On November 24th the 48 forward is taking place in Munich for the second time. Last year's premiere, featuring renowned speakers, was a resounding success. We asked organizer Daniel Fürg what attendees can expect from the second edition of the conference and what else has been happening in the past few months.
Daniel, this year marks the second time 48forward has taken place. What inspired you to launch your own innovation and future conference?
Over the past few years, I've attended an incredible number of events in various countries. I've noticed that, especially here in Europe, the focus is often far too much on marketing presentations on stage. Representatives from various companies only present their products or services, more or less directly – that just gets boring in the long run. I've always been much more interested in real trends and visions. I wanted to know what's really changing our world and our society – the meta-level, so to speak. I felt that was missing from most events, and that was precisely the reason we started 48forward.
What was the response after the premiere last year and what lessons did you learn?
The response was fantastic. We were actually a bit overwhelmed and very pleased that everything went so well – even though we had to overcome a few minor and major stumbling blocks beforehand. Of course, we also discovered a few things we'd like to improve. For example, the location this year is much more central and easier to reach.
Since April, in addition to the main annual conference, you've also been hosting a monthly Talk.48fwrd session. What's that all about?
Correct. With the Talk.48fwrd sessions, we've created a monthly platform where we select one of our major conference topics and discuss it in detail during an evening event with a small panel or a single interviewee.
Six events have already taken place within this framework – with many exciting speakers on stage and interesting topics such as mobility, privacy, influencer relations and the future of work.
What changes will there be in the second edition of 48forward?
There will indeed be some major changes. I've already mentioned the location – this year we're in the Freiheizhalle, a beautiful old turbine factory located in central Munich. Furthermore, the entire conference will be held in English this year, partly because we have significantly more international speakers. This year's program will be divided into different thematic blocks – we did that last year as well, but didn't communicate it. This way, participants will have a much better overview of our 12-hour program.
For whom is 48forward particularly interesting and what do you want to achieve with the conference?
48forward is of interest to anyone who looks to the future and is ready to face the challenges ahead – in their jobs, but also in our society. These include, of course, people who work with innovation in companies, but also those who have to deal with the consequences and, of course, those who are responsible for all of this. Our goal is to spend a day discussing the major trends that will shape us over the next five to ten years. This will involve defining the trends and offering an exciting outlook on various areas of life and the economy, as well as the impact of these developments and how best to deal with them.
Last year, we already had some high-profile speakers. How did you get in touch with the individual speakers? Can you tell us a few interesting names who will be speaking on stage this year?
Most of the speakers actually come from my personal network. However, we also contacted some directly without knowing them because we found the topics they address interesting. This year, we have many exciting people on stage again—a total of 30 speakers will be traveling to Munich from all over the world. Among them are Prof. Dr. Gabriele Oettingen from New York University or Francesco Marconi by The Associated Press in New York. Also included are, for example, Paula Schwarz from Startupboat, Jeremy Tai Abbett from Google, Sebastiaan Lemmens from Blendle and Thomas de Buhr from Twitter.
What issues are currently particularly concerning you when it comes to our future?
Personally, I find it very exciting how large companies are learning to deal with innovation management. They are slowly realizing that it's not about suddenly behaving like a startup, but rather about marrying agile approaches with existing processes. After all, not everything a corporation has done over decades is bad – it's just time for the next evolutionary stage that keeps pace with the speed of technological development. I also find what's happening in the media and journalism sector exciting. Virtual reality and artificial intelligence will play a major role here in five years, and I'm very happy that we'll have speakers on stage this year who will be addressing precisely these topics.
How important do you think the impact of startups on digitalization is and why?
Startups and their founders have been able to more quickly exploit the advantages and opportunities of digitalization in recent years, creating entirely new business models and/or products. Over the years, they have demonstrated to established companies the opportunities presented by new digital technologies, demonstrating a speed and willingness to take risks that a corporation typically cannot replicate. This is the only way digitalization has been able to advance so rapidly.
Where do you see 48forward heading? Do you already have bigger plans in the spirit of "Think Big"? To what extent are you perhaps looking at events like Bits & Pretzels, which have grown enormously in a short period of time and now attract an international audience?
Our goal is for 48forward to become an internationally recognized platform for trends and visions that are changing our world, and for us to discuss how these can be classified on a socio-cultural level. Bits & Pretzels We've always had a strong partnership. We don't see ourselves as competitors—if only because we have different core target groups—but rather, we essentially enrich each other.
The 48forward 2016 will be unique because…
…we will ensure that every single participant wakes up the next day with a lot of inspiration that they can use directly in their everyday work or for a completely new project.
If that wasn’t enough information for you, you can find more details about 48forward here.
Click here for tickets.
