Anticipation Builds as GSMA Mobile World Congress 2018 Approaches
The GSMA today announced final updates for Mobile World Congress, including new keynote speakers, programme developments, partners and sponsors. Mobile World Congress will be held 26 February – 1 March 2018 at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, with events also taking place at Fira Montjuïc and La Farga L’Hospitalet.
“We are now less than a month away from Mobile World Congress 2018 and we’re putting the final touches on the vast array of programmes, events and activities that attendees will experience in Barcelona,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. “Mobile World Congress will showcase the latest in mobile technology, from 5G to artificial intelligence, connected cars to virtual reality, drones to robots, and everything in between. We look forward to welcoming the mobile world to Barcelona.”
Mobile Ecosystem Leaders Set to Keynote at Mobile World Congress
The GSMA announced the addition of several additional keynote speakers for Mobile World Congress, including executives from leading mobile operators and other organisations shaping the future of mobile. New keynote speakers include:
- Ran Krauss, CEO and Co-Founder, Airobotics
- Shang Bing, Chairman, China Mobile
- Jeff Zucker, President, CNN Worldwide
- Timotheus Höttges, CEO, Deutsche Telekom
- Andrus Ansip, Vice President of the Commission and Commissioner for Digital Single Market, European Commission
- Sue Siegel, Chief Innovation Officer, GE and CEO, Business Innovations
- Cher Wang, Chairwoman, HTC
- Zak Brown, Executive Director, McLaren Technology Group
- Hiroshi Mikitani, Founder, CEO and Chairman, Rakuten, Inc.
- Lisa Wang, Founder and CEO, SheWorx
- José María Lassalle, Secretary of State for Information Society and Digital Agenda, Spain
- Glenn Lurie, CEO, Synchronoss
- José María Álvarez-Pallete López, Chairman and CEO, Telefónica
For full information on the Mobile World Congress conference, including the agenda and speakers, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/conference-programmes/agenda/.
Formula 1 to Exhibit in Barcelona
For the first time ever, Formula 1® will have its own dedicated area at a world-class exhibition facility. From 26 February to 1 March, Mobile World Congress attendees will be able to discover current and future initiatives of Formula 1 across all digital platforms, visiting a fully branded 450 square-metre stand.
They join the more than 2,300 companies participating at Mobile World Congress, including brands such as Alibaba, AT&T, BMW, China Mobile, Cisco, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Facebook, Google, HTC, Huawei, Intel, Lenovo, LG, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, NTT DOCOMO, Nokia, Oracle, Orange, Qualcomm, SAP, SEAT, SK Telecom, Telefónica, Toyota, Vivo, Vodafone, Xiaomi and ZTE, among others. For more information on the Mobile World Congress exhibition, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/exhibition/.
Women4Tech: New Speakers, Activities and Sponsors
The GSMA has confirmed several new speakers, activities and sponsors for the Women4Tech Programme. In the Women4Tech Summit taking place on Thursday, 1 March, senior-level executives from leading mobile operators will offer their perspectives on integrating gender equality into mainstream work environments in the “Empowering” session. Speakers in this session include: moderator Gary Heffernan, Senior Managing Director - Communications, Media & Technology for Europe, Accenture; Laxmi Akkaraju, Chief Strategy Officer, GSMA; Laura Abasolo, Group Chief Financial Officer, Telefónica; Robyn Denholm, Chief Operating Officer, Telstra; and Kathy Grillo, Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Public Policy and Government Affairs, Verizon. The GSMA signed HCL as a new Supporting Sponsor for the Women4Tech Summit, alongside Accenture (Official Sponsor) and Verizon (Supporting Sponsor).
The GSMA announced finalists for the GSMA Women4Tech Hack_D_Gap Global Challenge at 4YFN, a competition designed to generate innovative solutions that drive gender diversity and equality in the tech industry. Challenge finalists Cloverleaf (USA), Everlean (Germany), Fluttr (Spain), Next Play (USA), Pentasity (Spain) and Wisar (Spain) now go on to pitch in front of a live jury and audience at 4YFN at Fira Montjuïc and the winner will be selected on Tuesday, 27 February.
