As the eyes of the world turn to Brisbane for the G20 Leaders' Summit in November, a once-in-a-lifetime event will be held in the week leading up to the gathering.
The Brisbane Global Cafe on November 12–13 will see more than 70 of the world's leading technology pioneers, scientists, entrepreneurs, researchers, inventors and new-world thinkers converge on City Hall.
Through keynote speeches, seminars, panel discussions and a plenary, the Global Cafe will give our city the opportunity to hear from the world's best and brightest.
It is an invaluable chance to help safeguard our future prosperity and ensure our businesses thrive in an increasingly complex world.
Several themes will dominate the agenda: Improving Human Life, Tourism's New Frontiers, The Digital Age – Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Cities of the Future; Powering Future Economies; and The Asian Century: Insights and Opportunities.
The Digital Age - Entrepreneurship and Innovation program will canvass the critical issue of technology. Anybody guiding their business through this rapidly-evolving landscape will benefit from a discussion on how best to navigate, and make the most of, our digital century.
The Tourism's New Frontiers program will hear from global aviation and destination experts about how our leisure businesses can harness an expected doubling in the size of national tourism in the next 20 years, with a focus on the domestic and rising Asian markets.
Other topics will captivate academia, urban planners and industry as we look at the future of medical technology – of which Brisbane is a global centre of research excellence – the future of power generation, how cities will cope with rapid population growth and the business opportunities in the Asian century.
A stellar line-up of speakers will create a global conversation like no other - including Chinese digital media mogul SY Lau from Tencent; Thai retail developer Chadatip Chutrakul of Siam Piwat; Hong Kong's richest woman Pansy Ho; renowned biochemist Professor Christopher Leaver from University of Oxford; US demographer Alan Berube; and Israeli Digital entrepreneur Gadi Mazor.
As Brisbane becomes 'capital of the world' during the G20, the Brisbane Global Cafe is an absolutely worthy lead-in event that starts the conversation about some of the world's most important challenges and opportunities and puts our city directly in touch with some of the best thinkers and entrepreneurs in their fields world-wide.
You can find out more about the Global Café program and register for tickets at globalcafe.com.au.
* Graham Quirk is Brisbane Lord Mayor.
