Music
Interview
Pause Fest speakers predict the key trends for 2020
Next week, one of the creative, business, and tech industry’s biggest events, Pause Fest will take over the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. To get prepared we asked some of their speakers to predict what they think the key trends for 2020 will be.
Across three days, Pause Fest will bring together over 200 of the best and brightest minds leading the way in creative, business, and tech industries around the world.
For a little insight into what you can expect, we spoke to three of the festival’s speakers to hear what they are predicting for 2020.
Kelly Calheiros – Shopify, Talent Business Partner – Marketing Service Line
I’m an HR Business Partner based in Toronto, Canada. My keynote speech is about belonging being the next evolution of diversity and inclusion and what Shopify is doing in this space.
What are you most looking forward to about Pause Fest 2020? Going to all the different talks and meeting new people!
Predict the key trends and changes in your field for 2020 – Within HR, I would say retaining your top talent. What will keep employees happy and engaged in the workplace?
Nicky Bryson – PWC, Director of Brand Strategy
I am Director of Brand Strategy and Insight at PwC and have a background in brand, marketing and cultural strategy with a foundation in business, psychology and research. I am personally passionate about Australian culture and social research, and exploring this from both a macro and micro perspective at PwC – how shifts in culture and identity affect behaviour, business, demographics and cohesion.
What I will be presenting at Pause Fest is the concept that Australia is facing its second major social revolution. The first being the ’70s – a period of social, cultural and institutional change that redefined Australia. A decade of activism, when ordinary, private voices were heard, and the social ground shifted; an era filled with a sense of excitement and possibility. Today, things are different. We are seeing the same theatrical activism, the same undercurrents of change but there’s a sense of anger, resentment and fear. We are witnessing a movement of ordinary Australians and businesses circumventing leadership, using their social and individual power to direct change. This is happening on a global stage and heightened locally in recent months. I will be discussing the implications of this, and what the future could hold.
What are you most looking forward to about Pause Fest 2020? I love that Pause Fest is a festival that merges Business and Creativity, and in this sense big B business – not only the traditional creative enterprise. The merge of creativity into deep business thinking is critical across every aspect of our future – from how we educate, to run businesses and governments. The breadth of ideas, concepts explored, diverse speakers, and attendees is unique and brings what I hope to be a beautiful lateral thinking love in.
Predict the key trends and changes in your field for 2020 – In society and culture what we are exploring, and part of my topic is the fact we are at a tipping point in society and as a liberal world order. The promises of freedom, equality, and universalism have faced big challenges, our trust in the foundation stones of society is failing, and tribalism and identity politics are on the rise. We are at a moment where we as a nation and people need to make some big decisions about what unites us, what we are ‘for’ not just against, and the common identity and ideologies that bind us. I’m really excited by this and looking forward to exploring this more in 2020.,
Pause Fest is now ten years old – where do you see the next decade moving? We have experienced a shift in the last decade around who we seek opinions on the future from. In the past, these were most likely sought from authority figures such as prime ministers, the clergy, and senior business leaders, in the last decade we’ve seen the rise of ‘go-to’ experts, consultants, commentators, celebrities, and influencers fill this space. I think the next decade will see us listening more to people, and broader society, as we make the required shift to a more empathetic society and bust out of our bubbles and media-fuelled biases. The old and the very young are often the wisest and most curious.
Brian Green – Walt Disney, Character TD
This year Disney’s animated movies Frozen 2 and Toy Story 4 have each surpassed $1 billion in the box office. All digital characters are leading the box office. This talk takes you through the people and processes, the art and science, that are all necessary to fully realize a main character for a blockbuster animated movie. My name is Brian Green and I have worked at Pixar for over 22 years, and more recently Disney Animation Studios, creating digital characters for their animated features.
What are you most looking forward to about Pause Fest 2020? PauseFest is my favourite conference of the year as the diversity of topics are truly stimulating. I am not sure what I am most looking forward to, as what I most enjoy will be an unsuspected surprise.
Predict the key trends and changes in your field for 2020 – The characters we make in our animated movies end up in many forms in the world, from games to toys to characters in theme parks. The one area that I think has room for tremendous growth is the ability to interact with them in a normal and friendly manner. Currently, voice interaction using Alexa or Siri is that state of the art. Adding a visual component is the next step.
Pause Fest is now ten years old – where do you see the next decade moving? Relational technology will define the next decade.
Pause Fest 2020 will take place at its new home, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, from Wednesday 5 February until Friday 7 February. Get your tickets here.
