Conference News: What I learned this week – September 30
Even the Pope Attends Conferences: From December 2 -3, 2016 publishers Fortune and Time will co-host the 2016 Fortune/Time Global Forum in Rome, which was inspired by the Pope’s pleas for ways to spread prosperity and opportunity to the poor. The Forum is self-described as a “solutions-based conversation aimed at encouraging transformative actions and an economic system that both promotes growth and spreads its benefits more broadly.” The 2016 Fortune/Time Global Forum is an invitation-only and will include global business leaders and select invitees from the Time 100 list of the world’s most influential people. This unique opportunity will allow Fortune 500 and Time 100 leaders to engage with the Pope “to forge a new social compact for the 21st century.”
Changing the Channel: This week NCTA and their Board of Directors announced that after 65 years, they would be ending their annual industry trade show, INTX (formerly known as The Cable Show). In a blog post they explained that the organization would be “exploring new and better ways to tell our story, to gather our community, to advance our growth and present our vision of the future.” There was some concern earlier this year when both INTX and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show announced overlapping 2017 conference dates. Many wondered how the two would be able to compete for a similar audience of sponsors, speakers and attendees. Click here to read NCTA President and CEO Michael Powell’s entire blog post on the decision.
Speaking Opportunity: And speaking of the NAB Show, it has opened its call for speakers and is mixing it up this year. Instead of separating the conference into separate tracks, the content will now be focused around topics. The reason for the change? According to NAB, the “once distinct fields of media, entertainment and technology are converging and becoming something far greater than the sum of their parts. That’s The M.E.T. Effect℠.” If you want to get your message in front of the more than 103,000 media and entertainment professionals from 156 countries attending NAB Show (22 – 27 April in Las Vegas), submit speaker proposals by Monday, October 31, 2016 following speaker submission guidelines found here.
Lunchtime Learning: Health 2.0, one of the largest global conference focused on digital health, includes “200 LIVE Product Demos. 100+ Thought Leaders. 10 New Company Launches. 2000+ Attendees. 4 Days of Prime Networking.” If you were not able to attend the recent Health 2.0 Fall Conference, which took place earlier this week in Santa Clara, you can watch the sessions here. Learn about the challenges within the healthcare system and the opportunities to advance healthy communities.
Coming Up Next: Dreamforce, the behemoth cloud conference hosted by Salesforce, will be in San Francisco from 4 – 7 October. The more than 160,000 attendees will again take over the City by the Bay as they gather to hear speakers such as Melinda Gates, will.i.am, and Mark Cuban. In Orlando from 5 – 7 October, the American Marketing Association will come together for its Annual Conference under the 2016 theme of “Answers in Action.” And in London, IPExpo Europe will bring six IT events together under one roof to showcase how “the latest IT innovations can drive their business forward.”