C2 Montréal — May 24-26, 2023
A rich 12th edition focused on exchange and innovation
MONTREAL, April 27, 2023 — C2 Montréal, Canada’s premier creative-business event, will take place once again in May at Nouveau Centre, which brings together Ivanhoé Cambridge's flagship properties in downtown Montreal, including the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel and Place Ville Marie. Today, the organization is unveiling highlights of its rich programming, which is centered around topics that shape and influence our world. With its main theme of Combined Perspectives, the event will host world-class speakers and offer experiences that are more immersive and participatory than ever before. The increased presence of high-level leaders from internationally renowned companies from here and abroad, as well as participants from nearly 40 countries, will provide exceptional networking opportunities.
Among the companies and organizations present: Google, Nike, Shopify, FIFA, Burning Man Project, Accor, Novartis, KPMG, Power Corporation, Autodesk, Sid Lee, Wealthsimple, the Canadian Olympic Committee, IBM, Trade Desk, Air Canada, AREA15, Global Affairs Canada, BEworks, ALDO Group, Balich Wonder Studio, Pomerleau, UEFA and Fasken, to name just a few.
C2MTL announces additions to its roster of speakers, including:
Vince Kadlubek: Founder and director of Meow Wolf, a company that is famous for having revolutionized the world of entertainment with its large-scale and daring experiential art exhibits.
Michelle Shnaidman: Founder and CEO of Bellesa, a company led by women, for women, that uses some of the most advanced technologies in the sex-tech world. Among their clients are Cardi B and Demi Lovato.
Dan Ariely: Professor of psychology and behavioural economics at Duke University, he is the founder of the Center for Advanced Hindsight, co-creator of the film documentary (Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies, and a three-time New York Times best-selling author.
Robert Egger: Launched the DC Central Kitchen, the Campus Kitchen Project, and the L.A. Kitchen, and is a founding board member of The World Central Kitchen with chef José Andrés. Collectively, these organizations have produced over 350 million meals and helped thousands of individuals attain self-sufficiency.
Natasha Pickowicz: Chef and writer whose pastry work explores the relationship between baking and social justice, and whose writing has been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and New York Magazine.
Johan Reboul: Author and social media content creator through Le Jeune engagé, he has made climate change as popular as viral dance videos. He uses his visibility to create a strong and united community dedicated to saving the planet.
Caroline Monnet: An artist with an Anishinaabe and French background whose work has been shown at the Palais de Tokyo (Paris), the Haus der Kulturen (Berlin) and Arsenal Contemporary (NYC).
Douglas Rushkoff: A world-renowned philosopher and futurist named one of the world’s 10 most influential thinkers by MIT, Douglas has written over a dozen best-selling books.
Scott Moir: Three-time Olympic medallist in pairs ice dancing, and half of Canada’s most-decorated figure skating team of all time.
Click on the link for a list of all our speakers. Major speakers and new conferences will also be announced in the coming weeks.
This new wave follows previously announced speakers such as Tony Hawk, the greatest pro skateboarder of all time, Laura Wasser, celebrity divorce lawyer famous for having represented, for example, Johnny Depp, Kim Kardashian and Angelina Jolie, David Bensadoun, CEO of ALDO Group and corporate culture game-changer, Chris Burkard, award-winning photographer and explorer who has worked on numerous campaigns for Fortune 500 clients, and Martine St-Victor, communication strategist and general manager at Edelman Montréal, who will be hosting Laura Wasser’s conference.
“Nearly 100 speakers will take to the stage in May to share their unique perspectives and offer moments of questioning and reflection regarding the most current themes. In the context of social and technological transformation, empathy has become a business imperative for organizations. It is perhaps through the combined perspectives of our speakers that we will be able to collectively grow in this direction,” said Amélie Richard, Programming Director, C2 Montréal.
The six main themes chosen this year by C2 Montréal are at the heart of our conversations and what drives the economy. Each of the conferences and activities are tied to one or more of these themes:
Storytelling Electronica: AI, addiction, truth and large-scale immersive experiences.
Shifting Cultures: Sports, fashion, entertainment, icons and identity.
