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Envision Offers Doc Primer on Global Education
- Details
- Parent Category: Expos and Conventions
- Category: Previews
- Published on Tuesday, 06 July 2010 02:15
- Written by Laura Blum
Given the benighted state of primary education from here to Timbuktu, the Independent Filmmaker Project is joining forces with the United Nations Department of Public Information to present the second annual Envision: Addressing Global Issues through Documentaries. The day-long forum held at the TimesCenter in New York City (on Saturday, July 10, 2010) will once again use nonfiction cinema to table some of the knotty issues slowing progress on the UN's Millennium Development Goals.
In the spirit of Woody Allen's quote, "If my films make even one more person feel miserable, I'll feel I've done my job," Envision will have been a success if the UN reps, entrepreneurs, activists, journalists, public policy pundits, NGOs and filmmakers expected to attend stagger home in a pall of gloom.
Talking points come from the MDGs, with the quest for universal primary education topping this year's agenda. The huddle takes on a new sense of urgency in view of the MDG deadline of 2015, which leaves only five years to go. Other proposed Goals -- a suite of eight humanitarian benchmarks established in 2000 -- include reducing child mortality, alleviating hunger and producing sustainable energy.
"Filmmakers are key partners for bringing the message of the United Nations to the public," said Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Kiyo Akasaka. As IFP Executive Director Joana Vicente added, "we can leverage documentaries to initiate a larger conversation," especially linking the need for children to complete their primary schooling as a strategy to overcome poverty and war.
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Harry Belafonte will give the opening keynote address, followed by the first title in Envision's feature double bill, Jennifer Arnolds' A Small Act. It chronicles the impact of an anonymous scholarship on a Kenyan boy, Chris Mburu, who went on to become a Harvard-educated human-rights lawyer and head of the anti-discrimination section of the UN Human Rights Agency in Geneva, Switzerland – as well as to create his own scholarship fund. Mburu will participate in the post-screening panel discussion, "Education Obstacles & Solutions in Africa - The Power of One."
Next up is a panel exploring how citizen media can affect humanitarian issues, "Telling Their Own Stories: The Impact of User-Generated Media and the Individual as Documentarian." Short videos will be woven into the parlay, with discussants from human rights organizations Witness, World Without Walls, Video Volunteers, UNICEF and Breakthrough.
Waiting for Superman, by An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim, bookends the feature showcase. Producer Lesley Chilcott will introduce the film, which investigates the failing US school system and ways to improve it. She will also join a panel introduced by New York Times Foreign Editor Susan Chira, entitled "Education: Re-examing the Old Model and Probing the New."
Not since the US Ambassador to Italy tried to get The Blackboard Jungle withdrawn from the Venice Film Festival have cinema and education been taken so seriously in diplomatic circles.The full program is posted below:
Envision: Addressing Global Issues Through Documentary 2010
9:00 a.m. - Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:15 a.m. - Keynote Address by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Harry Belafonte
9:45 a.m.
Screening:
A Small Act
directed by Jennifer Arnold
(USA 2010, 88 min)
Introduction: Jennifer Arnold
When Hilde Back sponsored the education of a poor Kenyan boy, she thought little of it and never expected to hear from him. But years later she did. That student, Chris Mburu, now a Harvard graduate and UN human rights officer, decides to find the stranger and replicate the generosity he received by founding his own scholarship fund for a new generation. A Small Act bears witness to the lasting effect that one singular act of kindness can have. A 2010 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection. A presentation of HBO Documentary Films.
11:30 a.m.
Education Obstacles and Solutions in Africa - The Power of One
The film A Small Act reveals on a micro level how an individual act of philanthropy can have a profound effect on a child's education and future. How does this translate on a larger scale as a potential solution to education challenges globally? What other methods and programs are in place or being developed to make advances toward the goal of universal education in Africa and other countries in which multiple barriers exist?
