I didn’t even know that Pause Fest existed until a friend of mine told me about it. He explained how incredibly awesome it was and that we had to look into it and going. OK no worries. This was about the same time as last year, so back then I added myself to their database and did a bite more online research about it.
Of course Melbourne get’s all the cool stuff and this was it appeared to be no different. I see Melbourne very much as the playground of where all the cool kids get to hang out and also play. Given the change to the Sydney landscape and that the coffee is considerably better down in Melbourne town, do you really have to give it a second though as to why everything is happening there. Clearly these people are way too over caffeinated and that’s when all the good ideas come about.
On a serious note though it had me really excited at the thought of such an event happening only a short plane ride away and that there was such a cool event dedicated to creating a conversation, a sharing of knowledge of information as well as getting all these amazingly awesome people together at the same time. My own creative mind may have drifted off, imagining clandestine meetings of the minds over an almond mlyk latte or more likely surrounded by energy drinks, a packet of ciggies with some tech guys. I’ll neither confirm or deny that later..
Regardless of the romanticism of where the ideas come from, the ideas do come and if you’ve been like me wondering what’s going to happen in this space (and others) in 2016. As the festival boasts, its a catalyst for innovation, a uniter of industries, a platform for the future. Pause Fest stands for the content you can’t Google. This resonated with me, closely followed with a “fuck yeah”..
Six years ago, Pause’s founder George Hedon saw an opportunity to start bringing together a new breed of thinkers and doers in the world’s most liveable city. Australia’s digital ecosystem was just finding its feet while the U.S and Europe surged ahead. As an accomplished designer and artist, George wanted to foster true mutual collaboration. He wanted speakers and attendees alike to benefit from great quality content – with Melbourne, the design and digital culture capital of Australia – as the setting.
George is driven by what happens when you create a space for people from all industries to converge, share their passion and find purpose: an opportunity to Pause. This ethos has seen Pause become the premier creative tech conference and festival for the Asia Pacific region. Bravo George!
For this reason, many brands, startups and services have chosen to launch at Pause. The festival has hosted the Desktop mag relaunch, Canva, For The People Agency, BSchool and Tractor School. Zero Latency (the world’s first free-roam, multiplayer, virtual reality gaming experience) debuted at Pause in 2014. Following this, they attracted investments and then almost a year later hit the jackpot of $1million from Carthona Capital.
From a few hundred attendees in its first year to over 12,000 last year with increasing numbers of international attendees, Pause’s growth has been organic, determined by a sense of exploration. Instead of asking ‘what if’, we ask ‘why not.’
So why attend?
Sony missed the mp3
Coke and Pepsi missed energy drinks
Kodak missed digital
Borders missed eBooks
Nokia forgot about innovation
Travel agents didn’t foresee online booking
Banks missed digital currency
The schedule in itself of what you can expect to see, hear, experience is pretty impressive and best viewed with your own eyes here. I can’t even do it the justice by summarising. As a chick that likes to kick arse and also support not only women (but all humans in business) I am keen to check out The Top Women in Tech, The Foundation for Young Australians and the Future of Work, New Frontiers in Female Culture (hosted and facilitated by VICE Media) and The Dependent Relationship Between Technology and Creative.
There’s an abundance of social events and opportunities to interact, get discussing or get your groove one. Whatever floats your boat. I see it as a great opportunity to get motivated, get involved and meet some pretty amazing and innovative people.
I’m stoked that I’ve been fortunate to be provided with a 3 day Media pass to immerse myself in all things Pause. I’ll be sharing all the above and more with you lovely people. Thank you George.
As they said it best “At Pause we don’t ask what’s next, we figure out how, and we’re deciding when”…
When: 8-14th February 2016
Where: Melbourne, Australia. The locations, venues and spaces are varied, but most are in the CBD and around Federation Square. Check out the Events listings though to find out where each session is held.
Why: If you’ve gotten to the end of this, had a look at the schedule and there isn’t a tiny bit of FOMO in you you need to check yourself, before you wreck yourself. Seriously WHY NOT?
Cost: There are a variety of options, packages and deals available based on what you want to see, hear and achieve. You can check it all out here though via the website.
Remember stuff like this reminds us that we should forever be learning, stepping outside our comfort zone and surrounding ourselves with amazing like minded (or not) people. The opportunities and how you can implement any number of things into your own live and projects is limitless.
My Tip-
There is a load of stuff going on in Melbourne that week and hotel accom is wicked expensive but flights are good. Word of advice- either crash with a friend or call in that favour to take up that offer to always visit. If you’re OK with using public transport (and Melbourne is well connected) look at AirBnB as there are loads of great options all around which are cost effective, comfortable and much cooler than a Hotel anyway.