Probably the biggest and most important digital event in Europe - the Web Summit - took place last week in Lisbon. //next columnist Markus Sekulla took a look at the four days on the Centre Stage. What excited him the most?
For a long time it was unclear in what form the event could take place at all in the midst of the pandemic. In the end, however, all visitors were happy that it could be held in Portugal with a comprehensive hygiene and control concept. As in previous years, many trend-setting speakers were again guests in 2021.
Opening Night was hotly anticipated, after all, the topics of "renaming Facebook" and the whistleblowing affair of the tech company were the central topic in Digital October. Whether in Lisbon or in the livestream, everyone was of course waiting for Frances Haugen - THE whistleblower.
2 November was the first full day of the event with a great line-up of exciting talks. I found the following two particularly worth listening to:
Topic:
Why Amazon wants you to talk to Alexa less
Featuring:
Tom Taylor (SVP of Alexa @ Amazon)
Starts from:
01h01min in the video below
and:
Topic:
Why don’t people trust the news?
Featuring:
Alessandra Galloni (Editor-in-chief @ Reuters)
Daniel Klaidman (Editor-in-chief @ Yahoo News)
Erika Allen (Senior Director of Global News Operations @ Vice Media)
Kat Downs Mulder (Managing Editor @The Washington Post)
Starts from:
04h59min27sec in the video below
Topic:
Is remote working a phase?
Featuring:
Jeff Maggioncalda (CEO @ Coursera)
Jim Edwards (Editor-in-chief of News @ Insider Inc.)
Mada Seghete (Co-founder & VP of Marketing @ Branch)
Alex Bouaziz (Co-founder & CEO @ Deel)
Starts from:
02h57min53sec in the video below
and:
Topic:
Using tech to create magic
Featuring:
Kate Swanborg (SVP of Technology Communications @ DreamWorks Animation)
Starts from:
05h10min34sec in the video below
Aus deutscher Sicht sicher interessant: ein Talk mit
Topic:
The secret behind a US$9 billion valuation
Featuring:
Maximilian Tayenthal (Co-founder & Co-CEO @ N26)
Starts from:
02h02min30sec in the video below
and:
Topic:
Creativity in 2022
Featuring:
Versha Sharma (Editor-in-chief @ Teen Vogue)
Tinie Tempah (Musician)
Georges St-Pierre (UFC Legend)
Simone Oliver (Global Editor-in-chief @ Refinery29)
Starts from:
02h21min34sec in the video below
and, last but not least:
Topic:
How a plant-based diet can fight climate change
Featuring:
Patrick Brown (CEO @ Impossible Foods)
Andy Serwer (Editor-in-chief @ Yahoo Finance)
Starts from:
06h08min58sec in the video below
If you want to watch more talks, you can find a list of all Websummit 2021 Centre Stage Talks. With a little searching, you can watch them here on YouTube. Of course, the Centre Stage was by no means the only stage with good talks. If more videos from the Websummit appear on the official YouTube page, we will update this post.
Text: Markus Sekulla
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