Putting the right pieces together for a great conference.
The other night I was at a dinner party with a diverse group of people from 4 or 5 different countries. Everyone was straight with the exception of my partner and I but that had nothing to do with the evening or the chemistry of the group. The hosts are good friends and they always have a wonderful mix of openhearted and open-minded new and existing friends at their gatherings.
When dinner was served, which by the way was uncomplicated in appearance but amazing in taste, we somehow got on the topic of ‘what I do for a living and my project’. I have marketed products, services and events since the time I was a very young and I have made a very full career out of developing and marketing new ideas.
As I shared the goals and objectives for The Lesbian Conference, which I have done a lot in the recent months, I received a few of ‘those questions’ from the non-gay acquaintances. People actually wonder why lesbians would want a conference programmed just for them. This audience did try to understand the dynamics of this type of gathering but it’s not crystal clear to everyone. I presume that others often feel they have access to every type of event, gathering, conference or they need to ‘feed their minds and spirits’ and don’t give much thought to what may not be available to others.
Then, as the conversation progressed and more wine was served, I was asked the golden question; ‘What will the presenters speak about?’. This is tricky as The Lesbian Conference has made contact with many potential speakers and they will speak about everything really. Well everything does not seem like a topic that will inspire and motivate groups of people. So I drilled into the types of topics that will be discussed without saying there will NOT be dozens of speakers talking about the struggle and pains of coming out or living as a gay women. There will be women sharing their unique life, love, cause, travel and career stories. Some of the speakers will be well-known, published ‘personalities’, others will not but they still have an amazing story to share. We want all types of stories from people everywhere to be presented at our conference.
In my top 10 TED Talks is ‘Candy Chang: Before I die I want to…’. It’s less than 7 minutes but it will stay with me forever. I’m not sure that Candy was well-known before she created this movement, but she has now touched many lives around the world from one rather simple idea. And she has made strangers think about what they want to do before they die. Likely, many people will now really focus on accomplishing that thing they want to do before they leave earth. As of today, she has received over 2.6 million views of her TED Talk!
So to answer ‘the question’ in more detail, topics will include dating, relationships, better health and living, cool technologies for lesbians, entertainment such as web series and new lesbian movies, lesbians who have faced unique challenges and much more. People will not be promoting a book or an event, but they will share how they got to where they are, who helped along the way, what they learned and where they failed, how to be more effective at certain activities of interest to lesbians and so much more. And they will share their story with those attending The Lesbian Conference to get people thinking, acting, sharing and inspired.
We’re looking forward to announcing more details very soon along with some amazing speakers with fantastic stories that we all will benefit from hearing – – even if some of the presentations are only seven minutes long!
Have a great day and thanks for your interest. Best,
Sandra Sick
The Lesbian Conference Executive Director & CEO
sandra@thelesbianconference.com
Twitter @TheLesbianConf
The Lesbian Conference 