Derry is to be the host city for a major Electronics Industry Forum in September. Thanks to a unique partnership between Derry City Council, Derry Chamber of Commerce, Derry VCB and the University facilitated by the SmartCity Group, the 98th Plenary session of EDIFICE will be held in the City.

From the 6th - 8th September this year, electronics companies will descend upon Derry for the 98th Plenary meeting and they have been promised a warm "Irish" welcome by the team who pulled it off.

Brian Doherty, local entrepreneur representing the SmartCity Group, identified this opportunity to showcase the region. He commented,

"These plenary sessions are held all over the world and having attended a number of them, I saw the opportunity to bring EDIFICE to Derry and use the opportunity to showcase our city to the major corporations of the world. The partners all responded so positively that it is no wonder we won the bid to host the event".

EDIFICE represents the majority of the European electronics industry It holds 4 plenary sessions annually and Derry will follow in the footsteps of cities such as Amsterdam, Grenoble, Prague, Vienna, Paris, Munich, and Brussels. It is a forum to be educated in the B"B processes and technologies and also avail of the knowledge and experiences of other member companies.

Jim Allen of the University of Ulster, one of the sponsoring bodies said:

"The University is delighted to host the event within the Magee Campus EpiCentre. The focus of the Epicentre is to assist the development of technology throughout the region. To host such an event is a natural step for us".

All of the cities that host these Plenary sessions must have something special to offer in order to attract the crème de la crème of the electronics industry.

John Meehan, Director of Development Department, Derry City Council said he believed the city has what it takes to host such an event. He said:

"We want to take every opportunity to showcase the city and its economic capacity. With the DVCB, the Chamber and University, we have pulled together an exciting programme to ensure that EDIFIC members will remember their time in Derry as much as in Munich, Brussels, Prague or anywhere else in Europe".

Catherine O'Connor of the Derry Visitor and Convention Bureau agreed. She said:

"We were very quickly able to identify clear access routes, a wide range of accommodation, Leisure facilities to suit all interests and a welcome second to none"

The local Chamber of Commerce hosted the team meetings to pull together the proposal. Janice Tracey, Chamber CEO concluded:

"Derry has enormous potential as a conference city. The speed with which this bid was pulled together and the rapid and positive response from EDIFICE shows that we have what it takes. The Chamber is looking forward to welcoming business colleagues from around the world to the city."