Lost in Transition?

This summer Ideas on Stage partnered up with the fine people at Set’Event to help a handful of such thoughtful and committed citizens to give impactful keynote presentations at the 15th annual ACIDD event, which took place August 28-29 in Bordeaux. This year’s theme? “Lost in Transition: the time of possibilities”.

This annual event is dedicated to exploring the skills and solutions necessary to live well in our emerging digital age across all sectors, from sustainable energy to food and agriculture.

Participants came from all around France including officials of state to leaders from top corporations to present on the latest products, research and methodology, as well as to continue forging the connections needed across industries to achieve meaningful and global results.

Building on the first day of sharing information and inspiration, they dedicated a second day on Tuesday the 29th to bring a smaller fraction of the group together for a day of workshops. The mission? To walk away with shareable resources and potential solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing our world today—or is it already “tomorrow”?

As most of the Ideas on Stage team was away on vacation for some part of August, I had the luck of stepping into this project as one of my very first with the company. It was a privilege getting to work with the event’s Master of Ceremonies (MC), Alain Chauveau, as well as with four of the ten “TED style” expert presenters to support them in clarifying their core messages and structuring a 15-minute presentation that would leave the audience motivated and empowered.

Among the group were presenters Bruno Teboul, SVP Science & Innovation at Keyrus and author of Robotariat, Stéphan Aver, founder of Aaqius creators of the consumer-safe hydrogen canister STOR-H, Guillaume Marolleau, Head of Digital and Consumer Experience at Fleury Michon, and Joël Ruet, Chairman of The Bridge Tank.

It’s not the easiest for French professionals at this level to meet in August when most of France is on vacation, but each presenter made the time–even if it meant taking a skype coaching call at midnight after a dinner in China just days before the event.

Now two months into working at Ideas on Stage, what stands out most is the level of quality, intelligence and heart of the organizations and individuals we get to interface with, including our team internally. An event like ACIDD is a perfect example of one such group of dedicated individuals who come together with a mission to send ripples of good out into the world, shaping our collective future toward global sustainability and well-being.

To learn more about the L’Université D’Été ACIDD and future events, head over to their official site or follow them on Facebook and Twitter @UECDD. Stay tuned for recordings from the event to go live next week. https://www.acidd.fr