power, disruption, and lies

It's been nearly two weeks since I was in Malmö, Sweden for the Media Evolution conference... and I'm still on a high. I can't even help it. I put so much pressure on the serendipitous opportunity--half of me expecting (the other wishing) it to ease my doubt and provide answers as I tackle my French internship, hone in on my thesis for the spring, better articulate what it is I want to do afterwards. And you know what? It delivered, in every which way and then some. I still don't understand how that's possible.

Then again, I do. The conference kicked off with an opening keynote by Dr. Suzannah Lipscom, a historian, who said things like "it's the power to do good, the dance of the production of change, of the unpredictability of the future which makes us all liars" when taking apart the theme of this year's conference and then left us with historical examples of how, "we can use informal power to change behavior." My nerdy aspirations ran wild as experience paired inspiring presentation with insightful yet informal chats on innovation in contemporary media with a British feminist, American researcher, Dutch web programmer, Swedish artist, etc.

Before lunch on that Thursday, I listened to practical advice from Matthew and Fabian such as, "hypothesize your acquistion channel - where do they 'hang out' online?" I've already integrated this tip and many more regarding "lean marketing" into my work at PageYourself. " I also received some clarification into how I'd like to contribute to Change Making after hearing Lina and Marcin talk. I was especially blown away by Lina's Equalists Project, a campaign for equal representation for women and other minority groups across industries that has been built almost entirely on humble Facebook pages. It's rapidly expanding and I'm eager to get involved.

Afterwards, on the menu for our mid-day meal: lemon-baked turkey breast marinated with capers and parsley alongside a wheatberry salad with roasted paprika vinaigrette. I enjoyed a sparkling water and plenty of great conversation as well.

Then we jumped right back into creative and critical thinking with Cindy Gallop. I cannot even express to you how incredibly provocative her keynote was. Please just watch it. Originally a global advertising consultant, she is now focusing on a project to tap into, "the single most untapped pool of resource: personal good intentions," and another to disrupt the porn business. Yes, really. She's doing so in the most amazing way, proving that we can, "integrate social responsibility into the way we do business."

I went on to contemplate online harassment as I heard the heartbreaking personal accounts of Laurie and Anita with Kate's academic insight. Though emotional, I felt hopeful in the presence of their grace and bravery. And later, as Ruth presented Un-Convention and Foro Di Eixo, I realized how effective passion can be in mobilizing individuals into forces of collective good. Ariel, a designer turned space enthusiast, reaffirmed the fact as she shared the story of her movement for citizen space exploration.

With all potential floating in my head, I took advantage of the free glass of happy hour wine, mingled a bit, and then retreated to the Doc Lounge for The Yes Men screening. Little did I know I'd actually have the chance to ask Mike Bonanno a question I'd been wondering since my Global Advocacy class. His answer to how they measure their success: "our mission is not for The Yes Men to be better liked, but for the issue to get as much attention as possible. The point is to give voice to activists and victims." I was almost too satisfied with his response to recall the director of Searching for Sugar Man's keynote. A good night's sleep was so necessary.

Thankfully, I got one. So much so, that I had to rush out of Liselott's apartment, through Malmö, and to the contemporary Slaghuset Thursday morn. I made it to James' keynote just on time. As a seasoned critic of technological dependence, I was struck by his declaration that "technology is not a mutual good, it's a tool." It is up to us. My awe was followed by this thought: gosh, I wish I had a robotic clone to annotate Emily's beyond crowd-funding anecdotes while I learned how visual media affects culture and identity...

Alas, I did not, so I just soaked up the research inspiration as An proved how, "remix culture is a way to take control of the narrative," Tricia advocated for trust as we "preserve spaces for informal modes of interaction," that allow our elastic selves to flourish, and Kenyatta told the timeless (albeit with his comedic edge) story of the .gif. I'll admit I followed the other presentations with #theconf.

For some larger picture perspective, I went to the presentation on thinking about Now in the Past. It was wonderful to hear from Matt, someone who has clearly found his professional calling in his belief that, "the history of the future is borne of optimism." The concept aligned closer with Åsa's approach to urban planning than expected. "What defines cities is the people who live in that city." With all those ideas, I pondered my master's thesis as I ate lunch that day: salmon with sour cream and roasted dill-potatoes.

Before I knew it, the conference part of The Conference was over. (There were a few more presentations but I was too overstimulated for them to have had an impact). I cannot imagine anyone but Alexis, co-founder of Reddit, giving the closing keynote on "the importance of giving a damn about the people who are about to use and consume what you create." He's right. Lagom, a Swedish word roughly translating to a Goldilocks-esque "just enough", isn't acceptable when it comes to tackling the challenges facing society and media. I ended the night at the Malmö Festival, spent most of Friday on that Sustainable Tourism excursion, ate a Saturday lunch in Copenhagen, and walked away with the what and where of my eventual master's thesis.