Sustainability Now: The future of food, clean tech, education, hope and new business models.
Next Self: Change, growth, leadership, wellness and internal updates.
Pleasure Connection: Trust, relationships, sex and technology.
Openly Private: Public spaces, the surveillance economy, sharing and community.
“This year, we took inspiration from combined perspectives to curate content through contrasting points of view that pave the way for new vision. From the environment to entertainment, from pleasure to technology, and from economy to activism, the aim is to see how we can better understand major issues or the era we live in when we take a step back from our daily, filtered feeds of information,” said Nicolas Fonseca, Creative Director, C2 Montréal. “C2 succeeds when we’re exposed to new ideas, to experiences that move us, and when we find crucial yet unexpected networking opportunities. This is why we have planned coaching sessions and labs that are anchored in various artists’, designers’ and entrepreneurs’ practices, bridging the gaps between different worlds. I’m very excited to launch StoryHub, our brand new collective intelligence prototype that will allow us to see and interact with all the ideas, stories, themes and connections that will come to light throughout the event’s three days.”
Storyhub: A test bench for a collective intelligence prototype
C2MTL is known for its highly innovative approach. This year, one of the labs participants will be invited to take part in will be a true test bench for artificial and collective intelligence, a first for an event of this kind. It’s very likely that this experiment, coupled with live data visualization, will help define new formats for upcoming editions of C2 Montréal.
Equipped with multiple screens and an artificial intelligence and data visualization module developed for C2MTL, Pierre Thirion, artist, designer and creative developer, will be spearheading this experiment. For this lab, we will have AI on one hand and, on the other, teams of participants who will be taking a plunge into data they will be tapping into live from C2MTL conferences in order to find key moments, interesting anecdotes and headline-worthy stories. How will their editorial choices compare to those of an AI? Will they all agree with their teammates? If you’ve always dreamed of being in a newsroom on election day, you won’t want to miss out on this lab.
Purchasing passes
To view the complete range of pass options available, the general public is invited to visit https://c2montreal.com.
The Government of Quebec reiterates its support for C2 Montréal
The Government of Quebec recently announced it was renewing its financial support for C2. It thus maintains its status as a major partner of the event.
Thank you to our partners
C2 Montréal would like to warmly thank its collaborators for their support and trust: Sid Lee, Cirque du Soleil, Nouveau Centre, the Gouvernement du Québec, the Government of Canada, the City of Montréal, kyu, Fasken, Claudine and Stephen Bronfman, Google, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Factry, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Cadillac, Power Corporation, IBM, Oui L’agence, Tourisme Montréal, Mila, Gutsy Kombucha, Bleu Blanc Tech, Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, BEworks, Cisco Meraki, Surmesur, the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Montreal, Montréal International, the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, Global Cultural Districts Network, Braindate, Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth, Place Ville Marie, Cult Nation, Zú, Fanslab, Event’nroll, Elysium, Valtech, Future of StoryTelling, Solotech, Normal Studio, UB Media, The Globe and Mail, La Presse, Le Devoir, Narcity, Grenier aux nouvelles, Air Canada, ABP, Boyden, Conseil de l’innovation du Québec, Flight Hub, Montréal Centre-Ville, New City Gas, Scale AI, The Knowledge Society, Tastet, Vans.
About C2 Montréal
C2 Montréal is Canada’s premier creative-business event, an annual happening in the heart of Montréal that welcomes over 5,000 participants to an engaging, three-day immersive experience. A thought-provoking playground for business creativity and innovation, each edition features 100-plus personalities, speakers and field-leading professionals from around the world.
Our award-winning team of experts delivers a signature experience that fosters meaningful connections and unlocks opportunity. C2MTL is an exceptional partner for value creation and growth, generating more than $650 million in economic impact annually. A global flagship for business creativity and innovation, we elevate our partners by strategically positioning their brand and offering unmatched client-hosting and team-building experiences.
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Source: C2 For more information: Lyne Dutremble, annexe | lyne@annexe.media Philip Vanden Brande, annexe | phil@annexe.media Johannie Michaud, annexe | johannie@annexe.media