The 2012 Flux Trend Review… innovating with Samsung Electronics has announced a stellar line-up of speakers who are all leaders in their respective fields – and who are perfectly placed to provide incisive insights into the forces shaping modern society.
The day-long conference is being presented by Dion Chang’s Flux Trends think-tank at the University of Johannesburg Arts Centre on Thursday, 7 June 2012.
Sharing their analysis on the developments impacting on the new world order are Arthur Goldstuck, Adrian Lee, Christo Davel, Ferial Haffajee, Khaya Dlanga, Rich Mulholland, Mokena Makeka, Dennis McEniry, Nozipho Mngomezulu and Dion Chang.
Leading local minds
Ferial Haffajee, editor-in-chief of City Press, opens the Flux Trend Review with her perspectives on the state of our nation – balancing our (usually) negative perceptions about the socio-economic landscape with refreshing insights into what is working.
Unpacking e-commerce in developing markets and the challenges of bridging the gap between online and offline retail is the New Yorkbased president of Estée Lauder online Dennis McEniry. McEniry has built Estée Lauder’s online business onto fastest-growing sales channel with some of the most digitally progressive brands in the cosmetic industry, including Clarins and Chanel.
Nozipho Mngomezulu, a partner in Webber Wentzel’s technology, media, telecommunications and intellectual property practice will explore whether the free flow of information can – and should – be controlled: The digital future in South Africa clearly lies in cell phone internet access, and there is a complex landscape to navigate with regards who owns what information.
The techno-savvy minds of Arthur Goldstuck of Word Wide Worx and Adrian Lee, Mobile Content Lead for, Samsung Electronics South Africa’s Content and Apps team, will be outlining the future of mobile technology and applications in a world where “websites are so last century.”
After learning a thing or two about showbiz as a rock ‘n roll roadie for bands such as Iron Maiden and Def Leppard, Rich Mulholland started Missing Link, SA’s largest presentation firm, and co-founded 21Tanks, the country’s first perspective lab. Richard will be talking about popular culture exploring how our lives have been altered by technology and what the trajectory of this might be.
Khaya Dlanga, Coca-Cola South Africa’s senior creative excellence manager, will be addressing the topic of youth culture. SA’s unofficial Twitter king will talk about how young people – taking into account SA’s challenges of poverty and unemployment – are affected by, and are influencing, the new world order.
Mokena Makeka, who sits on the World Economic Forum’s global agenda council for design, will be sharing his insights on the future of urban spaces and cities in the new world order: specifically how we accommodate an exploding human population on a planet with limited resources and space and how do we do this creatively, aesthetically and with empathy?
Dion Chang will be launching the findings of the New Urban Tribes of South Africa trend report, which seeks to give greater texture to our understanding of communities, superseding tools such as the widely used Living Standards Measure (LSM). The trend report will be launched as an e-report at the conference, in collaboration with Pan Macmillan.
Incisive funnyman Nik Rabinowitz will wrap up the day with some light comic relief to help delegates digest the substantial helpings of food for thought.
For more information visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC36VC0JXg4&feature=autoplay&list=FL9lrE0xPuGMZlYEg17g5YbA&playnext=2
Book tickets
Tickets for 2012 Flux Trend Review… innovating with Samsung cost R1 850 each, with a 10% discount for bookings of 10 or more from the same company and a 20% discount for students. Book by emailing connected@fluxtrends.co.za, or visit www.fluxtrends.co.za for more information.
Online Links:
Twitter handle: @fluxtrends
Dion Chang’s Twitter handle: @dionchang
Facebook: Flux Trends
Website: www.fluxtrends.co.za