ATLANTA, Georgia—National BDPA, Inc. (BDPA), founded in 1975 and formerly known as Black Data Processing Associates, in collaboration with major tech industry partners, proudly announce the return of this flagship event, BDPACON25, to Atlanta—a city long recognized as a powerhouse of research and development (R&D), HBCU excellence in technology, innovation, and digital workforce transformation.

Celebrating 50 years of empowering African Americans in I.T. and new technologies, BDPA’s Golden Anniversary theme, “A Legacy of PACEsetting Innovation,” reflects the organization’s enduring commitment to community awareness and advocacy for tomorrow’s digital workforce. Moreover, Atlanta’s selection is no coincidence. It remains a vibrant hub whereby BDPA’s values and impact have visibly come to life ever since the inception of the Association’s Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) programs in 1986.

Atlanta’s long-standing legacy as BDPA’s conference host city dates back to 1986, and includes pivotal years in Atlanta such as 1996, 1999, 2008, 2016, 2019, and the post-pandemic renaissance years of 2022, 2023, and 2024. In 1996, BDPA launched “bdpa.org” in Atlanta during BDPACON96 with mission support from Silicon Graphics (SGI) and BellSouth (AT&T). National BDPA’s Atlanta Chapter also boasts a youth coding, esports, and gaming  ecosystem with multiple national titles across BDPA’s High School Computer Competition (HSCC) portfolio, most recently as reigning HSCC Champions from awards received last year during BDPACON24.

“Atlanta isn’t just a backdrop for ‘The BDPA Story’—Atlanta is one of our ideal Host Chapter cities for national and regional BDPACONs, Atlanta Tech Week, as well as SC24 and SC28 High Performance Computing (HPC) conferences” said National BDPA’s President, Perry Carter. “From community engagements to new industry partnerships, Atlanta exemplifies our Association’s mission sets already in motion since 1975.”

Major tech firms echo this sentiment. Microsoft first spotlighted Atlanta in 2002 during its Blacks in Technology Summit and recently celebrated its own 50-year milestone and Golden Anniversary, symbolizing a shared commitment to innovation and transformation.

Atlanta has also led in civic tech advocacy, hosting landmark events like the Georgia Blacks in Tech Policy Conference at City Hall in 2017, reinforcing its role as a catalyst for innovation, policy, and digital empowerment.

Breakthrough technologies in robotics, cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence are occurring now. As BDPA prepares to gather and assemble its delegates with technologists, educators, industry leaders, and students, Atlanta reaffirms its legacy with BDPA and industry for BDPACON’s Golden Anniversary events.

BDPACON25 attendees may pre-register at → https://conference.bdpa.org

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