Claire Brannigan, founder of Skinakin based in Glengormley, County Antrim, has been announced as a speaker at BarCamp Belfast 2025, taking place on September 26 at the Oh Yeah Centre in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter.
Building on Andy McMillan’s 2009 success, organisers Marty Neill (of AirPOS Pay & Retro Rooms) and Jennie Wallace (Beyond Skin) have brought the captivating day to fruition alongside the event’s headline sponsors Options Technologies, AirPOS Pay, Infinity 21, The Alchemists Forum, Morrow Communications and media partner Excalibur Press.
This year’s BarCamp will feature 17 sessions across two stages, covering topics as diverse as how to retire in ten years, using AI in PR, accessibility in design, generative coding, neurodiversity and email marketing.
Claire’s talk, titled “Scratching the Surface of Innovation”, will explore how creativity is the foundation of meaningful innovation and why overlooking it holds us back. Attendees can expect a thought-provoking session on how elevating creativity unlocks new ideas, shapes better outcomes, and helps society go beyond surface-level solutions.
The session will give audiences the chance to understand why creativity is essential for deeper, more impactful innovation, consider the cost of favouring certainty over possibility, and reflect on how lessons from Northern Ireland and beyond can help build bolder innovation systems.
Claire said: “The chance to connect with people who care about big ideas and doing things differently attracted me to BarCamp. I spent over 15 years in economic development supporting businesses in Northern Ireland before starting my own. Along the way I learned that great ideas can come from anywhere, and BarCamp creates space for ideas to be heard.
“The concept is great because it is built on curiosity. When you take away the barriers and let people talk about what they care about, you get unexpected conversations that spark new ideas.”
BarCamp Belfast co-organiser Marty Neill welcomed Claire’s contribution. Marty said: “With tech and entrepreneurial culture now very much shifting towards working from home we felt it was more important than ever to get the community together and Belfast Tech Week looked like the perfect time to do it.
“We are hoping that some of the older heads from the original events will rub shoulders with the new generation of makers and builders, transferring knowledge, making contacts and hopefully sharing some collective wisdom over a pint or two.”
Following last year’s success, BarCamp Belfast has returned with an eclectic mix of founders, developers, creatives, and industry experts sharing their knowledge in an open, informal environment.
Admission is free, with attendees encouraged to drop in throughout the day, listen to talks, or even deliver one themselves.
For more information about #BelfastBarCamp2025 and to register for the September 26 event, go to barcampbelfast.com.
