Lift Conference 2016

[Update] Event report: Cross-cutting innovation at Lift 2016

The 11th Lift Conference on Society and Innovation took place on 10-12 February in Geneva. As always, this conference brings a fresh perspective on current and future technology trends and their cultural and social impact. This year, the organisers also made a particular effort to examine the relation between IT innovation and innovation in other fields, such as clean energy and environment.

There were many good presentations, but we would like to highlight two in particular. Kristin Heinonen looked for the explanation for the success of Sweden as an efficient digital society and found it in the Swedish government's smart policies introduced as early as mid-Nineties. Heinonen believes that an early decision to provide broad-bandwidth nation-wide and subsidies for personal computer purchase played an important role, as well as continuous strive to provide efficient and user-centred government services online.

An inspiring presentation was given by Primavera De Filippi, researcher at CNRS, who talked about the potential of blockchain technology beyond e-currencies. She also chose to illustrate possibilities for social interaction and alternative governance through Plantoids, a blockain-based art project that connects plant sculptures.

By Dejan Dincic

Event announcement

The annual Lift Conference 2016 will be held on 10-12 February 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Lift Conference is one of Europe’s key events about innovation and digital technologies. It features a special blend of inspiring speeches by some of the world’s best speakers, truly interactive workshops, exhibitions of interactive media projects and prototypes to play with.

After Lift's adventures in deep-interactivity in 2015, the conference is bringing back the all-time favorite Main Stage Sessions to the center of the conference. On top of the talks, participants will continue to enjoy more interactive formats such as workshops and masterclasses, with the addition of a new activity: Lift on Site. Leveraging the great landmarks of Geneva, Lift is collaborating with key partners such as CERN to create workshops directly where the action happens.

Visit the conference website for more information.