Moderator: Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman, United Nations Development Program. Panelists: Chris Mburu, central character in A Small Act and Head of Anti-Discrimination at the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; Penny Abeywardena, Senior Manager of Education/Girls and Women, Clinton Global Initiative; Allison Anderson, Scholar, Center for Universal Education, Brookings Institution; Michael Gibbons, Education Partnership for Children on Conflict at the Council on Foreign Relations and International Training and Education Program, American University; Heather Simpson, Senior Director, Education and Child Development at Save the Children
2:00 p.m.
Telling Their Own Stories - The Individual as Documentarian and the Impact of User Generated Media
Over the past few years there have been a growing number of programs established by human rights organizations to train and equip individuals around the world with cameras to document and tell stories about the issues affecting their lives and communities. What impact is this having on the issues, the communities, and those individuals who are the storytellers - many of them young people?
Panelists: Karen Cirillo, Executive Producer of Children's Broadcasting Initiatives, UNICEF; Mallika Dutt, Founder and Executive Director, Breakthrough; John Kennedy, Executive Producer, World Without Walls; Jessica Mayberry, Founding Director, Video Volunteers; Ryan Schlief, Asia Program Manager, WITNESS
3:30 p.m.
Waiting for Superman
directed by Davis Guggenheim
(USA 2010, 102 min)
Introduction: producer Lesley Chilcott
From the Academy Award winning director of An Inconvenient Truth comes Waiting for Superman, a provocative and cogent examination of the crisis of public education in the United States told through multiple interlocking stories - from a handful of students and their families whose futures hang in the balance, to the educators and reformers trying to find real and lasting solutions within a dysfunctional system. A Paramount Vantage release. www.waitingforsuperman.com
5:30 p.m.
Public Education - Examining the Old Model and Probing the New
Introduction: New York Times Foreign Editor Susan Chira
Waiting for Superman offers convincing and heartbreaking statistics that characterize the "dropout factories and academic sinkholes" within the US school system, but posits hope for the future. Join some of the real world players and top thinkers examining this landscape in an exciting public discussion.
Moderator: Elizabeth Green, Spencer Fellow in Education Reporting, Columbia University. Panelists: Cindy Brown, Vice President for Education Policy, Center for American Progress; Christopher Cerf, CEO, Sangari Global Education Institute; Lesley Chilcott, Producer, Waiting for Superman; Jason Kamras, Advisor to District of Columbia Dept of Education, 2005 National Teacher of the Year, Nitzan Perlman, Citizen Schools
For more information go to: www.envisionfilm.org.
Envision: Addressing Global Issues through Documentaries
July 10, 2010
The TimesCenter
242 W 41st Street
New York, NY
New Music Seminar Returns July 19 - 21, 2010
- Details
- Parent Category: Expos and Conventions
- Category: Previews
- Published on Monday, 28 June 2010 15:30
- Written by Brad Balfour
On a hot 1980 summer day, 220 people met at a New York City rehearsal studio to discuss and debate the problems in the music business. It heralded the birth of the New Music Seminar, bringing new ideas, new talent and new connections to the music industry, along with the introduction of hip-hop, new wave, house and many other new 
forms of music.
During its 10-year run, the first NMS became the world’s biggest and most influential music business gathering attracting over 8000 people from three continents. The Seminar has since spawned almost every music event worldwide, including SXSW, Canadian Music Week, The Winter Music Conference, In the City and many others.
Now revived, the original NMS is expanding into a multi-day conference and event from July 19th to July 21st, 2010, at The NMS Revolution Hall in M2 Ultra Lounge. The two-day, three-night conference will include a symphony of five “movements” (focused discussions) over the course of two days, 8 TED-style presentations from key industry leaders, 22 mentoring sessions, nightly musical performances and ongoing networking opportunities.
NMS founder Tom Silverman explains, “The New Music Seminar is the epicenter of a new movement. The NMS is the creative crucible where new ideas are hatched and new collaborations formed. The New Music Seminar is a meeting of the architects of the next music business; the creators, the investors, the technological visionaries, those for whom music is a passion that they cannot do without.”
