Today there were so many presentations I wanted to attend (9.00-10-30) and they were apparently all fabulous. We all met up for coffee and the room was abuzz. People in particular to Google include: Medard Gabel (Big Picture Consulting); Jerome Glen and Theodore J Gordon (The State of the Future Report, The Millennium Project); Stacey Aldrich, Les Gottsman, William Crossman and Patrick Trucker (speaking on the End of the Written Word) and Paul D Tinari (on the Future of Virtual Worlds). I could not choose so decided to try something outside my comfort zone, something that I knew nothing about and that I was unlikely to hear more about in NZ – The Globalisation of Crime. Stephen Aguilar-Millan, Joan Foltz, John Jackson and Amy J Oberg discussed gangs, narcotics and money laundering, white-collar crime, and the modern slave trade. It was a real wake up call. Amy later said to me her presentation on the ‘modern slave trade’ was one of the hardest to both prepare and present. I have asked for her slides, and with her permission will place them on the site. I feel it is important we are aware of this issue.
Before lunch I completed filming of an interview of Joe Coates, by Bonnie Banks, which I know you will enjoy. I hope to upload it on the site late this month. After lunch I attended a special event called: Emerging Technologies: So What? Public Policy Consideration for the Next Generation. This was simply superb and the panelists – Leon S Fuerth (Former National Security Advisor to Vice President Al Gore and Research Professor at Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University) and William E Halal (Professor Emeritus, also at George Washington University) – were thought provoking as they discussed the critical marriage between technology and pubic policy. I am hoping that I successfully filmed an answer to a question about New Zealand – so watch for this at the end of the month (fingers crossed). William E Halal has also published a book called: Technology’s Promise: Expert Knowledge on the Transformation of Business and Society. I have asked if he would send me his slides as I know you will be interested in his research. The session was chaired by Evan Faber (a student of both presenters). The result was a very enjoyable session for everyone – everyone except Evan that is.
Once again this group of presentations was very popular, with my fellow participants very happy with their selections. The Conference proper finished with a Closing Plenary about the ‘Emerging Technologies in Health Care and the Global Impact on Society’. Once again it was mind boggling, though quite comforting after the crime session earlier in the day! As repeated by each of the speakers, the challenge will be about making this new type of preventive care, health management, and in many cases cures equally assessable to all.
That evening was the official close of the conference proper. Last, but not least, I spent the next two hours in the Conference Book Shop, with them sealing up four boxes of books and me filling out forms, ready to post to New Zealand on my return. So to the team at the office – we need more shelves!
But it was not all over – there was another day – the Professional Members Forum – but more on that tomorrow.
Text and photo by Wendy McGuinness