P.S. For tips on how to make the most of the next conference you attend, check out this best practice I wrote for PageYourself.

swedish sustainable tourism

Gosh, aren't you wonderful? Thank you so, so much for your support. With it, and the company of friends, I've been focusing on taking advantage of this city in every which way. The bustle of la rentrée (the return of vacationing Parisians) has meant busy, productive days and long, fun nights. It hasn't come without a cost though. I'm exhausted. So much so, that I left tonight's PageYourself office-apéro early... to come home, cook, and reminisce about the serenity that came with my one day in the Swedish countryside.

Nature has a way of doing that to me. On the last day of The Conference (and, I promise, I will recap the bulk of the program itself soon), I had the opportunity to take a tour of Christinehof Ecopark. It had been created, "to protect, preserve and exhibit the sites and artifacts of natural and cultural value [wetlands and woods] that surround Christinehof", a baroque manor house. But even with such a warning, I couldn't have been prepared for the amazing experience I shared with Petter, Eva, Ariel, Leonora, and more.

We began with coffee/tea and a homemade kanelbullar (cinnamon roll) in Fyledalen; taking in the warm sun, fresh air, and lush, green surroundings. Did you know: "following Australia's lead, Sweden was the second country in the world to introduce an eco-tourism charter"? I hadn't. And yet it seems so obvious to me now. My host and every one of her friends had a cabin outside Malmö. Petter raved about Swedes' love of their great outdoors. He told us too about the wonderful constitutional law, Allemansträtten, which allows access to any and all countryside--for camping, hiking, berry-picking, etc.--as long as the natural integrity is maintained.

After, we got a taste of it ourselves. With Eva as our guide, we mingled with grazing cows, learned about an industrious Dane, chased a herd of sheep, heard about Christenhof's education programs, took a nature walk, ate edible clovers, and made lunch: baked rye with sour cream and "chicken weed" alongside a wild green soup garnished with local flowers, parsley, and more creme fraîche.

Then we retreated inside the manor house to take a look at their eclectic collection of furniture, decorative arts, and portraits, in addition to an exhibition of the work by Sweden's first professor of textile design, Hans Krondahl. The juxtaposition was gorgeous.

And just when I thought the excursion couldn't get any better, I met "the love cake." We each enjoyed a square alongside coffee or tea as we thanked Petter profusely for the unforgettable day he, Eva, and all the staff at Christinehofs Ekopark had provided; yet another Swedish memory I'll forever cherish. With that sweet thought, I'm off to finally get a good night's sleep :) happy birthday, K!

lunch in copenhagen

My apologies these posts have been all over the place lately; that's where my heads at, too. I wish I could help it. And I still need more time to mull over the conference in Malmö. Speaking of though... did I ever tell you how it came to be? It was rather serendipitous. I stumbled upon a tweet, inquired about streaming presentations by email, learned student tickets were available, heard my school would help, and found a fab Paris-Copenhagen roundtrip flight deal. At that point, everything was dependent on whether I could find a CouchSurfing host accept my request for four nights. Liselott did. I basked in my luck for four days straight.

And it was with that, that I decided to venture into Copenhagen before my flight home. My logic: I'd already seen most of Malmö, I'd never been to Denmark, and the metro connected the airport to the city. Plus, a girl's gotta have lunch. At the conference, I'd taken a poll on possible destinations. Nyhavn Harbor won. Thought touristy, this old sailors' quarters promised to offer a colorful stroll and tasty (albeit expensive) lunch. As I ascended from the metro, I also discovered an antique market in the construction-ridden square.

It was touristy, too much for my liking, but I did appreciate such a quintessentially Copenhagen sight. I also hadn't done any research as per usual, and was grateful to find a lunchtime restaurant with Danish diners. It served Italian cuisine with Scandinavian flavors. My apologies for not recalling the name! I so enjoyed my smørrebrod (open-faced sandwich): lightly toasted rye, crisp lettuce, salmon whipped with ricotta cheese, garnished with dill and capers. Just, yum. Innovation at its best before flying back to a nostalgic Paris.

P.S. It was one year ago today that I moved to the City of Lights.

sweden's third city

I had a good feeling about Malmö, the Swedish city that sounds so “Scandi” (according to friends like Anna) yet hadn’t existed to me before I stumbled across the Media Evolution conference that was to be held there. My late night experience reinforced this optimism; as did Liselott(CouchSurfing host)'s morning apologies for only having muesli and milk for breakfast—my Parisian standard, her suggestion that we meet for dinner on Thursday evening at the city’s annual festival, and her Friday night invite to the city's chocolate factory turned microbrewery. I got a good sense of it too from intermingling with media and academic professionals from the area. But I’m not reflecting on the conference, not yet. Today, I’d just like to share a glimpse of Sweden’s third largest city that’s still small enough to be digested in a 4-day visit. I walked to and from the Slagthuset (an atmospheric former slaughterhouse, it's possible) each morning and evening to make sure I saw as much as possible. And I can’t imagine not knowing (and loving) it now.

By the way, I’m not one for souvenirs, but couldn’t resist buying my mom (the woman who ultimately gave me the courage to make this trip possible) traditional Swedish licorice … salted. It’s a thing. Also, I totally loved being introduced to Say Lou Lou’s music.