The new New Music Seminar’s mission is to create a music business in which talent can rise to its highest potential based solely on its merit, without regard to its financial resources or connections. To teach artists and their representatives better, affordable and faster ways to achieve success. To create a new economic model that better rewards both artists, their investors and those in artist services.
From the co-founder and director of the legendary New Music Seminar comes a seminar for the NEW business of music. This low-cost event will give you the tools and knowledge to survive in this ever-changing industry and step into tomorrow’s music business today. Two days packed with sessions filled with vital information on how to see it and how to do it. Every delegate receives the NMS New Music Business Guidebook, an invaluable guide filled with useful promotion and marketing tips, contact information, forms and guidelines on how to succeed no matter what genre of music you are in.
The NMS Networking Lounges spread throughout the seminar is the place to meet your next business partners. Visit with NMS Partners, set up a meeting in the comfort of the various NMS Lounges where you can eat, drink and make the contacts you will need to succeed. In addition to the 5 Movements and series of 18-minute TED-style Lectures, on Day 2 our NMS Breakout Sessions throughout the day will give specialized knowledge and instructions on a variety of fields that include influential industry leaders discussing new marketing opportunities, legal, publishing and songwriting, touring and other important areas in which to advance your career.
The New Music Seminar is the must-attend conference for the emerging new music industry. The Seminars will address both the artists’ dilemma of breaking out from the ever-growing glut of music releases and the development of a new business model for a sustainable music business.
NMS featured “players” (speakers) for the upcoming New York City conference will include:
- Eric Garland (Big Champagne)
- Joe Kennedy (Pandora)
- Mike Doernberg (Reverbnation)
- Courtney Holt (Myspace Music)
- Little Steven (Underground Garage and the E Street Band)
- Jay Frank (CMT)
- Gwen Lipsky (Sound Thinking)
- Tom Jackson (onstagesuccess.com)
- Martin Atkins (Tour: Smart)
- John Simson (Soundexchange)
- Corrie Christopher (APA)
- Chris Vinson (Bandzoogle)
- Tony Van Veen (Discmakers)
More to be announced shortly.
The Artist Movement “conducted” by Margaret Cho will feature superstar artists discussing how they got their break and tips on how to apply what worked for them.
Media partners and sponsors include: NARAS, Aquarian, LA Weekly, Music Connection, Digital Music News, Yahoo Music, MySpace Music, Hypebot, Filter Magazine, RevebNation, Bandzoogle, Jakprints, SESAC, Soundexchange, AFTRA, Discmakers, A2IM Indie Label Members and a host of new technology companies
For the NMS tickets please go to www.newmusicseminar.com. Register by April 30th and receive early discount price of $150.
$175 until July 16, then $200 for walk-up registration. For more info go to: www.newmusicseminar.com
C U at TWTRCON, the Business-Twitter Expo
- Details
- Parent Category: Expos and Conventions
- Category: Previews
- Published on Sunday, 13 June 2010 23:09
- Written by Perry Santanachote
Twitter has proven to the world that it is more than just a fad. The social networking and microblogging site has garnered over 100 million users worldwide since its creation in 2006. TWTRCON, a convention for twitterers, has also come a long way. 
Since its first gathering in 2009, with 300 people packed into a hotel ballroom in San Francisco, the one-day convention on the business use of Twitter has grown like Twitter has. TWTRCON host Tonia Ries says Twitter has "irrevocably changed the way that we do business."
On June 14, 2010, at the New York Hilton, 1335 Avenue of the Americas in New York City, TWTRCON will feature panels on location-based marketing, real-time customer service and case studies from leading brands of Twitter users.
