Conference News: What I learned this week – August 25, 2017

IEFA heads to Europe: The International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA) organizes several conferences to help achieve its goal of promoting “an understanding of major international economic challenges in order to have far-ranging discussions on current social and political issues.” Bringing together heads of state and government, members of the business community and civil society, trade union leaders and academics, these gatherings have been held annually in Toronto, Montreal and Miami. For the first time in 2017, the IEFA will expand its mission by adding a fourth conference to its line-up!  The Conference of Paris is scheduled to take place in the city of lights from 7 – 8 December. For more information, check out the conference website.

Bloomberg Brings Back Clinton-esque Confab:  Approximately a year ago, I wrote in this newsletter that the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Forum would be holding its final event in New York in September 2016 “to avoid any potential conflict with Hillary Clinton’s presidential aspirations.”  This left many wondering whether another conference would take its place, bringing together the dignitaries and luminaries who will already be in the New York for the UN General Assembly.  Well the wait is over.  Bloomberg has announced a new event happening on 20 September called the Bloomberg Global Forum. This by-invitation-only conference will be limited to approximately 150 politicians and business leaders and will tackle weighty issues such as how to “construct a new multilateral economic order to solve the challenges that led to the unraveling of so many twentieth-century assumptions and institutions.”  The conference organizers also expect that, much like the CGI Annual conference, this gathering will bring “announcements of new and innovative partnerships between government and business, and sustained, targeted investment in critical sectors and economies.”

Hands on Learning: InfoSec World 2018 Conference & Expo will return to Florida from 19 – 21 March 2018. The 2018 agenda will include a new session format this year: Tech Labs. Tech Labs will be 2-3 hour sessions providing hands-on, guided learning for students. The goal is to teach students new skills by allowing attendees to work through real-life offensive or defensive simulations such as how to exploit a “system,” how to hunt down an attacker, how to look for evidence once an attacker has compromised a system, etc.

Speaking Opportunity: Strata Data Conference is returning to San Jose on 5 – 8 March 2018 and is currently accepting proposals for session and tutorial speakers.  The conference organizers are specifically looking for “success stories, cautionary tales, best practices, or compelling visions of the future you can tell in a no-nonsense, pitch-free way.” Some of the topics of interest are: data science and machine learning, platform security and cybersecurity, data engineering and architecture, and governance. Submit speaker proposals before the Tuesday 12 September deadline following the guidelines found here.

Lunchtime Learning: The American Advertising Federation’s national conference, ADMERICA brings together agencies, clients, media companies, suppliers and college students from across the U.S. to explore innovations in advertising, marketing and communications.  Hear advertising thought leaders discuss how the changing culture of business and consumers are impacting their industry.

Coming up next week: VMWorld/US begins on 27 August in Las Vegas. A mix of 22,000 IT technical professionals and business executives attend to hear keynotes and breakout sessions on technologies that enable the digital enterprise. GoSec Cyber Security Conference will cover topics such as audit and governance, risk management, research, and operational security. It is held 30-31 August at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. And on 5 September, content, marketing and PR professionals head to Cleveland for networking and hands-on learning at Content Marketing World. With a six-year track record and more than 4,000 attendees, Content Marketing World hails itself as the largest content-focused event for marketers.