Fresh Media Olympics Conference

Join with experts from traditional and social media, bloggers and academia to explore social media and the dominant narratives half-way thru this 17-day global event! Plenary discussion, dialogue, coffee & dessert break, workshops, and wrap-up reception with complimetary wine and hors d'ouevres—all included!

W2 has secured sponsorship from Bing Thom Architects, C It ianadian Tourism Commission, Prospect Winery and Red Truck Lager to make the conference even more affordable with the all-inclusive sponsored rate of $18 for the entire day - with conference, drinks, and food.  Free for Full Media Access passholders for the W2 Culture + Media House.

The Winter Olympics and Paralympics are expected to draw 3 billion worldwide television and 70 million website viewers and will generate more wireless content than any previous Olympics. With an explosion of social media tools in the hands of Olympic fans, and pervasive reporting by citizen journalists and bloggers, will social media have its journalistic coming out party this February?

With thousands of media makers and storytellers unaccredited by VANOC and the BC government's media centre, how can the IOC control the message and hand exclusivity to its investor brands? Sport and culture fans will undoubtedly flood online platforms with their own Olympic messages, and cultural festivities and Vancouver's homelessness issues could gain prominence with traditional winter sports stories. Beijing 2008 failed to uphold pledges for an open media environment, so what will London 2012 learn from Vancouver's experience with NBC expecting to lose $200 million, and Canwest under creditor protection?

The conference features a keynote from Andy Miah, author of ‘Genetically Modified Athletes’ (2004) and ‘A Digital Olympics: Digital Games, Ethics & Cultures’ (The MIT Press, 2010), and panels with senior journalists and industry watchers from the USA, UK, Canada, and elsewhere. An afternoon unconference program provides open space for participant led-workshops with an added emphasis on practice and a summary of the first Olympic week. The conference also brings people face-to-face for networking and sharing tips on theory, practice, legal and operations. W2 will webstream to reach viewers outside Vancouver. The day wraps with a Cinq à Sept reception and evening party with Vancouver artists and DJs.

Sure to sell-out, registration is free for Full Media Access passholders for the W2 Culture + Media House.

SCHEDULE

• 1:00pm - Keynote by Andy Miah followed by Dialogue
• 3:15pm - Workshops
• Workshop 1: Harnessing the Media to Activate Citizens
• Workshop 2: Bejing to London
• Workshop 3: An open space for discussion based on issues rising from the dialogue following Andy Miah’s keynote.
• 5:00pm - Reception sponsored by Canadian Tourism Commission - complimentary Prospect Winery wine and hors d'ouevres.