It would be easier to just bring a prepackaged conference to town
— fly in, fly out — but that’s not Ouali Benmeziane’s way.
Benmeziane (pictured) is the founder of WebCongress, a digital marketing and media conference he originated in Spain, expanded around the world and is bringing to Miami Nov. 7-8 for its second year. For the past several months, he has been in South Florida getting to know entrepreneurs and other tech community members, partnering with local organizations and evolving the agenda by the minute to give the conference an “only in Miami” vibe.
The two-day conference, which will be held at the James L. Knight
Center in downtown Miami, is packed with workshops and international speakers —
including a session on Google Glass and how it could revolutionize online
education, a speech by a 13-year-old CEO and game developer who is becoming a
European sensation, and sessions by YouTube, Google, Facebook, ESPN, Blackberry
and Microsoft experts, among many others. But for the Miami twist, Benmeziane
has added an “Unconference” packed with local appeal. And if the ticket prices
for other parts of the conference are too steep, the Unconference at $20 won’t be.
The Unconference will be 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 7. It will include tech talks and demos by local startups and end with AppCircus, an open and free contest giving developers, startups and other organizations the opportunity to present their apps on stage for the chance for prizes and an opportunity to present at the Mobile Premier Awards in Barcelona. Ten apps will be selected to pitch at WebCongress. Apply by Oct. 25 on appcircus.com/
The second day of WebCongress offers eight small-group workshops, which can be purchased separately at $60 apiece. There will be time for parties too, including the free TigerDirect Tech Summit and Holiday Bash at Marlin’s Park on Thursday night (register at tigertechsummit.eventbrite.com) and WebCongress’ 5th Birthday Party Friday night at Miami Innovation Center.
For more information and to purchase tickets to WebCongress: webcongress.com/miami/register. Use the promotional code miamiherald for a conference discount and the code startinggate for a free ticket to the Unconference while supplies last.
Benmeziane says WebCongress will be planning more events in South Florida, and he also wants to start a foundation that offers technology education for kids. Lately he has also been spending a lot of time in Bogota, an emerging tech hub that WebCongress chose for its next conference Nov. 19-20. “I live in my luggage, I have no home. Born in Africa, raised in Paris, made in Barcelona and now I live in Miami and Bogota.”
Follow Nancy Dahlberg on Twitter @ndahlberg
Posted Oct. 20, 2013