This innovation conference is more than just speeches
Commerce and creativity are on tap this week at the C2 Montreal conference, which brings in thousands of people. Andy Riga offers five things you should know about the annual event, which focuses on innovation and future trends.
The three-day gabfest — May 2426 — brings about 6,000 people from 50 countries to Montreal to talk about innovation in business. This is the sixth annual conference, the brainchild of the Sid Lee advertising agency and Cirque du Soleil. It takes place at the Arsenal art gallery in Griffintown.
2. IT ATTRACTS MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Organizers say it attracts “innovators, executives, global visionaries, creatives, entrepreneurial icons, social game changers, and an impressive array of engaging thought provocateurs.” Attendees also have to be able to afford the hefty fee — about $3,000 for the three days. It’s sold out, though tickets are still available ($85) for the closing party — Illumination Night.
3. SPEAKERS INCLUDE APPLE’S CO-FOUNDER
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is one of the names that jumps out from the list of speakers. Others include Randi Zuckerberg, a former marketing executive at Facebook, the company her brother Mark founded; Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway; and Nicola Farinetti, CEO of the Eataly restaurant/retail chain.
4. IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT SPEECHES
The event touts itself as a “collaborative environment specifically designed to provoke collisions and spark new ideas.” It includes workshops (among the topics: marketing, brands and urban mobility); master classes (for example, No such thing as a bad idea, or How can I rapidly design and propose ideas (without fear)?; “brain dates” (participants sign up for 30-minute “peer-learning meetups”); and “festivities” (including “silent yoga” and a performance by Butterscotch, a “retro-futuristic voice percussionist virtuosa”). A forum will be held on artificial intelligence. Some news will also emerge from the conference. On Wednesday, the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel, under renovation, will announce that it and C2 will “reimagine business meetings” and give a “new vocation” to the hotel’s 21st floor. Can’t attend the conference? Follow along via Twitter (hashtag: #C2M17), YouTube and Facebook. Though there will be some livestreaming from the event, organizers said that will not include talks given by headliners. Instead, the live feed will feature “conversations and interviews with speakers, members of the C2 community and members of Montreal’s creative community,” organizers said.