AMSTERDAM: IBC's gotta feeling that its 2012 conference is going to be a good, good conference.
The trade show announced that American recording artist and entrepreneur will.i.am will kick off the IBC2012 Conference next month in Amsterdam with a keynote discussion about the role of technology in the creative process.
The opening keynote session, co-hosted by Intel vice president of partner marketing Johan Jervøe, is titled "Creativity and Technology Forces Combine -- Transcend the Barriers of Convention and Rethink What Can Be Achieved." The session is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 7, at 1 p.m. at the RAI Convention Centre Amsterdam.
Seven-time Grammy Award winner will.i.am, the stage name of William James Adams Jr., is best known as being the frontman for The Black Eyed Peas. The Los Angeles native also is a producer, director and advocate for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education.
"We want people to rethink what they believe is possible," will.i.am said in a statement supplied by IBC. "I'm always thinking about tomorrow. What are the new beats? What is the new music? What will people like? What will we be capable of doing? Technology allows us to amplify our ideas, amplify our creativity, and find new ways of solving our problems and genuinely start living in those future tomorrows, and that's what I want to share at IBC."
Intel recruited will.i.am in January 2011 to be its "director of creative innovation." In that role, he works with Intel scientists, programmers and marketing employees to "innovate and promote inspiring content, technology and hardware strategies."
"We're enormously pleased that will.i.am and Johan Jervøe will be speaking at the IBC Conference," IBC conference chairman Michael Lumley said. "It's a true testament to the strength and breadth of the Conference that it can attract speakers of their international caliber, and we are fascinated to see how their thoughts on technology and creativity will contribute to the global debate about fostering innovation."
The IBC2012 conference and exhibition will run Sept. 6-11. Last year's conference attracted 50,462 attendees, of which about 9% were from North America.
IBC, the International Broadcasting Convention, is owned by six industry consortia. The show was first held in 1967. --Multichannel News
