In its aim to provide the most diverse program possible, the organizers obviously succeeded in reaching a really large audience. Whether you have a fashion background or are an industrial designer, or even if you simply run any kind of business, everyone could find a selection of talks and workshops that fitted best his or her interests. New Creation, New Leadership, New Realities, New Urbanism and New Velocity: these are the factors that will determine the future, and therefore the convention hosted professionals of each sector to guide the way within these categories.
With speakers like Hans Ulrich Obrist, curator of the Serpentine Galleries and one of the strongest voices in the art world, or Nick Foster, one of Google X’s head designers, inspiration was widely spread through most of the congress center rooms. Accompanied by laughter and thanks to humorous performances you nearly forgot that listening to these deeply informative talks is actually really exhausting. But after a quick visit to the close-by food trucks you again had the energy to think about stuff like “How art should not just show problems of society but also offer options and propose solutions” or listen to Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, talking about “How important it is that children see both parents doing household”.
With a very functional Q&A system, which one could use via the convention app speakers, the system was accessible for everyone. Moreover, the app is equipped with a feature to vote questions you like, which ensured that topics of the majority’s interest got treated. On a side note, if this is how the future of democracy will look like, we’re definitely happy and eager for it to arrive as soon as possible.