Digital Bridge 2024 canceled due to floods in Kazakhstan
In light of the instruction from the Head of State, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to cancel major events due to the challenging situation with floods in the country, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan decided to cancel the International IT Forum Digital Bridge 2024, which was scheduled for September 5-7 this year in Astana, Kazinform News Agency reports.
The Digital Bridge, which was scheduled to be held for the sixth time this year, commenced in 2018 and has since become the most significant platform in Central Asia for discussing the latest trends and prospects for the IT industry. It is noteworthy that in 2020 the forum was also cancelled due to an emergency situation, namely the global pandemic caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The spring floods of 2024 have been identified as the largest natural disaster to affect Kazakhstan in the past 80 years. In light of this, the Head of State has instructed the government to reallocate financial resources to address the consequences of extensive devastation and provide assistance to the country's citizens. This decision has resulted in the cancellation of planned events. The organizers of Digital Bridge—the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Astana Hub International Technopark—extend their gratitude to all those who have expressed interest in participating in the forum. In the event that favorable circumstances prevail, the international IT Forum Digital Bridge will resume its activities in 2025.
It should be mentioned that on October 12-13, the capital of Kazakhstan hosted Digital Bridge 2023, the largest IT forum in Central Asia. The forum was organized by the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the akimat of Astana and the international technology park Astana Hub. The forum brought together more than 30,000 participants, including delegations from 30 countries, representatives of more than 300 IT companies, 450 speakers, over 100 investors and business angels, as well as more than 150 startups. The main topic of the forum was Artificial and Human Intelligence: The right balance.
