The most fun you’ve ever had that you can’t spell!

7pm, Thursday 16 April

The event

Enjoy the very best of meeting and conference fails from the comfort of your own sofa in this communication, conference and collaboration mash-up.

We hope to raise a smile and a few quid for the Trussell Trust, to help disadvantaged families at this challenging time.

How it works: Our volunteer presenters have carefully prepared some slides to show you. But - plot twist! - each participant will be given someone else’s deck to present, sight unseen.

They’ll have 45 seconds to inform and/or entertain you per slide. 

Donate £3 to receive a link to the live stream. Or dig deep and donate more - the ten largest donations will receive a link for the premium unmuted 'front row' seats where laughter and heckles are encouraged and - it seems - inevitable.

The speakers

Ali Maynard

Ali Maynard James is Managing Partner of Manifest, the global small creative brand and communications agency. At Manifest, Ali is the longest standing member of the team, and is in charge of the UK offices in London and Manchester as well as building Manifest’s global network. She helped grow the team from three to 30 staff in London and helped establish international offices in New York and Stockholm, as well as build Manifest’s network of international partner agencies, known as The Cartel.

A former PR Week 30 under 30, and a member of The Drum's BD100, the list of best business development professionals at agencies in the UK, Ali can usually be found at an award ceremony somewhere, where Manifest is routinely short-listed for their work. 

Ali has been instrumental in launching services that genuinely help make the world a better place, too. Since in the advent of Coronavirus, she's helped launch Lend A Hand, an online tool that connects those in need with a local volunteer, and vice versa, amid the self-isolation COVID-19 disruption. 

Ali says things on Twitter here, and wants everyone to know she didn't write this bio about herself.

James Whatley

James Whatley is strategy partner at Digitas UK where he works at the nexus of brand, content, and customer experience.

 He mentors up-and-coming talent from diverse backgrounds and is an official Momma Mentor for SheSays.

James also co-founded Diversity & Inclusion at Conferences and Events (DICE) which provides certification and guidance to help conferences and events deliver a representative and diverse set of speakers, perspectives, and attendees. He did this because he thinks white male panels should be a thing of the past.

 You can hear more from him on Twitter where he tweets as @Whatleydude and via his weekly email, the Five Things on Friday newsletter.

Lucy Freeman

Lucy is a comedy writer and performer. She co-hosts the DumTeeDum podcast, writes for bits of the BBC and trains people in public speaking.

Follow Lucy on Twitter @lucyvfreeman

Paul Clarke

Paul's a full time photographer, working everywhere from palaces to prisons and used to be one of the busiest photographers in the UK in the Before Times. Mostly specialising in live event coverage and portraiture, he's also had commissions as unusual as the press photos for Prince George's new high chair, and documenting the world record for the most Peter Pans in one place. He's worked extensively in the technology & startup world, but you're most likely to have seen his work in the news when the Johnson/Arcuri story broke last year.

You can see Paul’s work at paulclarke.com

Savannah Peterson

Savannah Peterson is a Forbes 30 Under 30 in Consumer Tech Alum and the Founder of Savvy Millennial, an all-remote team. At Savvy Millennial, Savannah makes the future less scary by building community around new technology and ideas. Savannah was previously the Director of Global Community at Shapeways, the world's largest 3D Printing platform, where she empowered makers ranging from Bronies to drone enthusiasts. Savannah guest teaches at Stanford, NYU, and UCLA. She has been featured in/on the Today Show, NBC Nightly News, the BBC, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, The New Zealand Herald, CNET, The Verge, and more. She lives her life on the hype curve, and when not on an airplane, loves to enjoy the great outdoors and fine wine with her dog Martini. 

Theo Priestley

Theo Priestley is a globally recognised and sought after futurist and international speaker, an author, and authority on the future of business, technology and society.

He’s appeared on your telly and at conferences around the globe, and writes about emerging technology trends for a string of publications, including Forbes, the European, WIRED, and Huffington Post.

He is widely known and sought after for his forthright views on the negative impacts of technology on society, and currently works with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change to research technology's wider impact on society and public policy with a view to informing political leaders of the risks and benefits of adoption.

He hosts the We Didn't Start the Fire podcast, examining the intersection of technology, business and society. His book, 'The Future Starts Now', co-authored with Bronwyn Williams will be available early 2021 from Bloomsbury. 

The charity

The Trussell Trust support a nationwide network of food banks and together  provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK.

In the UK, more than 14 million people are living in poverty – including 4.5 million children. TT support more than 1,200 food bank centres in the UK to provide a minimum of three days’ nutritionally-balanced emergency food to people who have been referred in crisis, as well as support to help people resolve the crises they face. Between April 2018 and March 2019, food banks in their network provided a record 1.6 million food supplies to people in crisis, a 19% increase on the previous year.

We know it takes more than food to end hunger. That’s why we bring together the experiences of food banks in our network to challenge the structural economic issues that lock people in poverty, and campaign to end the need for food banks in the UK.