Hello friends - digital entrepreneurs, artists, local governors, people, who understand the direction of development of the modern world and work towards establishing Bulgaria in this new world!
In today’s world the digital dimension has a defining role and this role goes beyond the digital industry.
In this world creativity is defining for the individual and group success. This is why we chose to bring together today digital professionals and artists to show the two faces of creativity and to provide the medium for a meeting of those different types of creators.
I have been working in the global digital industry for 25 years. In my professional path I had the luck to always work in an environment in which we created and established the most advanced technologies and business practices in the IT sector at that time. When I started as a software engineer in the Central Institute for computing I participated in the implementation of the first local networks in Bulgaria. With my team at HP, at the end of the 90’s ,we implemented the first big integrated telecommunications government and industrial systems in the country. We opened the door for outsource industry in Bulgaria in 2005 with the global HP center and created the environment for most advanced technological experience for digital economy. My work at global level gave me the opportunity to manage projects and teams who solved complex tech problems and helped the competitiveness of global business and countries through access to digital resources.
I know the trends in the global industry.
And I know through my experience that Bulgaria today has all the prerequisites to move to a new step in its economic development - to not be simply an outsourcing destination, but to create its own technological products of global importance. There are already such examples, however the image of our country is still that of a “toll manufacturing” economy. It’s high time to combine our efforts to change this outlook. The program EDIT on the ROAD has this mission at heart.
Young people carry the most advanced technology knowledge today.
They know this technology, partner with professionals globally and create their own startup companies with the intent to grow global businesses out of Bulgaria.
This is why we decided to symbolically start our national roadshow which traces the digital roads of Bulgaria from Varna - European Youth Capital 2017 and send the message that young professionals play a defining role for the Bulgarian economic prosperity. With this understanding and the knowledge of the organic process through which digital ecosystem evolves, a year ago we created EDIT. EDIT is an open network for digital development aimed at stimulating the innovative economy in Bulgaria and broaden its path in the digitally connected world. Over 300 startup companies, 20 coworking spaces in the whole country, a large number of pre-accelerator and education organizations, the venture capital funds are part of the EDIT network. This is the community of professionals with digital knowledge in different fields, who create technologies for the future and know the regulations which govern tomorrow’s world.
This is why today here in Varna we have invited the different “modern people”, to stimulate ideas and collaboration beyond the closed professional circles, because the world belongs to the trans-discipline solutions and digital knowledge is only a platform for them.
Look around, meet new people, because tonight, here among us are the creators of the Bulgarian Skype, the future Lioncorns, who today create solutions to global challenges and will establish Bulgaria on the international business stage.
EDIT works toward supporting their growth and success through the education formats we organize, through inspiration during meet ups with successful Bulgarians, who have created a global business, through surveys of the digital ecosystem and by identifying the steps to improving the backdrop for innovative business in Bulgaria and from Bulgaria to the world.
The startup ecosystem is not only in Sofia.
Here we have our friends from Turnovo, Plovdiv, Ruse, Vratsa, Stara Zagora, Burgas, Gabrovo, who develop communities and create digital companies and business solutions in collaboration. We see in them, in you, the ones who carry the knowledge for modernizing the economic ecosystem in the cities and the regions where you live.
This is the mission of our three-month initiative EOTR - to bring together the digital entrepreneurs with the traditional business, to show digital instruments which help to modernize businesses and to have a conversation how concretely you could partner with each other for the sustainable development of the economy in your city and region. We have planned one-day events in seven cities and I would like to invite you already to a closing event on 23 November in Sofia to hear what we have achieved together.
I would like to thank Google, who accepted our invitation to support this important for the development of Bulgaria initiative.
Thank you to the team of Varna - European Youth Capital 2017 for the partnership, thank you to our friends from Innovator Creative Space, who opened the doors of their new space today, giving our digital art workshops a home.
Varna is the beginning! In the next three months we will trace the digital roads of Bulgaria together with Google and our partners - drivers of the local digital development and the modern enlighteners, creating together an innovative Bulgaria.
You can learn more about the EDITogether Varna in this report and watch the full event here.
