focus?
One of the biggest foundational points is to show attendees our local assets in the mix with global brands. We have an exhibit trade show where Orlando startups will be right here alongside Meta and Apple. Some of our local companies are doing big things. Also, our speakers and panelists are from the most well-known brands as well as local businesses and institutions. President [Alexander] Cartwright from the University of Central Florida is speaking, and so is Jacques Fu of Senseily.
Is there a locally based speaker not to miss?
Full Sail University Education Director of Emerging Technologies Haifa Maamar will be talking about generative AI and how it is shaping the future of the learning. That’s going to be great. But I can’t really pick one. All the speakers were invited because they bring something groundbreaking to the table.
There’s a lot of talk about workforce development and attracting tech talent to Orlando. Will MetaCenter Global Week help with that?
I think it will. We purposefully choose venues around downtown that portray the character of Orlando. We also made the arts community part of what we’re doing, because people are attracted to a city not just because of the companies it has, but because of the lifestyle. We’re having 10 to 15 pop-ups throughout the city, and we're going to make them part of the scavenger hunt the night of Oct. 17. We’re calling it Downtown Discover Dash, and it’s a twist on a pub crawl. As you go along, you’ll see somebody painting something or you'll see an impressionist — and that’s part of the hunt.
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