Writing on conferences

Here is a post about a personnal project I have. I write it in this space because I might be relevant to the Lift community, who is in large part responsible for this project :)

It has been four years Lift started, first as a solo, secondary, unpaid project. 1'500 days later, we welcome 2000 people a year at three conferences (Geneva, Marseille, Jeju) on two continents. Our community holds intimate and less intimate ;) events all around the world.

^{Lift posters for the past 5 editions}

We have hundreds of videos online, welcomed the father of the internet, the guy who inspired slumdog millionaire with his research, the Sister who ran the Pope's website, a researcher who rocked the audience with a talk on dating websites in Africa, and many many more.

Lift, itself inspired by Reboot, has contributed to other conferences in many ways, events like SHift, ICCM, Going Solo, even our friends of Next Conference :)

It has been quite a ride, and the way we build Lift - in a transparent and collaborative way, leveraging the intelligence and network of thousands of individuals - has caught the attention of the meeting industry. I am getting an increasing number of requests to explain how we work, the opportunities and challenges our processes create, to share experience with large events who see their audience decline, not understanding why the younger generation is not in attendance.

So to avoid repeating myself, and to explore a field I am definitely passionate about (the art of gathering people), I decided to write a book on "Conference 2.0" (I promise a better title ;). To share that experience and help turn a surprisingly conservative industry around. 15 contributors have already answered my call, and I am looking for more! Join us to share your experience as an organizer, attendee, speaker, partner, volunteer, etc. The project will start early next year, and you can contribute in any way you like!