Attendees will get firsthand advice from Twitter business pioneers such as: 
• Martha Stewart
• Jetblue
• Starbucks
• Whole Foods
• Comcast
• Foursquare
• Gowalla
• Google
Using real-time web and location-based platforms, these companies have transformed their businesses and continue to drive revenue in a rough economy. Their social media experts will share the best practices for implementing Twitter to drive bottom line results.
Other TWTRCON events will cover micro-blogging and networking. Find out how to influence opinions, increase organizational collaboration and create new business opportunities using 140 characters at a time.
New to Twitter? The conference will host a pre-conference to cover the basics for beginners, led by Laura Fitton, co-author of Twitter for Dummies.
A TWTRCON Pass costs $595; non-profit, government or academic pass $495. An all-access pass, which includes both TWTRCON and the Digital Marketing Days Conference, is $1,149
Follow @TWTRCON for the latest updates or go to: http://twitter.com/twtrcon
TWTRCON – New York
June 14, 2010
7:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
TWTRCON NY 2010 | 7:30 AM
Hilton New York
1335 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10019
(212) 586-7000
TWTRCON/Dell Tweet-Up | 7:00 PM
Ruby Foo’s Times Square
1626 Broadway at 49th St
New York, NY 10019
(212) 489-5600
TWTRCON Rap-Up | 9:00 PM
Blue Owl
196 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003-5879
(212) 505-2583
Internet Week 2010
- Details
- Parent Category: Expos and Conventions
- Category: Previews
- Published on Saturday, 22 May 2010 19:27
- Written by Brad Balfour
Since 2008, Internet Week has taken place all over the city, hosting diverse events in different locations.The result is a critical mass of web-focused events that raises the profile of NYC's industry as a whole as well as the partners who participate. Internet Week is a week-long festival of events celebrating New York's thriving internet industry and community running from June 7-10, 2010.
The third annual Internet Week New York will host over 150 events between June 7-14 at the festival's first-ever headquarters at Chelsea's Metropolitan Pavilion and at dozens of locations throughout the City.
The schedule reflects both the rise of New York City as a new tech capital and the festival's emergence as a top annual gathering for Internet leaders. The diverse slate of programming for Internet Week New York, presented by Yahoo!, includes everything from panels, conferences, and educational events to art installations, live performances and parties.
Serving as a hub for festival-goers, the first-ever Internet Week New York headquarters will showcase technology demos, art exhibits, panel discussions, product launches, lounge spaces, and a host of other activities. The headquarters is hosted by presenting sponsor Yahoo! and official sponsors HP, Pepsico, Microsoft Expression Studio, IAC, Southwest Airlines and Aquent.
The headquarters will also host premiere conference events, including the Yahoo! Provoke Summit with a keynote by Ze Frank and IAB's Innovation Days with AoL’s Tim Armstrong. Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV, Josh & Chuck of HowStuffWorks, and other Internet personalities will also present live shows and conversations throughout the week.
Beyond the headquarters, organizations such Time Warner, IAC, The Onion, mediabistro, and Guest of a Guest, will present events at venues across the city, including The Times Center, NYU, CUNY, Galapagos Arts Space, the Jane Hotel Ballroom and The Knitting Factory.
The diverse roster of events includes: NY Tech Meetup, the week's largest public event where over 800 people will see demos from New York’s hottest start-ups, The Webutante Ball, a "prom" for New York's tech media scene, an exhibition of Facebook portraits at the Art Director's Club, conferences for food and pet bloggers, geek speed dating, live dance music created by a Nintendo Game Boy, and a crash course in mastering Twitter. The week will culminate with The 14th Annual Webby Awards, a star-studded gala honoring the Internet’s best and brightest at Cipriani Wall Street on June 14th.
"There is a great sense of excitement, optimism, and energy in the New York community right now and that's reflected in the line-up for this year’s Internet Week New York," said David-Michel Davies, chairman, Internet Week New York. "The festival is an amazing opportunity to meet the innovators behind NYC's industry resurgence, share ideas, and find out where the Internet might be taking us next."
