Wired For Wonder 2015
Australia’s most innovative event series, Wired for Wonder, will continue to inspire attendees and nurture thought leadership with an impressive cast of world-renowned speakers confirmed to lead the conversation in 2015. The annual event will be held in Sydney on 26-27 August and for the first time in the event’s history, Wired For Wonder will also be brought to Melbourne on 28 August.
Wired for Wonder, the open architecture for thought leadership, moves beyond the boundaries of traditional business events and brings together storytellers, inventors, dreamers, artists, musicians, technologists, writers and scientists – to learn, connect and explore the concept of wonder.
The confirmed Wired For Wonder Sydney speaker line-up for 2015 includes:
– Nolan Bushnell is a technology pioneer, entrepreneur and scientist, best known as the founder of Atari Corporation and Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Time Theatre. Nolan was the first and only man to hire the late Steve Jobs of Apple fame and later penned the bestseller, ‘Finding the Next Steve Jobs’. Nolan is passionate about improving education by integrating the latest advances in brain science and has developed software that teaches academic subjects ten times faster than in classrooms with a retention rate of 90 percent.
– Ben Hammersley is an author, futurist and technologist who specialises in the effects of the internet and the digital network, most widely known as the inventor of the word ‘Podcast’. Enjoying an international career as a digital trends guru advising governments and large businesses, Ben has also authored five books including ‘64 Things You Need To Know Now For Then’ and was formerly the Deputy Editor of leading technology magazine, WIRED.
– Jason Silva is the Emmy-nominated host of National Geographic Channel’s top rated series, Brain Games, now broadcast in more than 100 countries. A self-‐professed ‘wonder junkie’, Jason is the creator of web series, ‘Shots of Awe’ – micro-documentaries that explore creativity, innovation, technology and the human condition. Or, in short, “philosophy, science and art for the YouTube generation”. Jason is widely described as a modern philosopher, and a curator of ideas and inspiration.
– A past New York Advertising Woman of the Year, Cindy Gallop is the maven behind the highly successful US advertising agency, Bartle Bogle Hegarty. A compelling and inspirational leader, Cindy is the founder and CEO of www.ifwerantheworld.com, founder of Make Love Not Porn, a member of the Women At NBCU Digital Advisory Board and also consults on brand and business innovation for companies around the world. In 2014, Business Insider listed Cindy as one of the most important marketing strategy thinkers.
– Global thought leader on the power of collaboration, Rachel Botsman defined the theory of ‘collaborative consumption’ and was one of the first to explain the effects of the ‘sharing economy’. Rachel’s critically acclaimed book, ‘What’s Mine is Yours: How Collaborative Consumption Is Changing The Way We Live’, was named by TIME magazine as one of the 10 Ideas That Will Change The World.
– Hannah Fry is a mathematician at the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis and uses mathematical models to study patterns in human behaviour. Alongside her academic position, Hannah is currently a public engagement fellow and takes the joy of maths into theatres, pubs and schools. She also co-presents the BBC Worldwide YouTube channel “BRITLAB” and her first book ‘The Mathematics of Love’ was published in February 2015 as part of the first TED series.
– Returning this year, by extremely popular demand is Guy Kawasaki, perhaps best known for being ‘chief evangelist’ at Apple working with Steve Jobs, but also for roles including advisor to the Motorola business unit of Google, trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation, executive fellow at the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley and his current role, chief evangelist of Canva, an online graphic design service. The start-up business guru has run numerous successful businesses and authored 13 books including best sellers The Art of the Start 2.0, The Art of Social Media and Enchantment.
– Dr Fiona Kerr is the Organisation and Neural Complexity Specialist in the Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre of the University of Adelaide and has a business background spanning 27 years. Fiona is a global authority on fostering creativity, innovation and neuroleadership and is currently writing a book on the social neuroscience of managing people. Later this year, Fiona will travel to Quebec to work with a clinical neuroscientist, researching cognitive differences in transformational leaders, and will also advise Cirque du Soleil on its ideation process.
– US-based teenager Jack Andraka is proof that youth is no barrier to starting a scientific revolution. Jack made a name for himself with his invention of an early detection test for pancreatic, ovarian and lung cancer at the age of 15. Jack’s incredible discovery earned him global acclaim and in 2014 he received the Jefferson Award, the most prestigious public service award in the US.
– Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas in Austin, Sam Gosling is an ingenious academic and behavioural scientist who studies how people project their inner selves. Sam’s best-selling book, ‘Snoop: What your stuff says about you’, received glowing reviews for its insight into how private spaces – from an office to a bedroom – reveal personalities. Sam is currently writing a book that reveals how psychology can be applied to urban design and planning. Sam is the recipient of the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution.
– Highly experienced businesswoman, Wendy McCarthy is the Chair of Headspace, Circus Oz, McGrath Estate Agents and the Non-Executive Director of Goodstart Early Learning and IMF Bentham. Wendy’s wealth of leadership experience is impressive with previous roles including Deputy Chair of the ABC, Global Vice Chair of Plan International and Chancellor of the University of Canberra. Wendy’s ongoing contribution to the community has been recognised through a number of accolades that include being appointed Officer of the Order of Australia and being inducted into the Women’s Agenda Hall of Fame in 2013.
– Aleks Krotoski is an academic and journalist who specialises in technology and how information spreads around social networks. Aleks is an active media commentator, currently presenting BBC Radio 4’s award-‐winning science series ‘The Digital Human’, hosting The Guardian’s Tech Weekly podcast and regularly writes for The Guardian and Observer. Aleks recently published ‘Untangling the Web: What the Internet is Doing To You’ which looks at the positive and negative forces of the digital age.
Wired for Wonder will also present a series of interactive, themed workshops and engaging masterclass sessions including ‘no dancefloor’ dance classes, “how to” creative learning in collaboration with the School of Life and Speaker Close-Up’s, which will provide attendees with opportunities to interact with the keynote speakers on a more personal level. This year will also see the introduction of a much-anticipated Controversy Hour – where no topic will be off limits and speakers will lead a thought-provoking debate covering politics, technology, parenting and equality that will keep attendees ‘Wired’ and full of ‘Wonder’. A proud innovation of CommBank, Wired for Wonder is an annual event that features an impressive line-up of world-renowned speakers and sessions to inspire businesses and individuals to embark on a journey of discovery and innovation.
Wired for Wonder (Sydney): The open architecture for thought leadership in Australia
Date and Time: 26-27 August 2015 from 8:30am – 6:00pm
Location: National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), 215 Anzac Parade, Kensington