In partnership with L’Hospitalet City Council, the Women4Tech programme will be hosting two events at the Meet & Eat Fun Space, located in Plaza Europa near Fira Gran Via. The first is an interactive workshop and networking session focusing on “social selling”, and the second is a diversity panel and networking session in which mobile and technology sector executives will share their perspectives on female leadership in the digital age.
Finally, the GSMA will run three Women4Tech MWC Tours at Fira Gran Via, including the Emerging Tech Tour (Monday, 26 February), the IoT Tour (Tuesday, 27 February) and the Power of Diversity Tour (Wednesday, 28 February). For full information on the Women4Tech Programme, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/women.
Partner Programmes in Hall 8.0 NEXTech
With the addition of Braze to the Partner Programmes sessions in the Hall 8.0 NEXTech Theatres, attendees now have access to 35 programmes over the four days of Mobile World Congress. Partner Programmes offer attendees the opportunity to engage and learn from some of the top organisations in the industry as they share their insights on a variety of complex ecosystem challenges. For a complete list of Partner Programmes, Power Hour Sessions, and Technology Training Sessions, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/conference-programmes/partner-programmes/.
MWC Tours Offer Focused Experiences at Mobile World Congress
To help attendees better navigate Mobile World Congress, the GSMA offers a number of topic- and exhibition-focused tours at Fira Gran Via. Led by industry experts, the 2018 MWC Tours programme includes:
- 5G & NFV Tour with Jayant Kulkarni and Mark Harms of Award Solutions
- Content Tour with Jesús Moreno Pinar
- Emerging Tech Tour with Manolo Almargo of Q Division
- Enterprise Tour with Lubna Dajani
- IoT Tour with Jayant Kulkarni and Mark Harms of Award Solutions
- IoT Security Tour with Richard Knowlton of Richard Knowlton Associates Ltd.
- Mobile Advertising & Apps Tour with Joe Scartz of TPN Retail
- Retail & Digital Commerce with Doug Chavez
- Sustainable Smart Cities Tour with Jonas Allen of Green Electronics Council
The GSMA also offers bespoke Custom Experience Tours to address attendees’ specific business objectives and requirements. For more information on MWC Tours and Experiences, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/experiences/mwc-tours-experiences/.
New Updates for YoMo Barcelona
In keeping with the Mobile World Congress event theme “Creating a Better Future”, YoMo will feature the “SDG Trail”, an interactive path that will educate students on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their impact on society, as well as how they can engage with the SDGs. Alongside the myriad activities for students at YoMo, the GSMA has introduced the “Teacher Track”, a three-day programme specifically designed for education professionals. The Teacher Track will offer multiple simultaneous workshops and events where teachers can hear, see and experiment with innovative classroom technologies and methodologies.
The GSMA also announced several new sponsors for YoMo: Fundación Repsol and Oracle Academy (Major Sponsors); Agbar, Fundación Telefónica, girls4tech-MasterCard and SK Telecom (Corporate Sponsors); BAULA and Carrefour (Corporate Exhibitors); and Elisava, and Google for Education (Education Exhibitors). For more information, visit www.mwcyomo.com/bcn/en/.
Additional Sponsors and Partners Confirmed for 2018
The GSMA announced several new sponsors and partners for Mobile World Congress. InterDigital has been confirmed as a Supporting Sponsor for the Ministerial Programme, joining Ministerial Programme Official Sponsor NEC. CNBC and LinkedIn have joined as Official Media Partners, alongside previously announced Official Media Partners CBS Interactive Tech, Financial Times, QQ.com, Time, Inc.’s TIME and Fortune, and Ziff Davis. For more information, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/about/sponsors-partners/.
Get Involved at Mobile World Congress 2018
For more information on Mobile World Congress 2018, including how to attend, exhibit or sponsor, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com. Follow developments and updates on Mobile World Congress on Twitter @GSMA using #MWC18, on our LinkedIn Mobile World Congress page www.linkedin.com/company/gsma-mobile-world-congress or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mobileworldcongress/.
The Mobile World Congress is the cornerstone of the Mobile World Capital, which will be hosted in Barcelona through 2023. The Mobile World Capital encompasses programmes and activities that span the entire year and will benefit not only the citizens of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain, but also the worldwide mobile industry. For more information on the Mobile World Capital, visit www.mobileworldcapital.com.
-ENDS-
About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with more than 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai, Mobile World Congress Americas and the Mobile 360 Series of conferences.
For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.
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