Ignite Toronto 3 is excited to take part in Global Ignite Week! That means six continents, 60 Cities, 600 Talks, 10,000+ Igniters!
Ignite Toronto 3 will take place on March 3, 2010 at 7:00pm at the Drake Hotel, located at 1150 Queen Street West in downtown Toronto.
If you’re interested in submitting an Ignite please use this form.
Speaker line up for Ignite Toronto 3 — Global Ignite Week:
Jesse Hirsh, Metaviews
Jesse Hirsh is an internet strategist, researcher, and broadcaster based in Toronto, Canada. He has a weekly nationally syndicated column on CBC radio explaining and analyzing the latest trends and developments in technology using language and examples that are meaningful and relevant to everyday life. For two years, he was the host of an interfaith show on the Rogers and OMNI networks called 3D Dialogue. That show explored all the world’s religions and spiritual paths through interviews with practitioners, gurus, holy people, and cynics regarding their rituals, scriptures, and beliefs (or lack thereof). He owns and operates the consulting firm Openflows Networks Ltd., which specializes in using open source intelligence to develop internet strategies. Primarily, this involves researching and deploying advanced platforms and interactive campaigns for companies and organizations, both large and small.
Mark Coleran, Visual Designer
The Inspiration Loop
For years Mark created fantasy interfaces for movies and a major source of his inspiration was the great work people do in labs and personally, creating incredible software. He then discovered that some of those same people use his work as an inspiration. Who inspires who and why do I think it is a great thing that we can be inspired and copy from each other to build create something new.
Mark Coleran is a visual designer who has worked in a wide range of design disciplines from print graphics to motion design and visual effects. His work in motion graphics has included television show titles and branding through to his specialist area; the design, creation and animation of fantasy user interfaces for film. Over the years this work has seen him create interfaces for such films as The Bourne Ultimatum, Tomb Raider, Mission Impossible 3, The Island and Mr and Mrs Smith. Currently he is working with the Canadian software developer, Gridiron Software. He is creating the user experience and interface for a next generation creative workflow application; Flow.
Jon Lax, Teehan+Lax
Jon has been working in digital media since 1994. He started at Shift Magazine in 1994 where he helped develop the first ad supported site in Canada. In 1995 he received a National Magazine Award Nomination for his writing in the magazine. Jon went on to Grey Interactive in 1996, where he became Sr. Copywriter. He’s worked for many Fortune 500 clients, helping them develop applications, marketing initiatives and strategies in the digital channel. He has won Cannes Lions, CMA RSVP Awards, Marketing Magazine and Advertising & Design Club of Canada Awards for his work. He has sat as a judge for Marketing Magazine, CMA RSVPs, London International Advertising Awards and Applied Arts Awards. In 2002 Jon was named one of “30 to Watch: Marketing’s Next Generation” by Marketing Magazine.
Idris Mootee, Idea Couture
An authority and expert in strategy and brand marketing, Idris operates at the intersection of business strategy, experience design and emerging technologies. Idris provides C-level executive and board-level counsel, innovation and strategic guidance for multiple industries that often involve leading growth initiatives and innovation management. Previously he was Senior VP, Chief Strategist with Blast Radius (a WPP company), where he was responsible for global strategy outputs for clients such as Nike, Nintendo, Intrawest, BMW and AOL. Prior to that he was global head of strategy with Organic (an OMG company) with clients such as HP, Bell and Daimler Chrysler. His other experiences included President, Chief Strategy Officer with Live Lowe and Partners (an IPG company) with clients such as HSBC and MasterCard, consultant with McKinsey and Chief Strategist N.A. with CBIZ e-solutions (CBIZ).
Mark McKay, Editor & Producer
Koala Bears, Uzis & Cocaine: The Future of Monetizing Video & the Art of Slight of Hand
After rising to fame through DJ battles with Buck 65 in Halifax, Mark McKay went on to DJ for the one-hit-wonder “LEN.” Inspired by an appearance on the “Mike Bullard Show,” McKay shifted his focus to pursue a career in late night television. Using the internet as his medium, McKay began producing a videoblog which has been featured on MTV and blogTO. Mark is the winner of the 2007 Mesh Conference Video Award, and winner of Fair Copyright for Canada’s “C-61 in 61 Seconds.” He was also the runner-up in the first edition of the televised series “Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister.” Today, Mark McKay works for the CTV Digital Media Group as an editor and producer creating original video content for the web.
