Brazil hosts Campus Party, world’s biggest tech fair

Campus Party Brasil is kicking off in Brazil’s capital Brasília tomorrow (Mar. 23), and ends on March 27. The innovation, creativity, science and entrepreneurship festival is held in partnership with the Federal District government and should bring to the public talks on the internet of things, blockchain, maker culture, and entrepreneurship.

Also expected are robotics arenas, where visitors may participate hockey matches played by robots and drones, with races and lessons for those eager to try it out.

Campus Party Brasil is the Brazilian version of the largest technological event in the world. The event will be held in hybrid form, with in-person activities at the Mané Garrincha National Stadium as well as online transmissions. Besides Brasília, where it should draw some 70 thousand visitors, the fest will also take place in São Paulo, from July 16 through 20 this year.

For the opening, the fair will feature free shows by DJ Bashkar and the Symphony Orchestra of the Claudio Santoro National Theater, led by conductor Cláudio Cohen. The stadium will operate under limited capacity, with mandatory mask use as well as vaccination passports or a PCR or antigen test run 48 hours in advance.

Campus play

In the space open to the public, visitors will have access to Campus Play, an area housing game championships and featuring game-related content, not to mention the Drone Arena and the Entrepreneurship Stage—a partnership with the Brazilian Small and Medium Business Support Service (Sebrae)—where speakers are expected to share important information with those already in operation or seeking to start a business.

In the Campus Arena, a paid space for campuseiros, as visitors are referred to, approximately 7 thousand people are likely to gather. They can attend activities on four different stages, which should deal with topics linked to the world of technology, programming, and digital entertainment, as well as metaverse and games.

About 3 thousand people are expected at the campsite, making the fair the second largest Campus Party edition worldwide. In all, lectures, workshops, hackathons, games, simulators, and other attractions should add up to over 300 hours of activities.

Among the confirmed international speakers is Jordan Soles, vice-president of Technology Development at Rodeo FX, a Canadian visual effects company for cinema, television, and advertising, known for having created the effects for TV series Game of Thrones.

One of the Brazilian highlights of the fair is Neuroscience PhD Professor Fabiano de Abreu Agrela, who should talk about how the misuse of technology brings cognitive impairment and may result in disorders and illnesses.

According to Agrela, technology itself is not the problem, but rather the way it is used—either through the exaggerated use of social media, total immersion in the virtual world, and other habits described in a number of studies he published.