Scotland’s first festival for remote workers

Held on 28th March at Box Hub in Glasgow, the very first Remote Alba Fest brought together a buzzing community of remote workers, freelancers, founders, creatives and digital nomads.

The goal? To share ideas, spark inspiration and connect—without stuffy conference rooms. Think: career growth meets community spirit, with a healthy dose of fun, music, and wellness thrown in.

And it all started with one passionate idea.

The Spark Behind the Fest

Bianca, entrepreneur and educator, has spent years championing flexible and remote work, helping others build careers that don’t require the traditional 9–5. Scotland—and Glasgow in particular—was the perfect place to bring this vision to life. With its thriving tech scene and wild, inspiring landscapes, it’s a hub for the kind of freedom remote work can offer.

Remote Alba Fest was born from this vision—a festival-meets-conference with a twist. A safe, welcoming space to learn, connect, and have a laugh while doing it.

Bianca has founded Nomad Alba, who are now one of Code Division’s partners going forwards.

Stand out workshops

We invited inspiring imagineers to come and host workshops.

Bianca herself hosted a session on How to Find Your Hustle, helping attendees uncover profitable ideas, build income streams, and launch their remote careers.

Lorraine Charles, CEO of Na’amal, delivered a powerful workshop on bridging the digital divide and building an inclusive future of work—especially for those typically left out of the remote revolution.

Neil John Gibson, an actor-turned-tech consultant, led a fascinating session on communication—teaching us that how we say something often matters more than the words themselves. Attendees got to explore visual, vocal, and verbal cues - and got practical advice on how to communicate better.

Marc Christensen brought his 25 years of sales wisdom to Chasing the No, a workshop that flipped rejection on its head and gave us tools to confidently sell ourselves and our businesses.

Katarina Svistseva of The Data Gals rounded off the imagineer sessions with a masterclass in tackling imposter syndrome and standing out in the remote job market. Her energy and knowledge left the room buzzing.

Wellness and Connection

Remote work comes with plenty of perks—but it’s not without its challenges. Isolation, Zoom fatigue, and lack of movement can creep in.

That’s why Remote Alba Fest put a big emphasis on wellness and human connection.

City walks, chill-out zones, and interactive wellness sessions helped everyone recharge and reconnect—reminding us that building a sustainable remote lifestyle means taking care of our bodies and minds too.

A different approach to networking

We wanted to connect the Glasgow community of creatives, freelancers, agencies, non-profits and start-ups. So we hosted this 'Pitching & Giving' networking session. 👥 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Here's how it worked: We had one table of Pitchers: these were founders and freelancers - who either had an idea brewing, or had already started a business.And then we had The Givers - these were people who volunteered to give something to each of our Pitchers! After listening to each of The Pitchers do a 1 minute elevator pitch - they wrote a note card with a gift inside. 🖋️ 🗒️

This could be anything from...

📖 A book recommendation
🧠 A nugget of advice
📧 An introduction to someone
☕️ A coffee to discuss further

What we found was that each Giver went above and beyond - writing multiple note cards and being really generous with their knowledge and time. Each note was hand delivered, and The Pitchers left feeling very grateful indeed.

A closing party to remember

As the sun set on an inspiring day, Remote Alba Fest transformed Box Hub into a full-blown celebration of Glasgow’s creative spirit.

We kicked off the evening with two brilliant comedians who had the crowd in stitches. First up was Iryna, a stand-up comic from Ukraine navigating life in Scotland with a sharp wit and a delightfully dark sense of humour. “Audience LOVED her,” said The Stand Glasgow—and they weren’t wrong. She had the whole room howling.

Next came Alan Jay, whose fearless and clever comedy lit up the stage. He brought serious energy and charm to the stage—definitely one to watch on the Scottish comedy scene.

And the fun didn’t stop there. Headlining the musical line-up was An Dannsa Dub, who fused traditional Gaelic song with high-energy dub beats. DJs Alan and John followed up with vinyl-only sets that took us from post-punk to reggae to dreamy electronica, keeping the vibe alive well into the night.