ideacity

The following posts are re-postings from the ideacity conference website and the CBC Ideas website. Particularly interesting is Roger Martin's talk in part three about the casino or betting culture of business management.  What was supposed to be good idea to spur business, has had drastic consequences for our financial and business sector - as the rewards for CEOs no longer match the performance of their companies. Includes the problem of an expectation-based market, stock-based incentives, and the false infinite growth potential of derivatives.

What is ideacity?

50 Presenters, 3 Legendary Parties, a Ton of Inspiration

ideacity, also known as ‘Canada’s Premier Meeting of the Minds’, is an eclectic gathering of artists, adventurers, authors, cosmologists, doctors, designers, entertainers, filmmakers, inventors, magicians, musicians, scientists and technologists
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Fifty of the planet’s brightest minds converge in Toronto each June to speak to a highly engaged audience. Only 600 are privileged to attend.

Produced and presented by Moses Znaimer, ideacity is not themed around any one topic, issue or business. There are no scripted speeches, breakout or parallel sessions. Rather, everyone is in one place and experiencing the same narrative.

With extra-long schmooze breaks between sessions, and legendary parties each night, attendees have had an unprecedented opportunity to mingle with such notable speakers as Conrad Black, Barbara Gowdy, Michael Ignatieff, Douglas Coupland, Pamela Wallin, Pete Seeger, Robert Kennedy Jr., John Ralston Saul, Daniel Libeskind, Clayton Ruby, Romeo Dallaire and the late Peter Jennings.

Moses Znaimer's ideacity, Part 1

Friday, September 7, 2012

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ideacity is a three day festival of talk, produced and hosted by Moses Znaimer. The focus this year was optimism and pessimism. This episode features talks by Jeff Rubin, former CIBC Chief Economist and author of The End of Growth: But Is It All That Bad?; Rex Weyler, ecologist, activist, writer and a co-founder of Greenpeace; Mara Hvistendahl, science journalist and author of Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men. Part 2 will air on Friday, September 14. For more information about ideacity and future conferences, visit the ideacity website.

Jeff Rubin's talk addresses the state of our current, dysfunctional economy and how we need a new model for sustainable  energy and economic development to set things right.

Rex Weyler, talks about the damage being done to the environment and suggests ways in which we can help to repair it.

Mara Hvistendahl's talk addresses the terrible pressure on families, in China, India and elsewhere, when a traditional culture values male children over females.  And how the new technology of sex selection will make things worse.

Moses Znaimer's ideacity, Part 2

Friday, September 14, 2012

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ideacity is a three day festival of talk, produced and hosted by Moses Znaimer. The focus this year was optimism and pessimism. This episode is about seeking faith. Speakers include Eric Weiner, journalist, traveller and the author of The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World; Jana Riess, author of Flunking Sainthood; and Gretta Vosper, United Church Minister and author of With or Without God: Why The Way We Live is More Important Than What We Believe. Part 3 will air on Friday, September 21. For more information about ideacity and future conferences, visit the ideacity website.

Eric Weiner talks about the specialness of place - what makes one locale happier, more positive and fortunate than another.  He also addresses the concept of "sacred places" - why some spots are more spiritually resonant and uplifting than others.

Jana Reiss is a journalist, a "spiritual adventurer" and a self-described "Sunday school dropout."  She has tried out different religious practices as she tries to find spirituality in daily life.  She's also on a search to find humour in the often serious world of religion.

Gretta Vosper discovered that her faith had abandoned her.  In her talk she recounts how she began to refashion a new definition of religion and the idea of god, one that restores a sense of human community. 

Moses Znaimer's ideacity, Part 3

Friday, September 21, 2012

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ideacity is a three day festival of talk, produced and hosted by Moses Znaimer. The focus this year was optimism and pessimism. Wall Street, money and... meat are the subjects of this episode. You'll hear Roger Martin, Dean of The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and author of Fixing the Game and The Responsibility Virus; David Wolman, contributing editor at Wired and author of The End of Money; and Daisy Van Der Schaft, biomedical researcher and engineer, and advocate of artificial meat. Part 4 will air on Friday, September 28.  For more information about ideacity and future conferences, visit the ideacity website.

Roger Martin talks about the casino or betting culture of business management.  What was supposed to be good idea to spur business, has had drastic consequences for our financial and business sector - as the rewards for CEOs no longer match the performance of their companies.

David Wolman details the changing way we will be using money.  Cash will be replaced in newer and technically advanced ways.  This cash-less economy will help businesses in developing countries, as people use electronic devices to buy and sell, from village markets to major cities.

Daisy Van Der Schaft talks about how the laboratory will help feed a growing world.  Synthetic meat will be grown in futuristic factories.  Artificial beef burgers will be on our menus. This is only beginning of a new food revolution.