All eyes will be on Perth next week when the world's foremost tech experts descend west for the inaugural 2017 Festival of the Web.

The eight-day tech fest features a dozen international and locally-developed conferences and special events, including the 26th International World Wide Web Conference (WWW2017), and is the first time the prestigious event is in Perth. 

The festival itself gives WA start-ups, academics, students and other digital organisations a unique opportunity to interact with international experts from the most successful and innovative tech companies in the world. 

WA participants can also showcase the elite research and innovation taking place across the state to influential global delegates, including attendees from Airbnb, Amazon, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Pinterest, Uber and Yahoo. 

More than 3000 attendees from Australia, Asia and around the world are expected to land in Perth for the festival, boosting tourism in Perth and regional areas like Margaret River that will co-host events.

Major highlights of the Festival of the Web include:
* WWW2017 (3-7 April): 20 tracks, posters and demos, keynotes and social events
* W4A2017 (2-4 April): The international Web For All accessibility conference
* SEGAH2017 (2-4 April): Serious Games and Applications for Health
* BIG2017 (4 April): The Big Data Innovators Gathering

An exciting array of local, niche events - from online gaming, privacy and trust - are also part of the 2017 Festival of the Web, with highlights including:

* Trust Factory (3 April): Digital governance and the development of the digital infrastructure that will influence our future

* Bytes & Rights (3-4 April): Web governance, security, privacy, copyright

* Collaboration = Innovation (4 April): Collaboration, culture, business entrepreneurship and innovation

* Big Day In (5 April): IT careers conference designed by students for students

* Deep Sensor (6-7 April): The Internet of Things in Mining Oil and Gas – how the WA resources industry is embracing new technology and opportunities

A complete event program can be viewed and downloaded here.