"Yahoo! is proud to be the presenting sponsor of Internet Week New York," said Mollie Spilman, SVP, Global B2B Marketing at Yahoo!. "There is a tremendous amount of positive momentum in the industry and this week of events is an important showcase of all the progress, innovation and creativity taking place in the market."
Highlights of the festival include:
Special Events and Parties
Blip.tv Five Year Anniversary Party - A celebration of NYC-based startup blip.tv's fifth anniversary. (June 8, IWNY Headquarters)
IAC's dumbdumb Launch Celebration -IAC and CollegeHumor celebrate the launch of DumbDumb, the new digital-driven production company co-created by Will Arnett and Jason Bateman in partnership with Ben Silverman's Electus. (June 10, IAC Headquarters)
The Webby Awards - Concluding Internet Week New York, the star-studded awards gala hosted by B.J. Novak of The Office will feature winners like Roger Ebert, Amy Poehler, OK Go, and Lisa Kudrow delivering the Webbys' famous five-word speeches. (June 14, Cipriani Wall Street)
The Webutante Ball - A celebration of the New York tech scene, including the crowning of the Webutante King and Queen. (June 8, Marquee)
Third Annual Internet Week NY Opening Reception - The week kicks off with cocktails in the first-ever festival headquarters at Metropolitan Pavilion. (June 7, IWNY HQ)
Industry Conferences and Panels
Future of Media: 2010 - Arianna Huffington and Dan Abrams are among the panelists debating how the Internet and other digital media are transforming the traditional media landscape. (June 8, New York University Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute)
GCA Savvian Digital Media Summit -Leading companies and private equity firms in the industry will converge to engage in thought-provoking dialogue. (June 8, Westin Times Square)
HP@IWNY Kick-Off Event - HP helps commence Internet Week New York festivities with a news conference followed by a conversation, moderated by Mashable and featuring some of the Web's most innovative minds, about how companies are harnessing the power of the Internet. (June 7, IWNY HQ)
IAB Innovation Days @ Internet Week - AOL CEO Tim Armstrong and Lloyd Braun of BermanBraun are among the speakers at a two-day conference exploring branded content and the future of TV and online video. (June 8 & 9, IWNY HQ)
Mashable Media Summit 2010 - A one-day conference focusing on the impact of social media on the news industry, big brands and advertisers, featuring presentations by College Humor's Ricky Van Veen and The Onion's Baratunde Thurston. (June 8, The Times Center)
Twtrcon - Focused entirely on the business use of Twitter, this one-day conference features remarks by Martha Stewart and foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley. (June 15, New York Hilton)
Yahoo! Provoke Summit - Ze Frank keynotes this event featuring creatives and developers exploring how new innovations and technology are evolving the digital media environment. (June 7, IWNY HQ)
Social Media
The Art of Social Media - The Art Directors Club and The Social Media Society host an exhibition of Facebook Portraits by Matt Held, including cocktails and live music. (June 8, The Art Directors Club)
Mastering Twitter Seminar - Experts offer tips on how to jumpstart your social media presence and reveal new ways individuals and organizations are capitalizing on Twitter. (June 8, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism)
#Promise - The #Promise will explore how social & mobile media are empowering corporate citizenship to create social & environmental change. (June 10, IWNY HQ)
TechMunch - A one-day conference for food bloggers. (June 10, Roger Smith Hotel)
Social Media Roundtable on Pets - Kristyn Pomranz of I Can Haz Cheezburger and Jason Scott, the owner of Sockington (a cat with over 1.5 million Twitter followers) discuss the intersection of pets and social media. (June 9, The Center)
Start Ups & Technology
Microsoft Expressions Studio 4 Launch - Bill Buxton, Principal Researcher at Microsoft and author of the book, "Sketching User Experiences," unveils Microsoft Expressions Studio 4, design tools for the Web, the desktop, mobile devices, and Silverlight. (June 7, IWNY HQ)
NY Tech Meetup - NY Tech Meetup will be the largest event open to the public during Internet Week New York. 860 technologists will converge to see demos from some of the area's hottest, most interesting startups. (June 8, NYU Skirball Center)
