IEC / WattWatt

Lift and WattWatt have been organizing special sessions on sustainable development since 2008, welcoming speakers like Andy Reisinger (recipient of the Nobel price with the IPCC panel) or Guy Pignolet (proposing an original method of capture energy in space to bring it back to space).

1875 finance

The Geneva based private asset managers wanted to get in touch with the Lift speakers community, and organized a private visit of the Frank Muller factories followed by a cocktail. Results were multiple contacts and brand exposure to key decision makers.

Gebert Rüf Stiftung

The Basel based foundation was among the first partners of Lift, offering free passes to students from around the world to attend the conference free of charge.

Télévision Suisse Romande

The TSR has been a partner of Lift since 2006, attending the events to interview influencers from around the world and produce content for their various shows.

EPFL

The EPFL is facilitating attendance for its researchers and students by paying half of the price. This resulted in an expanded networks, new ideas and insights, and concrete ties between the academic institution and the economic world.

I will be representing Lift in Paris at Le Web, watching as the whole web industry gathers in Europe thanks to the efforts of Loic Lemeur and his wife Geraldine. The speakers panel is beyond impressive (Marissa Mayer of Google, CEO of Myspace, founder of Meetic, Scoble, Arrington, etc etc) and features some non-web speakers like Paulo Coelho or my good friend (and amazing presenter) Itay Talgam.

The organizers have asked to pass the Lift community the only 30% discount code they have created (thanks Géraldine :)! Feel free to use it if you plan to attend the conference next month. Use LIFTLEWEB08 on amiando.com/leweb08!

• Lift Asia 08 (Korea, 2008)
• Lift 08 (Geneva, 2008)
• Lift Asia 07 (Korea, 2007)
• Lift 07 (Geneva, 2007)
• Lift 06 (Geneva, 2006)

Lift Asia 08
For the first large scale Asian event of Lift, we welcomed 400 participants under the magnificent sun of Jeju Island. "Beyond the browser" was the main theme, with presentations about robotics, the future of social worlds, virtual money or the networked city given by twenty speakers like Dan Dubno, Joonmo Kwon, Jaewoong Lee or Takeshi Natsuno (full program here). The event featured an exhibition of interactive art organized by art center nabi and some of the best social events and networking we have ever organized, like a swiss lunch and a memorable diner by the sea. The event was supported by the Jeju Government, Daum, WattWatt, Alpict and art center nabi.
More on Lift Asia 08

Lift08
LIFT08 was again a record edition, gathering 700 attendees from 30 countries to discuss online environments, user experience, sustainable development, gaming or foresight. The event was covered by TechCrunch, ATS, Fast Company, Wired, BBC News, NZZ, Radio Suisse Romande, Europe1, Netzwoche, Campaign and by tenth of bloggers and podcasters. 40 videos have been recorded and made available online, and the community rated Kevin Warwick (Cyborg research), Genevieve Bell (Secrets, lies & digital deceptions), Robin Hunicke (game trends), Paul Barnett (Game design) and Eric Favre (the story of Nespresso) as the five best presenters.
More on Lift 08

Lift Asia 07
Before organizing a large event in 2008, we wanted to have a taste of what it means to run an event in a different country an culture. Lift Evening Seoul was an afternoon featuring 4 speakers to discuss the changes around spaces, going from real to virtual. 180 participants joined us in Seoul for a great moment of ideas sharing and networking at the Yuri Art Hall in Gangnam.
More about Lift Evening Seoul

Lift07
The 2007 edition of LIFT in Geneva attracted more than 550 participants (Global 1000 companies, entrepreneurs, investors, students, researchers, artists, NGOs) from 30 countries. A program of 36 keynote speeches, 16 workshops and 4 panels covered diverse topics like web 2.0, mobile technologies, robots, economic and social trends. LIFT was supported by organizations like Swisscom, Whisher, HP, Zurich, the Gebert Ruf Stiftung or the EPFL and was covered extensively by Swiss media as well as international media like the BBC, the Associated Press, Wired, the Guardian, and Europe 1.

More about Lift07.

Lift06
The first edition of LIFT happened in 2006 and welcomed 350 delegates from 20 countries. The conference featured speakers like Cory Doctorow, Bruce Sterling, Robert Scoble, Hugh Macleod or Euan Semple. In a post conference survey, LIFT06 was assessed as a success by most attendees, with 93% planning to attend the next edition.

