Leeds Digital Festival Awards success

Opening the 2020 Leeds Digital Festival Awards, host Andrew Maeer, CEO and Founder of Amsource promised the event would be a platform to celebrate and showcase the talent and ingenuity of the digital & tech ecosystem in Leeds, and the wider region. This year’s event did exactly that and more, with Marsh Commercial being a proud sponsor of the ‘Tech Employer of the Year Award’.

A festival in the face of adversity

The Leeds Digital Festival celebrated its 5th year in 2020. An open and collaborative festival celebrating all things digital, it normally takes place at physical venues throughout the city each spring (240 events and 96 speakers in 2019). 2020 has been a challenging year for us all, but in the face of this, the sense of positivity and optimism from the digital and tech community in Leeds was certainly prevalent throughout the evening’s event. Amongst other themes, that of having the ability to pivot and refocus, was ever-present, demonstrated by this year’s festival shifting to a virtual platform with ease- even extending its footprint across over 50 countries and going truly international.

This evening’s part live, part pre-recorded event, was to the celebrate the thriving digital & tech scene in Leeds City and the wider region following the success of the secondary festival running from 21st September to 1st October 2020. Our hosts were Amsource, a digital and tech talent solutions business to start-ups and scale-ups locally and globally, and Ward Hadaway, a northern-based, client-focused legal firm working within the digital & tech community. They did not disappoint – we even had an appearance from triathlete Alistair Brownlee!

Celebrating innovation and collaboration

The digital & tech scene in Leeds is one of creativity and collaboration and the awards celebrated such talent, with the message of innovation as a key to driving the sector forward. Another significant subject celebrated this evening was that of diversity and inclusion – this being at the heart of the culture of the awards for 2020. Leeds is an inclusive and diverse city and it was recognised that the digital & tech sector should reflect this. One of the highlights of the evening was learning more about a local charity CATCH, who are passionate about improving opportunities for the community and young people. The awards gave the charity a platform, and the opportunity for those young people involved to engage with the local digital & tech community.

We are delighted to extend our congratulations to all the nominees and winners of the 2020 Leeds Digital Festival Awards. It was an honour to play an active part in such a celebration. The digital & tech scene in Leeds is going from strength to strength, and with such positive values as creativity, collaboration, innovation and diversity and inclusion, we can see why. Perfectly summed up by Festival Director, Stuart Clarke, who closed with inclusion being the key to success.

Here's to 2021!