Conference News: Financial Times in DC; Webit Worldwide; GRC CFP

FT in DC: For the first time, the Financial Times will host the FTWeekend Festival outside of the United Kingdom. On Saturday 7 May FT will host a one-day festival in Washington, D.C. under the very timely and relevant theme “reconnecting.” The conversations will “reinvigorate the debates over politics, economics, the climate and much more,” tackling these “big questions over music, the arts, literature and wine.” In addition to the experiences in the capital city, FT will be streaming sessions online. Some of the confirmed speakers include former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, authors Tina Brown, Lea Ypi and Elizabeth Strout, and Master of Wine and FT wine columnist Jancis Robinson.

Around the World with Webit: Webit.Foundation is committed to boosting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in EMEA and Asia and improving the state of innovation for a better future. Their global community consists of over 100,000 “digirati, policy makers, innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, scientists and experts fascinated by technology and fostering the digital transformation in the business and the society.” Last week they announced that in 2022 Webit will host 6 global events including: a World Health Innovation Forum, a World ESG Forum, Founders Games (their global startup challenge), the annual Global Impact Forum, and special events at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting and at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

Speaking Opportunity: The 2022 Governance, Risk, and Control (GRC) Conference, jointly presented by ISACA and The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), will be held in Orlando and online from 22 – 24 August.  The event will again bring together more than 1,000 governance, risk, and control professionals from dozens of countries to “embrace challenges, forge new solutions, and define the future of global GRC.” They are now accepting speaker/topic suggestions that fall within one of the following categories: Career Development, Compliance, Control, Cybersecurity, Data Governance, Leadership, Risk and Technology Trends. If you have an idea for a talk, submit here before the 21 February deadline.

Conference Manager Q&A: The Reuters Strategic Marketing Conference brings together the world’s most influential marketing leaders to discuss the impact of brands on society, leverage new digital touchpoints, and unleash the opportunities that come with this shift in consumer-brand relationships. The conference will return to San Diego on 2 – 3 June with an all-star lineup of executive speakers from the world’s most recognizable brands. Speaker Strategies recently sat down with Reuters’ Global Project Director Issy Paul to find out what she considers when developing the agenda.

 
Speaker Strategies: What do you love most about your job?

Having the chance to speak with incredible people on a daily basis. The opportunity to work with and learn from industry leaders is not only exciting on a personal level, particularly when I get to speak to people from my favorite companies/brands, but it also makes me better at my job. It’s those conversations that enable Reuters Events to deliver the intelligence and foster the relationships that shape strategy and secures the future for leading companies worldwide.

Speaker Strategies: What is the most important trait of a good speaker?

The ability to be engaging is most important. You could be the most knowledgeable person in the room but if you’re not captivating your audience, no one will be paying attention to all the interesting things you have to say! Understanding your audience is also fundamental when trying to connect with them. Being personable, relevant, and authentic are all key factors when it comes to being successful onstage.

Speaker Strategies: What is the most important piece of a successful presentation abstract/topic description?

It has to have a buzzy title – tapping into the latest trends and buzzwords in your industry is crucial to attract initial attention. When creating topic descriptions, we talk a lot about FOMO – a good title should draw people in and make them feel like they can’t possibly miss out on this session. Being benefit-driven is also key – by telling the audience what they’ll get out of the session, it instantly becomes more appealing. However, it’s important to avoid clichés – when covering topics that are important but perhaps overdone, the appeal of the session comes down to the title. You have to make the audience feel as if they’re hearing about this for the first time!

Coming Up Next Week: “Visions & Decisions” is the theme for this year’s Interactive Advertising Bureau/IAB Annual Leadership Meeting, slated for 7-10 February as a hybrid event, with options for advertising executives to attend in New York or online. DeveloperWeek Conference, which runs 7-9 February as a virtual event and is among the largest events for the developer and engineering audience, will hold a co-located program called CloudWorld, geared toward those developers who are building the global cloud computing economy. Digital Entertainment World/DEW gets underway 7 February as an online program. DEW, which is designed for those working in the intersection between entertainment, media & technology, will operate under the theme “Entering the Metaverse.” As Realscreen’s main event pivots toward a rescheduled June date, planned to be in-person in Dana Point, they will also hold a virtual Realscreen Summit LITE from 7-11 February to offer the unscripted and non-fiction entertainment community keynotes, panels, and networking in real-time. And when the TCEA Annual Convention kicks off 7 February in Dallas, educators and administrators can expect sessions covering tech tips and tricks, SEL, equity, diversity, and inclusion, leadership, and coaching.