More info on More about Lift06.

Dear Lifters,
I need a home-base in Geneva and am looking for a cohab / room / studio / small flat, ideally from +/- Nov. 1st
- centrally located, not too noisy
- ideally unfurnished & temporary unlimited
- charming (& old building) style

If you know of something or can give me any hints please let me know, thank you very much :)
sylvie@liftconference.com

As you know LIFT has an alliance with the organizers of PICNIC, one of the most inspiring European event which brings together and disseminates the ideas and knowledge of the world's best creators and innovators. PICNIC spotlights cutting-edge products and services at the intersection of media, technology, arts and entertainment, and brings together entrepreneurs, investors, creators as well as scientists, and other industry leaders.

At PICNIC you can do more than pick up new ideas and network with your peers. Save the world.. Create a new service.. Experience new tools... Find a business partner.. Admire the arts.. Get inspired..And of course party with Europe's digital elite.

The main theme of PICNIC08 is "Collaborative Creativity" in its many guises. PICNIC will look at new and connected forms of intelligence and creativity, from the fields of entertainment, science, the arts and business. Speakers include Clay Shirky, Jeff Jarvis, Charles Leadbeater, Stefano Marzano and more. Take a look at the PICNIC site for more details: picnic08.com

Members of the Lift community can register for a discounted PICNIC 08 ticket. Use code 271815 when registering via picnicnetwork.org/tickets and you will receive an immediate discount of 10% on the regular entry price of any ticket.

Note: The conference starts on the 24th and I will be speaking or moderating a panel there. Not sure yet, just like Lift PICNIC is a moving thing and it changes very fast. But I'll be there!

If you do not live in a cave you have probably heard of that one of the most ambitious science project ever has been turned on this week by the CERN. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is getting ready to recreate the conditions that existed one second after the big band. Why? What are we looking for? What might be discovered?

Check Brian Cox's Lift07 speech to get some answers! He's a rock start turned scientist, and gave one of the best Lift speech ever.

For more videos liftconference.com/videos as usual. The Lift Asia talks are coming in 10 days normally, I saw some previews and they look really good!

Lift will mostly do three things for you:

1. Show you what are the big changes set to happen in the next 1-3 years and that you should be aware of (because they will affect you).

2. Connect you to some of the most creative and inspiring people on this planet.

3. Inspire you by confronting you to unexpected thinking and people from various fields, a process that generates new ideas.

To get the most of your time at Lift I recommend observing these simple rules:

• Close your laptop
Shut down your mobile phone. You can email anytime, but you can listen to Bruce Sterling or Joongmo Kwon only 3 days a year.

• Smile
At conferences there are many people looking for an opportunity to meet someone, simply walking through the corridors looking for a friendly face. Smile, engage in conversations, see who is here and you will meet interesting people.

• Be curious
You have no idea what a certain presentation is about because the title doesn't mean much to you? GO THERE, it's probably something you should know that will be explained in an accessible way. You don't know who that speaker is? Listen to that person! You didn't know who were Sugata Mitra or Genevieve Bell before they spoke, but had you missed their talks you would be feeling very bad!

• Get out of your comfort zone
Don't only spend your time having coffee with that colleague you haven't seen in a while. Go for diner with that person after the conference, but put yourself in danger! Go and participate in the Lift experience, start talking to someone you have never seen, give a talk in the open afternoon... This is what will make your time at Lift unique and productive!

• Relax
We (the organizers) are the ones running around and there is a good reason for that: we don't want you to. Relax, enjoy the moment and the special atmosphere that has set Lift apart from other conferences.

Since we launched the new website, we haven't received any comment on our posts. What's up? You guys are suddenly silent, what we say is sooooooo interesting that you feel you can't add any value ;), or is there a usability issue?

I would appreciate, well, your comments on this. The link is just after this post.

Let's take a break from Lift Asia for a second for a quick info: I am honored to have been invited by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) to present at their annual gathering on the topic of 21st Century Events. Lift is getting increasingly recognized among conference professionals as an innovative and original event. Our unique mix of community, technology and art is getting more attention and that is certainly a positive sign.

See you in Canada in November maybe?

We have an influx of Tedsters showing up on this site thanks to Sugata Mitra's legendary speech on the "hole in the wall" project being featured on ted.com.

Welcome to all :) It is great to see both the Lift and Ted communities starting to exchange ideas more and more!