Conferences
Redux

Idea led events are increasingly popular – and important. What happened at the key conferences that took place this spring: TED, Lift, ETech, and SXSW? Let’s reduce them to one evening in London!

Some of the key conferences around innovation, information technology, design and society take place in spring each year. And these ideas led conference are increasingly popular. Unfortunately they don’t take place in the UK. So, to get you up to speed and debate new thinking, we have brought together a number of people who were able to take part in these events to give a short (4–5 minute) spiel on the event themes and highlights, what they learned (and disagreed with), and perhaps to show part of their favourite talk and comment on it. Please join us for what should be an enlightening and engaging discussion.

TE2009: The Great Unveiling (Long Beach, CA, USA)

February 3–7, 2009

Reporters: Max Gadney, Andy Hobsbawm, Paul Miller and Alan Patrick

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It was started (in 1984) by Richard Saul Wurman as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Today it seeks to ‘Gather the world’s leading thinkers and doers, offer them four days of rapid-fire stimulation, and what's the result? Unexpected connections. Extraordinary insights. Powerful inspiration.’ In addition “corporate presentations, self-promoting speeches and product pitches aren’t allowed at TED’. Read on...

TEDTalks are made available online “with the goal of giving everyone on-demand access to the world's most inspiring voices”. One can subscribe to TEDTalks video.

LIFT09 (Geneva, Switzerland)

February 25–27, 2009

Reporters: Tobi Schneidler [Lee Bryant can no longer take part]

LIFT (orignally Life, Ideas, Futures. Together) is a conference ‘about technology in our society’. It is a series of events intended to ‘inspire and connect the community of doers and thinkers exploring the social impact of new technologies’. LIFT conferences run over three days and comprise talks, workshops, interactive art and discussions aiming to help ‘understand and anticipate the most important social changes, and meet the people behind them’. Future LIFT events are planned for France and South Korea. Read on...

LIFT talks are available at no cost at videos.liftconference.com

ETech: Living Reinvented: The Technology of Abundance and Constraints (San Jose, CA, USA)

March 9–12, 2009

Reporters: Matt Jones and Duncan Wilson

The O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference (ETech), began in 2002, succeed thePeer to Peer Conference, and is O’Reilly Media’s key O’Reilly Radar event. ETech ‘gathers together the world’s most interesting people to bring to light the important and disruptive innovations that we see on the horizon, rather than the ones that have already arrived. ETech hones in on what's going to be making a difference not this year, or maybe even next year, but around the corner as the market digests the next wave of hacker-led surprises’. Read on...

ETech videos on blip.tv
ETech videos on YouTube

SXSW Interactive (Austin, TX, USA)

March 13–17, 2009

Reporters: Alexander Grunsteidl, Paul Miller and Alan Patrick

The first South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW) was held in 1987 in Austin, Texas. In 1994 SXSW added conferences and festivals for the film industry (SXSW Film) and interactive media (SXSW Interactive Festival). SXSW is characterised by having ‘no corporate presentations, product pitches, or self-promoting speeches; interesting/original content, passionate/compelling storytelling, and good production quality (audio/video/slides) a key prerequisite’. Read on...

Interactive Podcasts & Videos may be made available before the event

Articles

Rollover for article summaries. Source shared bookmarks tagged Conferences09Redux on Delicious.

If you have queries about the event please email   Nico Macdonald

The Innovation Forum is intended to facilitate progress by bringing together researchers and academics, technologists and designers, business people and marketers, policy makers and administrators to share knowledge about their skills and current insights and projects. It supports the free exchange of ideas towards the end of improving people’s lives at home, at work and in society.