What Will You Discover at RootsTech 2025?

Canadian-born Jonathan Wing currently serves as the director of events for FamilySearch International. RootsTech by FamilySearch is an annual event that brings together people interested in family history and genealogy. This year’s worldwide “family discovery event” will take place March 6–8, 2025. Activities will include online and in-person sessions, keynote speakers, an expo hall, industry innovations and the opportunity to chat online with other attendees worldwide.

Wing sat down with Canada Newsroom to share a bit of his story and talk about RootsTech 2025.

What can you tell us about RootsTech 2025?

Wing: This year’s theme is “Discover,” and there are certainly a lot of things to discover during the event. Everything we do, as organizers, is to help inspire and empower our attendees to make meaningful discoveries in their family history. Such discoveries include virtual keynotes, which are documentary-style pieces that we pre-produce with various speakers.

You will also discover social media influencers, singers and entertainers from different parts of the world, illustrating the global nature of this event.

You can go on the RootsTech website and see the whole class list. You can search and navigate through the different offerings and see what is applicable to you. Explore the on-demand library from years past. There’s something for everyone, including children.

For in-person attendees, the Expo Hall highlights innovation within the industry and how AI and new technology are accelerating the ways we find meaningful discoveries.

One fun part of the event is “Relatives at RootsTech,” which helps attendees see and connect with those they’re related to among other RootsTech attendees.

Discover how music and art collide and come to life on screen with this year’s theme song “Who I Am” [composed by Wing]. Discovering who we are is meaningful. We are children of God and part of one human family, which is a beautiful thing.

All the experiences at RootsTech are aimed to motivate and illustrate how meaningful discoveries in our family history can bring joy.

What is the story of how you became involved with RootsTech?

Wing: In October 2019, I supported FamilySearch when their RootsTech event was held in London — the first year it was held on international soil. I had received my master’s degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science and was very familiar with the city, so I played a significant role in helping that event come to be.

Afterward, I was invited to join the FamilySearch Events Team. I was assigned to produce a session called “Family Discovery Day,” which highlights the life of a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles or the First Presidency, his spouse and their family.

In 2021, we pivoted to a fully virtual experience. Participants who never would have had the opportunity to attend the event in London or Salt Lake City were attending virtually in droves. That really showed us what we had to offer was universal.

We had to change our approach to RootsTech quickly, as the audience base was growing and changing rapidly. At that point, I was assigned to determine what the creative aspects of the event would be. My degrees in international development and business management, along with my diverse background — being a half Filipino, quarter Dutch, eighth Chinese, sixteenth German, sixteenth Irish, Canadian-born citizen of the United States — factored into my decision-making processes.

In 2024, I stepped into the role of director of events at FamilySearch. I work with some of the most talented, devoted people, who come from all walks of life and all parts of the world. It’s exciting to be able to lead a team of people with different perspectives to help create such a unique event.

It is such an incredible blessing to be intimately involved in this work — God’s work — particularly among His children from around the world who seek connection through family stories and family history.

What can you tell us about your personal history, including your Canadian roots?

Wing: I was born in Niagara Falls, Canada, in the 1980s. My mom is from the Philippines, and my dad is from the Netherlands. They moved to Canada in their 20s and teens, respectively. They met in a hospital in Ontario, where my mom was working as a lab tech and my dad was between semesters in medical school in Hong Kong. They went back to Hong Kong after they married, and that is where they joined the Church of Jesus Christ. They eventually moved back to Canada and were living in Niagara-on-the-Lake when I was born. After some time, my family moved to Utah.

My wife was born in Poland but grew up in Toronto from the age of three, and so the two of us are from Ontario. Her parents still live in Ontario, so we visit often. I’ve lived in different parts of the world, but Canada has always been home. I love going back.

My wife and I are proud parents of five beautiful children, and it’s part of our regular practice to share our family stories and unique heritage with them. I have always found strength in knowing these stories. I have never felt alone. I feel like I’m continuing the legacy of those who came before. Helping my children understand who they are — the strength of family who came before — is something that I know will bless them.

What is your favourite part of RootsTech and why?

Wing: My favourite part is witnessing the connections that take place — people connect not only to their personal family story and their homeland but also to one another. Those connections help foster a recognition that we are all brothers and sisters in God’s family; when we come to know that, we treat each other that way.

I think everyone wants to know the story of who they are. Most attendees at RootsTech are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Regardless of their religious affiliation, they have a desire to connect with their family story, to know who they are, where they come from and even the meaning of their name. That’s part of the Spirit of Elijah: the hearts of the children turning to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers turning to their children (see Malachi 4:6). It’s a beautiful thing.

Read the article in French