No More Next Billion: In case you did not see the announcement earlier this year, digital business news publisher, Quartz has cancelled its Next Billion Conference, which focused on “the future of the connected world”. Quartz may still host a smaller tech event in 2017 but wanted to shift resources to other projects.

Eco joins the Party:  The team behind SXSW announced that SXSW Eco will now be a part of the SXSW Conference and Festival in March. Per the official announcement, this decision was made “in the interest of providing greater attention to important topics.” Instead of hosting an independent SXSW Eco in October, SXSW 2018 will host an expanded program “containing the distinctive formats and special events unique to SXSW Eco, including the Startup Showcase and Place by Design.”

Uptime Symposium Comes Home: Last year, after 10 successful years of hosting Uptime Institute Symposium in the US, 451 Research announced that they would not have a 2016 Santa Clara event, and would instead focus on expanding the brand globally. While that was a successful strategy that will continue this year, 451 Research has decided to again host Uptime Institute Symposium in the US this fall! It will be co-located with the Hosting + Cloud Transformation Summit in Las Vegas between 18 – 20 September 2017.

Speaking Opportunity: This year, Casual Connect, taking place from 1 -3 August, is returning to the Seattle after four years in San Francisco.  If you would like to be a part of this conference focused on casual games, submit a speaker proposal before 15 April via their online form found here.

Lunchtime Learning: In response to the recently-canceled Climate & Health Summit, a group of leaders, including former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, came together to host a Climate & Health Meeting on February 16, 2017. The stellar agenda included topics such as Connecting Climate Change and Public Health and Protecting Public Health from Climate-related Threats. Couldn’t make it to Atlanta? Watch the full recording here.

Coming Up Next:  SXSW Edu will kick off a crazy couple of weeks in Austin.  The conference, which is part of the SXSW family of events, will attract more than 13,000 stakeholders “passionate about the future of teaching and learning” from 6 – 9 March.  On 10 March the SXSW Festival will officially begin. Also next week, The Montgomery Summit will begin in Santa Monica.  This by-invitation-only conference will bring together entrepreneurs, investors, and leading executives to discover new business innovations and technologies. The fifth annual Wired Health Conference will take place on 9 March in London. Hundreds of influencers from healthcare, pharmaceutical and technology will discuss topics such as the end of genomics, the threat of epidemics, and the end of ageing.