TORONTO, Digital Journal Now in its fifth year, ideaCity is fast attaining its goal of becoming Canadas premier, and most eclectic, meeting of minds. Recently, a group of excited idealists gathered at the CHUM City headquarters on a cold midwinter night to hear the announcement of the first speakers to appear at the upcoming 2004 gathering.
The event, which will take place June 16 to 18 at the University of Torontos Isabel Bader Theatre, is the brainchild of former CHUM head Moses Znaimer. Picking up where the TEDCity (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference left off, Znaimer sought to create a similar gathering, one with
a decidedly Canadian flavour.
Four ideaCitys later, Znaimer can consider his mission accomplished.
IdeaCity is a conference like no other. Each year, 500 primarily Canadian attendees from all walks of life listen to 55 of the worlds top minds again, primarily Canadian from wildly diverse fields expound upon what stimulates them to create and succeed. Speakers are given one simple instruction: Talk about an idea you have for 20 minutes (no notes!) and let the audience manage the fallout.
The format has proven a winner for all involved, as judged by the impressive list of past ideaCity lecturers: Examples include filmmakers Atom Egoyan and Norman Jewison; authors Michael Ignatieff and Douglas Coupland; architects Frank Gehry and Daniel Libeskind; politicians Right Hon. Kim Campbell and Preston Manning; news anchors Arthur Kent and Peter Jennings; lawyers Clayton Ruby and Edward Greenspan; scientists Josef Penninger and Doug Perovic; and activists Marc Emery and Bob Hunter.
Who can we expect to see this year?
While organizers will announce the full lineup in late spring, highlights of the early announcements include artist and naturalist Robert Bateman; lawyer and author Robert Kennedy, Jr.; former UN peacekeeping Commander Lewis MacKenzie; renowned childrens author Robert Munsch; teenage Parkinsons researcher Eva Vertes; Macleans back-page columnist Paul Wells; and clothing entrepreneur Harry Rosen.
Every year, weve had a spectacular speaker lineup, but the roster for 2004 is shaping up to be our best ever, said ideaCity senior manager Jennifer Mondoux. Were looking at a full house. Anyone wanting tickets should call us now.
New attendees should drop all conventional expectations about conferences when coming to ideaCity. There is no central theme. There are no breakout or plenary sessions. There are no speaker Q&As. Sound strange? No need to worry. Most of the presentations develop into lively and passionate monologues that provide unique insight into how some of the most talented minds of our world function.
What sets the event apart is the unusually full access granted to attendees. The three days worth of sessions are peppered with numerous conversation breaks, and an extravagant party caps each day of the conference with all the speakers available for casual chatting. Past attendees enthusiastically describe it as an unparalleled networking opportunity.
All details for the conference, including a full list of confirmed speakers for ideaCity04, can be found at www.ideacityonline.com.
To register for the conference, readers should contact conference manager Jennifer Mondoux at jenniferm@chumtv.com or phone 416-591-7400 ext. 2475.
Please visit ideacity04
