A Conference Like No Other: C2 Montréal Returns to Reinvent the Networking Experience

If you don’t live in Montreal you may want to consider a road trip to the city on May 24-26.

Trust us when we tell you that it will be worth it

If you’re lucky enough to live in Montreal, book time off now – your boss will probably even encourage you to play hooky for something like this.

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C2 Montréal returns to unite commerce and creativity, and to explore trends, opportunities, disruptions and major shifts on the horizon, all while providing some seriously Instagram-worthy fun in the process. If you’re in the market for networking and a career-enhancing creativity boost, you’ll find it here. C2 Montréal offers a forward-thinking, hyper-collaborative environment that’s specifically designed to provoke collisions and spark new ideas.

One thing is guaranteed: This couldn’t be further from your typical conference.

In fact, the whole idea behind C2 Montréal was to reinvent the conference experience all together. By a “collaborative environment,” we mean a convergence of 5000 executives across continents and industries who will unite in everything from meaningful play (previous years have featured things like a Ferris wheel ride with a stranger, blindfolded ball pit brainstorm sessions, and a giant ladder-access nest for networking) and interactive art installations, to brain-dating, extreme brainstorming sessions, and empathy workshops.

Oh – and no shortage of (meaningful) partying.

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The occasion inspires business leaders to challenge their biases, shift their prospective and explore completely new ways of doing business – but in the least mundane way ever. The concept was the result of a 24-hour brainstorming session in Old Montreal by 25 people including people from Sid Lee and friends that had a goal to maximize the creative inspiration of the attendees.

C2 Montréal is therefore an unmatched, nuanced experience (see: not a conference) that begins with a clean slate every year.

Highlights include things like the “Brain Dating Lounge,” where trained matchmakers help you find your match; an interactive forum with a resident DJ; interactive art that merges technology and art; and highly unique collaborative spaces in the “Hangar.”

Speakers include some of the world’s most respected leaders in a variety of industries, including David Suzuki, Martha Stewart, Suroosh Alvi (cofounder, VICE media), and Dr. Kate Darling (MIT Media Lab and Harvard Berkman Centre), among many others.

Of course, C2 Montréal encourages attendees to play as hard as they “work” (as much as it doesn’t feel like work to begin with) – the pop-up shop, food trick and live music-filled “Plaza” is for celebration. Filled with areas to unwind that are specifically designed to facilitate interaction, the space will bustle with life from a day of networking, to an evening of drinks and artistic acts, including the world-renowned talents of Cirque du Soleil, Moment Factory, Montreal’s International Jazz Festival and Moby.

With all the networking, creating, and playing, it’s pretty much impossible to take everything in, complete with quality notes. That’s why C2 Montréal has all guests covered with The Minutes, a comprehensive book of insights, learning, and highlights from the entire 3-days, including talks, workshops, and conversations.

So, yeah, you’re going to want to be there.

According to Richard St. Pierre, CEO C2 Montréal, “”The workshops and masterclasses were so popular with the C2 participants last year that we are doubling them this year and expect to have them booked quickly. The popularity of workshops and masterclasses demonstrates the core to what this year’s theme is all about: The Many. We’ve always seen the people who attend C2 as participants, not just as passive members of the audience.”

But don’t just take our word for it; Harvard Business Review also called C2 Montréal “a conference like no other.” Let’s just say that rather than walking away with the typical slew of business cards (that you may or may not ever use) you’ll leave C2 with a handful of unforgettable experiences instead.

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