VOLUME 10
TRUTH
December 4, 2019
WE Global Learning Centre
339 Queen Street East
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operating in a "post-Truth" world
In December 2017 we brought you an evening of conversation on the topic of "Fake News" that defined the year, but this conversation has evolved. Over the course of the past two years, the very core of what constitutes 'truth' in our world has been deeply shaken.
From partisan channels to social media outlets allowing for a breadth of voices on issues we've never experienced before we've moved from a "post-truth" world to a world of a limitless number of possible truths. The question of who to put our trust in has never been more complex as the blending of church and state across media, politics, advertising and beyond has now forever altered our concepts of reality.
So is the media to blame?
Or maybe our politicians?
What responsibility do marketers and advertisers share?
Could social media be the devil we seek or merely a scapegoat?
The questions are almost as many as the number of "truths" that we're now exposed to and it's possible that the only thing that's truly real is that we now live in a world that we can choose our own truth.
As we normalize ourselves to this reality, Ensemble is opening up the conversation.
Join us on December 4th for our 10th Volume as we go well beyond the state of Fake News and explore the implications of living in this digital age where history is written and re-written on a momentary basis by an unlimited number of pen-holders.
From media to politics to advertising and beyond, we'll pull back the layers of this discussion and provide you with a thought provoking evening to put the year that was 2019 in context and prepare you for a future where the only certainty is uncertainty.
Event Details
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
WE Global Learning Centre
339 Queen Street East
6:30 PM
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SPEAKERS
AMY DAVIES
Vice President, Client Strategy & Creative, Canada, VICE
Amy Davies is VP, Client Strategy & Creative, Canada at VICE, the world’s largest independent youth media organization.
Amy’s mandate is connecting brands with the VICE audience and ecosystem with a focus on the intersection of data, creative and media through the lens of culture. Amy oversees a range of services within VICE’s commercial business in Canada including insights and intelligence and content-driven partnerships. She is always hunting for new ways to bring campaigns to life.
Lindsay finneran-Gingras
VICE PRESIDENT, SOCIAL & DIGITAL, Hill+KNOWLTON STRATEGIES
As a strategist, Lindsay leads digital and content at Hill + Knowlton Strategies, Canada’s leading public relations firm. Lindsay specializes in contentious public affairs and corporate issues files.
Using data and digital, Lindsay uses new communications strategies to shape, build and move public opinion on highly contentious issues. In this space Lindsay build stories that connect large, complex issues to the audiences that matter, using social, digital and traditional advertising channels. Lindsay is on the forefront of how government, media and brands are controlling and building narratives in a post-mass media world.
Prior to joining H+K, Lindsay built and led the integrated campaign and digital practice at another leading public affairs and strategic communications agencies
Natasha Grzincic
DEPUTY EDITOR, VICE
With more than a decade of experience turning complicated ideas into smart and provocative digital stories, Natasha is happiest doing work that's at the overlap of journalism, technology, and social justice. Prior to VICE, Tash was digital news lead at the Toronto Star, working with editors and reporters on how best to tell the news of the day across platforms. She is also a co-founder of Canadian Journalists of Colour, a networking and resource-sharing group for racialized journalists.
KEVIN KEANE
FOUNDER and CEO, BRAINSIGHTS
Kevin is the CEO and founder of Brainsights, an award-winning neuroscience technology, data and insights company. Brainsights works with leading brands to understand customers' unconscious biases through brain measurement and data analysis, and has pioneered a philosophy of Data Respect that enables an open value exchange for individuals' data. Founded in 2013, the Toronto-based company has grown with operations now in the US, UK, Germany, Spain and India.
In his talk, Kevin will share what Brainsights has learned about unconscious bias through the study of thousands of peoples' brains from around the world. He'll argue that any pursuit of the truth must involve understanding and managing individual bias, and will offer some strategies for how each of us can use the power of brain science to get closer to a shared truth.
MURRAY SIMSER
Founder & CEO at Citizn Inc
An entrepreneur at heart, Murray leads high growth technology companies whose products are used by millions of people globally.
His latest project is CITIZN, Inc., the world’s first societal network that is designed to connect and inform people and enable them to work together to change the political conversation through action. The CITIZN beta product will be available in early 2020 for testing across Canada, and then shortly thereafter in the United States.
Throughout his career he has served on public- and private-company boards of directors. As CEO, he has led public and private companies, raised over $100 million in venture, institutional, and private capital. Murray has also led several complex public and private acquisitions and mergers, public offerings, reverse takeovers, reorganizations, and other similar initiatives.
As director of Microsoft’s worldwide incubation team, he helped commercialize, globally, companies acquired by Microsoft. He also founded, led, and exited Silicon Valley venture-backed technology startups.
Murray holds a B.S.Sc. in Economics from the University of Ottawa and is bilingual in English and French. He has lived in London, New York City, Seattle, San Diego, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, and now makes his home in the great city of Toronto.
CRAIG SILVERMAN
MEDIA EDITOR, BUZZFEED NEWS
Craig Silverman is an award-winning journalist and author and one of the world's leading experts on online misinformation, fake news, and content verification. He is the media editor of BuzzFeed News where he leads a global beat covering platforms, online misinformation, and media manipulation. Craig was named to the Politico 50 for his work exposing fake news and its effect on American politics and is the 2018 recipient of the Carey McWilliams Award from the American Political Science Association, which honors “a major journalistic contribution to our understanding of politics.” His journalism and books have been honored by the Mirror Awards, U.S. National Press Club, National Magazine Awards (Canada), Digital Publishing Awards, and Crime Writers of Canada.
DAVID TSUBOUCHI
AUTHOR, FORMER CABINET MINISTER and MPP
David Tsubouchi is the first Japanese Canadian to be elected to any provincial legislature in Canada and to be appointed as a Cabinet Minister. He has served as the Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations, Solicitor General, Chair of Management Board and Minister of Culture. Mr. Tsubouchi sits on the boards of OMERS Pension Fund and the Ontario Arts Council. His book, Gambatte was nominated for the Speaker’s Book Award and the Heritage Toronto Book Award. He spends a lot of time with his best pal, Barkley wandering through their woods and around their pond.
JOSH VISSER
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, VICE
Josh Visser has been the lead editor on numerous investigative projects—usually involving some combination of far-right extremism and cannabis—during his nearly five years at VICE. Josh helped build out the Canadian newsroom of VICE during its expansion in Toronto, co-created VICE Canada's Standards and Practices guide for journalists and enjoys content. Prior to VICE, Josh had glorious runs at the National Post and CTV News. He graduated from the Ryerson Journalism Program in 2007.
VOLUME 9
partners
Thank you to all of our partners who help us create something bigger.