Chaitanya Kalevar, Independent Global Activist
I would like to share my global perspective for our planet, as a planetary patriot!
There are other numbers besides 350 that people should know – locally and globally!
Chaitanya is an independent global activist who worked as an engineer for Atomic Energy and was the first Ontario resident who opposed the building of the Pickering Nuclear reactor in early 70s. He was in Copenhagen-09 and before that in WSF[07] – Nairobi, WSSD[02] -Joberg, Hague-99 Appeal for Peace, Istanbul[96] – Habitat-II, Rio[92] – Earth Summit and many others in Canada and US. He has taught at Waterloo, McMaster, Ryerson and York.
Jake Jakob Koseleci, Writer & Filmmaker
Jake’s building used to be one of the first Loblaws stores. He converted it into a house with a public art space in the front and installed the largest residential green roof in Toronto. His talk is about repurposing under-utilized commercial buildings and the installation of the green roof using experimental materials.
Jake made and lost millions on paper during the dotcom bubble. He’s in his thirties, semi-retired and trying not to waste his life. His is the curator of the works of a little known artist named Sternime who left him all of his works before he disappeared mysteriously a few years ago.
Michael Dila, Torch Partnership
Michael co-founded Torch Partnership with Robin Uchida in 2006. Together, they shape strategic conversations and help their clients create organizational confidence so that they can confront their “wicked problems”. Michael is one of the founders of Overlap (theoverlap.org), an annual, peer-to-peer gathering for those working at the center of emerging theory, methods and practices of innovation. He is Chief Strategist of Strategic Innovation Lab (slab.ocad.ca) at the Ontario College or Art & Design and also the chief catalyst of the Unfinished Business initiative (unfinished.torchiswicked.com).
Sacha Chua, Tech Evangelist & Storyteller
The Shy Presenter: An Introvert’s Guide to Speaking in Public
Most people don’t think they’ve got something to share. Shy and people hide from the spotlight. But there are introvert-friendly ways to figure out what you really, really want to say, start that bigger conversation, and learn how to speak in public. Find out!
Sacha is Enterprise 2.0 consultant at IBM. She helps companies and people learn how to use Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis, and social bookmarking in order to be more productive and to collaborate more effectively.
Riwa Harfoush, Strategist & Project Chameleon
Rethinking the Copycat: How Mimicry Can Inspire Innovation
I know two things: 1) People hoard their good ideas to the detriment of progress and 2) ‘copycat’ has been unfairly pegged with some seriously negative connotation. But what if the ideas we imitate inspire social change? What if opening them up to replication makes them cooler, smarter and more effective? I’m testing my own, working theory on this as we try to morph a good idea (the environmental health clinic) into one that can be copied and implemented by anyone – and I’m really excited to share what I’ve learned.
Ryan Short, Interactive Producer
At the age of 16, Ryan had low self-esteem, was 245 pounds and did not have the motivation to work hard in school and to find himself out of the rut he was in. At the time, he enjoyed biking, however, never considered it something I would be any further interested in. This was until Bryan Harris introduced him to the YMCA-YWCA Sprint Triathlon. By entering this race he had a goal to complete a triathlon and to combine all of the sports he had an interest in. During his 4 months of training leading up to the race, he lost over 60 pounds and gained a level of motivation that builds with each day. Throughout his personal and professional career he started a company and successfully completed 2 Half-Ironman Triathlons, 1 marathon. He raced on an amateur level across Canada and and is currently training for his first Ironman Triathlon in Lake Placid, New York. This Ryan’s story.
Moira Fogarty, New Media Planner
Graffiti and Wikis
Moira wants to draw a comparison between graf as street art “defacing” buildings becoming big in the mainstream art world and wikis as “defacing” websites going from grassroots nerd culture to becoming big in the mainstream corporate world.
Moira has lived in Toronto, Ontario since 1997. She attended the University of Toronto and completed her Hons. B.A. and M.A. in English Literature. She also took motorcycle and glassworking lessons at Sheridan College in Oakville, and web design at Ryerson. She’s worked for the Province of Ontario for about 7 years, and his currently involved with new media planning for Cabinet Office. She used to work for the Silver Snail Comic Store from 2003-2004, and loved it.
