BananaConf

I first came to NFT Tallinn as a speaker in May 2022 and proposed a partnership with Sander. We developed BananaCorp around the event, with BananaConf as its conference platform.

The 2023 edition still used NFT Tallinn. In April 2024, the conference returned to Kultuurikatel under the BananaConf name, opening the programme to a wider conversation about Web3, AI and digital ownership.

My responsibilities covered communications, media and community. Sander and I shared responsibility for marketing across channels, event and stage visuals, signage, badges, gallery material and onsite updates. I also carried speaker and partner outreach.

I moderated How Brand NFTs Are Pushing the Frontiers of Adoption, joined the Web3 Attention Economy discussion and appeared with Spottie WiFi for Music NFTs and the Importance of Community. These conversations connected the tools with brands, audiences and the people building businesses around them.

Garage Italia developed the identity and 2024 event materials. Frank Poncelet was among the wider organising team, speakers and moderators who helped shape the gathering.

Sander’s post-event account reported 589 participants from 57 countries, including 407 builders, 1,600 foreign-visitor hotel nights and 25 percent returning attendance from 2022 or 2023. The organising team interviewed more than 250 potential speakers, contacted 400 companies and reviewed more than 1,500 art submissions.

Tallinn recognised BananaConf among its recurring international flagship conferences. The scale belonged to a collective effort, from the organising team to the contributors and participants.

Banana DAOquiri kept the community connected between conferences. Smaller gatherings, including 90 Bananas in Paris, offered other occasions to meet. Web3 × Fashion in 2023 and The Future Fashion in 2024 brought related conversations into Milan’s fashion calendar with different organising partners.

My co-organising period ended in March 2025. What stays with me is the work between editions: maintaining communication, bringing people into the programme and giving a community another reason to gather.