Futurologists to Descend on Cong Village

• Open call for Topics
• Over 60 speakers currently signed up
• Topics range from future of Transport, Farming to Artificial Intelligence
• ‘Family Friendly’ conference providing free childcare
• Written, audio and video submissions accepted
• Mayo.ie, Bank of Ireland, MKC and Blacknight to sponsor #cong16

(21.10.16) With over 65 people already signed up for the fourth annual 3 day Congregation Un-conference (www.congregation.ie), the organisers have put out an open call for topics under this year’s theme of ‘The Future’.

Congregation or #cong16 takes place in Cong village from Friday 25^th to Sunday 27th November with a set of activities designed to explore personal perspectives and a vision of what lies ahead.

To date the topics cover the future of transport, education, work, play, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, farming, tourism, through to truth and digital media.

The call for topics is open to anyone with a curious mind who would like to share their vision of what the ‘crystal ball’ holds in areas of personal or work interest.  Once a topic is accepted it forms the basis of the advance submission, which gives the attendee a free ticket to the three days of activities.

Commenting organiser Eoin Kennedy said “Congregation operates very differently to the normal conference.  Tickets are earned by producing a written or recorded submission.  These are published in advance and then debated on the day using a unique ‘huddle’ or small moderated intimate groups of people. Rather then lengthy presentations these huddles focus on rapid and engaged sharing of views that kick start diverse discussions.  By focusing on ‘The Future’ we are giving people to the opportunity to air their views on what they believe lies ahead.  No one person holds all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle but by bringing together people from very diverse backgrounds with individual pieces we can construct a collaborative vision”      

Topics will be accepted until the end of September with full submission due at the end of October.

Outside of the unconference on Saturday 26^th November Congregation also features an evening of archaeologists and technologists in Ashford Castle exploring ‘Past Meets the Future” on Friday 25th and guided archaeology tours on Sunday 27^th.

Any interested in participating is encouraged to send in a one liner/synopsis on their suggested topic area to Eoin@congregation.ie or via the website http://www.congregation.ie/expression-of-interest.html.

The free eBooks from 2013, 2014 and 2015 are available as a download on http://www.congregation.ie/ebook-download.html

The event is proudly sponsored by Mayo.ie (www.Mayo.ie), Bank of Ireland, (Blacknight) https://www.blacknight.com and MKC Communications (www.mkc.ie).

About Congregation.ie

Congregation takes place in Cong, which is a small village in Co Mayo and home to The Quiet Man and Ashford Castle.  Throughout the day coffee shops, bars and restaurants will be alive with people sharing stories and insights into the future.  Each session will last one hour, with two in the morning and two in the afternoon.  A free ticket is delivered to attendees once they produce their submission paper and teas/coffee/lunch will be provided during the day.

As each attendee is also a speaker everyone who goes is a stakeholder and central to the event.  Special breaks are built into the day to facilitate social interaction and social calendar is planned for the Friday and Saturday evening.  This the 4^th year of the event.

Contact: Eoin Kennedy, eoin@congregation.ie

Phone: +353 86 8339540