Over 700,000 people attend The Festival Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany France

On August 8^th, Russell spoke at the Interceltic Business Forum in South Brittany, France. This one-day conference was an important element of The Festival Interceltique de Lorient which spanned 10 days and nights of concerts, talks, shows and sports competitions that celebrate the Celtic diaspora  - a network beyond the oceans. Over 700,000 visitors and spectators will come together to enjoy "the rendezvous of contemporary expressions of Celtic countries", making this the largest urban festival in Europe!

"The Celts who gather this week arrive from Brittany, Cornwall, Galicia, Ireland, Isle of man, Asturias, Wales and of course Scotland. We are joined by members of the Celtic diaspora living in Australia, Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Acadia, New Zealand and the United States of America."

The INTERCELTIC BUSINESS FORUM will focus on innovation, technology and entrepreneurship during a day of conferences, round tables and networking with speakers from Celtic countries. Many topics will be developed, including how the West of Ireland is creating major economic growth, the internationalization of Breton companies, cybersecurity and value creation, the decarbonisation of London by a Welsh start-up and how Scottish networks support and grow their businesses.

As a proud Scot, Russell has dedicated many years to writing about, speaking on and facilitating diaspora engagement. During his key note speech, Russell shared his experience of developing a global network of Scots as chair of SBN and the benefits secured from connecting this community back to Scotland. In this post Russell reflects on the importance of showing up, when possible, to build those face-to-face connections.