Lee Dale, Culture, Inspiration & Community at Say Yeah!
It’s about Time! How finding daily patterns in where we spend our time can help us win back our lives.
With a history of building Brand Communities as Founder and President of Smack Inc, and as VP of Communications for Sweeney Dale Interior Design Inc, Lee brings just the right balance of passion and insight to Say Yeah! Participating in a variety of events and organizations, Lee is an active leader and contributor to Toronto’s community of entrepreneurs and design stewards. Often seen immersed in some sort of reading material, Leeʼs insight and acumen are derived from such diverse interests as culture, sociology, marketing, business, the environment, history, photography, music, and politics.
Say Yeah is found at: http://yousayyeah.com
Lee is found at: http://leedale.ca
Rob Cruickshank
Why is a Light Saber like an Air-raid Siren?
From hot-rodding to circuit-bending, hardware hacking has always been sexy. But what happens when hackable resources become scarce? Can you have my Speak & Spell only when you pry it from my cold, dead hands?
Robert Cruickshank is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist. His work in various media including electronic, kinetic, and robotic installations, sound art, electroacoustic music, and photography have been exhibited in Toronto, and internationally.
Much of his work is associated with InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre in Toronto, where he has developed a number of hands-on workshops for artists using electronics, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors. When caught playing with battery-powered toy animals, or looking at cats and hot rods on the internet, he will defend this as research.
Mark Kuznicki
Digerati Throwdown
Torontonians in 2010 have an opportunity to restore our sense of community and use new tools of communication to set the agenda for our politicians. My vision is a program of coordinated and community-generated events all across the City to re-engage our civic imaginations. ChangeCamp is launching a city-wide initiative to help us imagine a new age of public engagement and civic innovation across a vast and complex city. I want to challenge the Twitterati and digirati of Toronto to get out of the bubble and use their skills to help Torontonians in all of Toronto’s wards to tell their stories, identify their issues and propose solutions.
Mark Kuznicki works at the intersection of technology, open government and social innovation. Mark’s work combines social media, face-to-face gatherings and open source approaches to engage citizens, connect communities and foster creative and innovative ideas for the future. Mark helped organize Toronto TransitCamp, a “solutions playground” that looked at the future of Toronto’s transit system, and wrote about the model for Harvard Business Review. Mark launched ChangeCamp in 2009, an event and a community to “re-imagine government and citizenship in the age of participation” that has spread from Toronto to Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax.
Mark Greenspan
Riding the Rocket – Journeying through issues of race and representation in the public realm
After backpacking through Borneo, studying Tibetan Buddhism in Dharmsala, and getting gang beat in Singapore, Mark came to the following conclusions; kids and old people are by far the coolest to hang out with, diversity rocks, and a lot of people think their way is the best way. When travelling, Mark relies on his sense of humour, portable espresso maker and the kindness of strangers to get by. Currently, Mark Greenspan helps to facilitate business within the digital media community by producing a series of conferences called nextMEDIA. He has also completed a Masters of Education in Sociology and Equity Studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies which will serves as the inspiration for this presentation. You can find him online at markgreenspan dot com or on twitter @ markgreenspan
Siobhan O’Flynn – Mobile Fragments
I advise on the design of digital narratives: transmedia, crossmedia, physical installations, interactive films & recently an interactive graphic novel. In 2006/07 I was the narrative design consultant on Late Fragment, a feature film/dvd that premiered at Cannes. I have advised on over interactive 65 digital works, many of which have gone on to win awards in Canada & abroad.
Having joined the Canadian Film Centre’s Media Lab in 2001, I continue to critically engage with the development of emergent forms in digital media and I have mentored in the Digital Development Lab multiple times and in the Melting Silos Program (NFB/SFU Praxis/Agentic) for the Development of Transmedia Content, both in Vancouver. I am currently programming Storytelling X.O, a full day event at FITC Toronto 2010 on digital storytelling today.
Steve Mugiri, AfriGadget
I am a writer for AfriGadget which is a website about appropriate and ingenious application of tech. in Africa
AfriGagdet is a team blog about the appropriate and ingenious application of tech by people. I want to spend some time introducing Toronto to this subject so as to show them another side of Africa that is not just about war, hunger and suffering. AfriGadget is about people doing interesting and ingenious things with technology to solve the problems that face them in every day life.
