Hey MCNers!
The 2019 annual conference program is complete!
Andrea, Eric and I spent the first weekend of June in a dull meeting room at the Newark airport Hilton to build the program schedule for this year’s conference. The program will be available late June/early July. In the meantime, we wanted to share some behind-the-scenes moments and give you a sense of what to expect.
First, our gratitude to the MCN 2019 Program Committee members who thoughtfully reviewed and rated the first batch of 170+ sessions submitted during the April call for proposals.
The overall quality of proposals combined with fewer available session slots in the new conference blueprint, made the process highly competitive. To guide us through the day, we set a few ground rules to keep us on the same page for what we wanted the program to reflect. Nevertheless, we had to make some tough calls. Our deliberations were honest, respectful and always incredibly measured.
We experimented a bit by looking at the MCN experience holistically and distributed sessions carefully considering emotional engagement and brain exhaustion. We believe this approach will make room for enriching and candid moments during our time together in San Diego.
When we publish the program, pay close attention to Tuesday and Friday. You will notice that we intentionally saved some of the most interesting and promising conversations to keep you engaged from Tuesday morning to the last minute of the conference on Friday. Truly, you do not want to miss a thing.
On another note, we’re delighted to announce that Tonya Nelson will deliver the keynote address this year (she will also stay for the whole conference!). A self-defined ‘culture hunter’, Tonya has a long career in the cultural sector and recently joined Arts Council in England as its first Director of Arts Technology and Innovation. Tonya navigates questions across the metrocultural spectrum, seeking to make sense of why culture matters and how to use it to create a better society. Check out some of her writings and interviews.
In the end, we believe we put together a strong, innovative, inspiring program that reflects the key issues currently facing our sector while presenting a range of perspectives from a diversity of voices within our community and beyond. We can’t wait to share it with you and we sincerely hope that you’ll find it as inspiring as it was exciting for us to conceive.
So what’s next?
- Expect to hear from us about the status of your session(s) by early next week.
- Registration opens June 28 – as last year, 150 Early Bird tickets will be available, so make sure you grab one while they last!
Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected].
We can’t wait to see you in San Diego!
Your MCN 2019 Conference Program co-chairs
Andrea Montiel de Shuman, Andrea Ledesma, and Eric Longo