NXNE Interactive Announces Speakers for Festival, 6/17-6/21

Founder and CEO of Not Impossible, MICK EBELING, and SCOTT LAMB, the Vice President of International at BuzzFeed, will be joining the already champion list of speakers for NORTH BY NORTHEAST Interactive (NXNEi) at the Hyatt Regency June 17-21. Presented by Say Media, MICK EBELING will be returning to NXNEi after last year's keynote success to present Project Daniel and how Not Impossible is working with the make community to rewrite the story of access. SCOTT LAMB of BuzzFeed, a social news and entertainment company that GQ called "one of the hottest media companies on the planet," will answer the million-dollar question "Where the fuck do ideas come from?"

Also challenging and engaging NXNEi audiences will be BRIAN KNAPPENBERGER, creator of multiple award-winning documentaries including We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists and his newest film The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz - which the Hollywood Reporter described as "an inspiring account of the life of, and an infuriating chronology of the persecution of, one of the Internet's most impressive prodigies." Managing Director VANESSA THOMAS of Songza, whose company was named by Forbes as one of top five companies to transform advertising, will also share her stories and successes.

Other NXNEi speakers changing the way we look at the world through digital disruption will be Creative Director GOLRIZ LUCINA, who will delve into why SoulPancake has grown from a website to a best-selling book and beyond the initial goal of "making stuff that matters," and SAKCHIN BESSETTE, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Moment Factory, a studio that creates multimedia environments while representing the mantra, "WE DO IT IN PUBLIC."

Product and Community Director of Emotiv SILONA BONEWALD will be helping the audience "be a Jedi!" by giving live demos of brain-controlled objects; CEO and President of Interlude YONI BLOCH will discuss how his company recently launched a self-service platform that gives anyone the tools to design and publish their own interactive videos; FACTOR's Vice President of Operations, ALLISON OUTHIT, will discuss what artists and companies must know about qualifying and applying for funding; and Founder and Executive Director of OpenMedia, STEVE ANDERSON, will explain the challenges inherent in working toward informed and participatory digital policy and the protection of online rights.

Previously announced NXNEi speakers include intellectually charged Actor, Comedian, Writer and Podcaster MARC MARON; OVO founder and Drake's co-manager OLIVER EL-KHATIB; founding President and Executive Director of Avaaz RICKEN PATEL; and CINDY GALLOP, founder of MakeLoveNotPorn.

For the full list of NXNEi programming and additional information, visit nxne.com/interactive. All NXNE badges and wristbands are now available online at nxne.com/tickets.

NXNE Festival and Conference, one of the world's premier festivals, is now in its 20th year. NXNE's five pillars - Music, Film, Comedy, Art, and Interactive - are essential gatherings for artists, industry, and fans. NXNE draws 350,000 attendees and generates an annual economic impact of over $55 million on the city of Toronto.

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