Calling all idealists: A few months have passed since we’ve been in touch. Today, I am pleased to announce that ideaCity09 has left the gates and we’re off at a stimulating pace! We’re celebrating a special milestone at ideaCity this year – our 10th Anniversary.
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been connecting the world’s brightest minds for an entire decade! To commemorate our history and to embrace our future, we’re assembling a kaleidoscope of past greats based on your votes, and fascinating new presenters, all of whom you can discover on our fresh, new website @ ideacityonline.com.
In the meantime, let me offer you a first peek at some of the presenters who will be inspiring us this June 17, 18 & 19:
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Chairman of Waterkeeper Alliance
- Ali Velshi, Chief Business Correspondent, CNN
- Ray Zahab, Ultra Endurance Adventurer
- Wade Davis, Explorer-In-Residence, National Geographic
- David Gallo and William Lange, Deep Sea Explorers
- Pete Worden, Director, NASA Ames Research Center
- Alexandra Hall, Eureka Airship Innovator
- Preston Manning, Former Opposition Leader, Canadian Federal Government
- Maude Barlow, Senior Water Advisor, United Nations
- Pascal Lee, NASA Haughton-Mars Project Lead, SETI
- Lighthouse, Classic Canadian Rockstars
- Irwin Cotler, Human Rights Defender, Former Minister of Justice, Canada
- Ben Gulak, Inventor of the Uno, Single Wheel Motorcycle
- Candace Savage, Bee Naturalist
- David Ben, Mystical Magician
- Siwan Anderson, Missing Women Investigator, CIFAR
- Pete Myers, Disappearing Males Alarm-Sounder
- Colin Angus, Human-powered Globe Circumnavigator
- Terry Mosher, Political Cartoonist, Aislin
- Ronnie Burkett, Marionette Puppet Master
- Jacob Sullum, Drug Theory Nonconformist
- Mark Showalter, Planetary System Revealer, SETI
That’s just the start.
Want to talk space shop with Pascal Lee? Ask Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Wade Davis about their trip down the Colorado River? Subject yourself to the sleight-of-hand mastery of magician David Ben? Jam with the rockers of Lighthouse?
Only at ideaCity, can you engage in such a personal, intimate way with our prestigious presenters and other idealists, like yourself, particularly during our extended schmooze breaks and legendary evening parties.
For $3,300, a fraction of the price of other similar conferences (compare: TED @ $6000US or $7200CDN plus), you can experience all this plus Toronto at its most beautiful time of year. We encourage you to register soon! This event always sells out and I’d like to have you join us on our 10th Anniversary.
I’ll be in touch again shortly with the next wave of presenters. If you haven’t been with us in a while, reacquaint yourself with the experience by browsing through our just-released ideaCity video archive at www.ideacityonline.com/video or read below just some of the comments we’ve collected over the past decade.
"There is nothing more exhilarating than the uninhibited free exchange of ideas in pursuit of truth. As a leading Canadian law firm, ideaCity helps keep our minds nimble and connects us to the universe of current thought."
– Hugh L. MacKinnon, Corporate Partner, Bennett Jones LLP, idealist
"The people are fantastic, unexpected. The way that the conference is put together with clusters of themes is fascinating. It reflects a great deal of thought and care. People are at their best and having fun, so what could be better?"
- Lionel Tiger, Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University, Attendee, idealist
"Any kind of venue where people come together and think out loud is about the most important thing we can do for ourselves and for each other… The greatest delights are the people you’ve never heard of before, who work in fields you’ve never heard of before, and you come out thinking, ‘I’ve never thought about this’, and now you do."
- Pamela Wallin, Consul General, Presenter Alumni, idealist
"…I think it’s the format, I think that people are up there, they’ve got great things to say. I think they’re well chosen, the folks. It’s very eclectic so it’s like a tossed salad of great ideas. And it’s a different mix this time and I think coming for a third year doesn’t repeat, it just enhances."
– Ted Matthews, Brand Coach Inc., Attendee, idealist
"The conference for me is about the exchange of ideas, the aggregate of people talking about their own personal experiences, technical issues, politicsÂ…you walk away with an unusual kind of epiphany about your own work for it. I think that’s why these kinds of conferences are critical."
– Alexander Tsiaras, CEO/Founder Anatomical Travelogue, Inc., Presenter Alumni, idealist
"I was one of the fortunate people who attended this year’s event. WOW!! It has really changed me and my thinking. Thank you for organizing a great event. It was a blast."
– John Hoffmann, Attendee, idealist
"Here you run into fifty ideas in a single morning."
– Preston Manning, Presenter Alumni, idealist
"It’s the mix and range of people that’s different."
– Michael Ignatieff, Presenter Alumni, idealist
"It’s just amazing. I’m actually in awe of the ideas that are being spread. I’m most impressed by the ways the ideas are framed. They have to be a passion of the speaker. That’s why they are so powerful."
– Ray Muzyka, CEO/Co-Founder BioWare, Presenter Alumni, idealist
"Well, I’ve been very, very impressed. We’ve listened to about 15 presentations so far, all of them touching on slightly different subjects, leaders in their field. People who have ideas who are innovative, who make you think. It’s not often you get that concentration in one place."
– Marc Garneau, Presenter Alumni, idealist
"We bring a lot of our clients and business associates because we feel that we probably couldn’t offer them a better three day brain exercise than bringing them here."
– Gale Moutrey, Corporate Partner, Steelcase Inc., idealist
I hope to see you there.
Moses