Startup Weekend - Local developers, marketers, designers, and aspiring entrepreneurs gather to launch new business ventures in just one weekend. (June 11 – 13, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University)
VC and Angel Financing Bootcamp - Entrepreneurs seeking advice on venture capital and angel financing hear from leaders in the field about how to best position their company for a successful liquidity event. (June 9, NYU Stern School of Business)
Arts and Leisure
Area Mondays - The Onion and The A.V. Club kick-off of a monthly music series with Josh and Chuck from HowStuffWorks and live performances from Anamanaguchi and Home Video. (June 7, The Knitting Factory)
Gaming & The Arts - The Arts, Culture and Technology Meetup and NY Gaming Meetup explore the intersection of art and games. A performance by musician Luke Silas, who uses a pair of Game Boys to create dance music, caps the night. (June 8, Galapagos Art Space)
Kickball for Silicon Alley - A kickball tournament for New York City-based startups. (June 11, Chelsea Park)
Nerd Nite NYC - Nerds convene for presentations on such geeky topics as how to turn Nintendo's portable video game console into an all-purpose gadget and the history and future of downloading music. The night kicks off with a speed dating for geeks. (June 11, Galapagos Art Space)
Pop Everything -Bloggers like The Fug Girls, JustJared, and The Superficial go head-to-head in pop culture trivia at this party hosted by BUZZMEDIA and Ustream. (June 9, Pop Burger Midtown)
Social Climbing - New York City Web companies and start-ups compete in an indoor climbing competition. (June 9, Brooklyn Boulders)
The full schedule of Internet Week New York 2010 events can be found at http://www.internetweekny.com.
The festival is organized by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS), in cooperation with the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting.
Internet Week New York Sponsors include: Yahoo!, Pepsico, HP, Microsoft Expression Studio, IAC, Corbis Images, Aquent, Southwest Airlines, .CO, Rackspace Hosting, AoL, and Motorola.
June 7th
Official Kick-off Party
June 7th - 10th
Internet Week HQ Open
June 14th
Closing Celebration
Internet Week invites all interested companies and organizations to participate. Like the Web itself, Internet Week is open: anyone can throw events citywide. No organization is too big or too small to be included. Open access for all!
Internet Week New York is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences in cooperation with the City of New York and The Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting.
We still love crowdsourcing, but now we're adding something new: a central Internet Week Headquarters. Located at Metropolitan Pavilion (125 W. 18th Street), Internet Week HQ will feature two main areas:
• Interactive Playground of 12,000 square feet of exposition space. This space will be both a place for attendees to meet, greet, and get a little work done, as well as hosting arts, technology, media and entertainment exhibitions and social events.
• The Expo space will be open to the general public during the day Monday June 7 - Thursday June 10. Tickets to the expo space can be purchased online or onsite at the HQ.
• The theater space will accommodate up 450 people for special announcements and presentations.
Citywide Events
These events are held independently throughout New York from June 7-14, 2010
In 2009 over 100 events, ranging from parties and meetups to executive breakfasts and conferences were hosted throughout NYC thanks to our Official Event Partners. We're encouraging this kind of crowdsourced participation again in 2010.
Organizations can become Official Event Partners simply by adding an event to our schedule and helping us get the word out.
Headquarters
See the full list of participating Citywide events.
Internet Week New York headquarters passes are available for purchase ($10 for Monday through Thursday access) at http://www.internetweekny.com/attend/expo-pass.
Internet Takes Over New York City: More Than 150 Events Slated For
Internet Week New York
June 7-14, 2010
The Festival Headquarters
Metroplitan Pavilion
125 W. 18th Street
New York NY 10011
