Before the war the biggest conferences in Lviv can be held in one venue. Right now it is impossible because of security issues. We can not gather so many attendees in one location.
And Lviv IT Cluster – organizer of the biggest IT Conferences in Eastern Europe IT Arena accepted this challenge. Instead of reducing participants, they split the crowd into many small groups in different venues. More than 3364 attendees in 15 different venues that were easy to reach as Lviv is a very walkable city.
Moreover all these venues were underground and had shelters in case of air raid alarms. It was not an easy task to handle all these moments, but they did it. Because of all the security measures that were taken, a lot of international speakers could come to Lviv.
Of course, during the Conference trending topics were discussed such as using AI, innovations, product management etc.
Important issues were cybersecurity and defense tech. Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov shared modern technologies that right now are changing the situation on the battlefield. He spoke about:
- Satellite Communication
- Drones
- Situational Awareness Systems
- Maritime Drones
- Robotic Ground Technologies
- Artificial Intelligence
- Electronic Warfare Systems
- Air Defense
During the minister’s talk at the IT Arena, a participant could remotely control a real Kamikaze boat and drone located in another part of Ukraine to demonstrate the capabilities of military developments. This was the first presentation of such kind in the history of technology conferences.
Apart from discussions and meetups, the IT Arena held a Startup Competition. The winners were announced in the fields of ecology, mental health, fintech, retail, AI, and logistics. They also receive cash prizes: 1st place – $10,000, 2nd place – $8,000, 3rd place – $5,000
This year IT Arena Conference celebrated its anniversary – 10 years. To tell the truth it was amazing. We still can not believe that this is possible during the war.
