Photo credit: Flickr user melinda.

Demian Bellumio is a founder of MIA Collective, COO of Senzari, a serial entrepreneur and an angel investor.  Below, he writes about SIME MIA, a digital business event supported by Knight Foundation.

Related Links 

“Shel Israel: Awareness essential in weighing benefits of tech against loss of privacy” on KnightBlog

“Martin Varsavsky: Entrepreneurs have to be prepared for failure – and success” on KnightBlog 

“Glass-activated contemporary art to premiere at SIME MIA” on KnightBlog 

“Christian Hernandez: Miami needs high-profile companies to capture investor interest” on KnightBlog

Art Basel Miami Beach has become one of the most heralded art exhibitions around the world, and for one week in December our area is transformed into a mecca for artists, tourists, partygoers and connoisseurs of all things beautiful. What Art Basel has done for Miami in the art world is what we hope SIME MIA will do for Miami in the digital world.

SIME, Europe’s “first and funkiest” digital business event and the industry vision of Ola Ahlvarsson, and MIA Collective, with support provided by Knight Foundation, have come together to create SIME MIA. Our goal is to become Miami’s premier digital conference that bridges technology with the art world during the most exciting time of the year for our city. We want to make Miami a thriving city within the global tech ecosystem.

This year on Dec. 3-4, the eve of Art Basel, SIME MIA will welcome the world’s most innovative and knowledgeable technologists, media executives and venture capitalists. This digital conference will be like no other conference Miami has ever seen.

SIME MIA will bring together the ideas and innovations of 500 leading global entrepreneurs from Europe, the United States and Latin America. We will be discussing matters that are at the forefront of the industry on a global scale. Topics like big data, venture capital and artificial intelligence.  We will also examine current trends that affect people’s work and life including context aware services like Google Glass, the digital transformation of our cities and the rise of Miami as an emerging innovation hub.

You will hear from speakers like Neil Jacobstein, co-chair of artificial intelligence and robotics track at Singularity University in the NASA Research Park in Mountain View, Calif.; Martin Varsavsky, founder and CEO of FON and serial entrepreneur; Pablo Holman, hacker, futurist and inventor at Intellectual Ventures Laboratory; Shel Israel, writer and speaker on social media issues and co-author of the soon-to-be-released “The Age of Context” with Robert Scoble; and Tim Kring, screenwriter and television producer of “Crossing Jordan,” “Heroes” and “Touch”; and the list goes on.

The first day will take place at the beautiful New World Center, located in South Beach, with a series of presentations and expert workshops that will allow for an intimate exchange of ideas between our speakers and the attendees.

The second day will take place at The LAB Miami, located right in the heart of the Wynwood art district, an area that bustles with artists and exhibitions from all corners of the world during Art Basel.  The focus of the second day will be Miami, and how our city is home to some amazing companies and a gateway for many international companies into the United States, Latin America and the much-coveted U.S. Hispanic market.

All in all, we want our guests to learn about what makes Miami unique, share their ideas, however improbable they may be, and brainstorm on how to leverage our strengths and reduce our deficiencies to accomplish our goal. There are so many talented entrepreneurs and technologists in our city, and with the collaboration and aid of organizations like Knight Foundation it is possible to show the rest of the world all of the beauty, talent and business advantages Miami has to offer.

This is an exciting time to be part of Miami’s entrepreneurial and tech community. Coworking spaces like The LAB Miami are enjoying success. Organizations like Refresh Miami and .CO are an important part of the tech landscape. Miami startups like OpenEnglish and CareCloud are attracting venture capital, and more new startups are sprouting every day. We hope to become a source of inspiration, knowledge and mentorship to continue to put Miami on the map as a place where innovation is born and nurtured—and thrives over the long term.