Speaking & conferences

Inspire and involve your audience with a speaker who shifts the attention from the stage to the community and their lives. Create a truly collaborative space with a conference designed to empower.

Keynotes

Co.school’s approach to keynote talks and conference sessions is intended to draw out audience participation, through two key approaches.
 
It’s always story-driven. We strive to create an immersive and participatory experience for every attendee, activating participant contributions through live digital polls, unique play-based scenarios, and dynamic Q&A sessions. Authentic and humble storytelling helps bring a human touch.
 
It’s always about collaboration. Our talks are intentionally focused on themes of collaboration, co-creation, facilitation, and listening. We need to learn to work together, and we want to spark a conversation about how we get there. 

Conference design

Co.school applies process design to help shape the full conference experience itself. Creating multi-day collaborative workshop experiences, unconferences, and participant-powered retreats is a great way to draw out the intelligence of your collective. Get in touch to learn more about transforming your conference experience to be powered by participants. 

About Kevan Gilbert

Kevan’s highly participatory talks advocate for a more collaborative way, while modeling an inclusive approach. He has introduced audiences in France, Belgium, the UK, Canada and the United States to new ways of working together. Kevan has been a speaker for the Government of Canada and the Government of BC on themes of innovation, and spoken at conferences such as GovX UK, IAP2, CASE, and SXSW. 

Find Kevan on LinkedIn
Kevan Gilbert standing on a chair speaking to a large group of workshop participants
Kevan Gilbert speaking to a room of people attending a workshop
Workshop participants working together to construct an artifact

Kevan has presented at organizations such as:
SXSW Logo click to visit website
CASE logo click to visit website
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What event organizers say ...

“Kevan graciously presented the keynote address at a conference I was chairing for publication professionals for CASE. He inspired the audience to reexamine how they can create meaningful work with a creative vision that is inclusive and respectful. We left with a renewed drive to cultivate true collaboration and creative partnerships across our workspaces and personal lives. Kevan is a true gem, and it is always an honor to get a chance to have him on board.” 
Beth Elzer, CASE Conference organizer 
“As one of the organizers of the Vancouver UX Awards, I've engaged Kevan twice as an MC, sponsor, and facilitator of our annual Demo Day event. He's been absolutely fantastic to collaborate with! He's great in front of a full room (150+ people), always prepared, is comfortable with unscripted moments, and adds humour and seriousness in the right doses. Everyone loves the energy he brings to this event, and his point of view about raising the bar on collaboration and community.” 
Mallory O'Connor, Practice Lead, Culture and Transformation, Habanero Consulting Inc. 
“I received positive comments about Kevan's session long afterwards. He was able to lift the spirits of our customers late in the day, and helped them embrace our new approach to design—through story, education, and humour.

Kevan also really shone in all the collaboration work we did with him in the lead-up to the conference—he made it easy. His collaborative style made him a pleasure to work with and our developers and designers got to understand that he was there to support their goals.

Kevan is a design leader who has the talent to take an audience and employees on a journey to help them understand and appreciate the benefits of an investment in co-design.”
Patrick Lannigan, VP Marketing for Strategic Information Technology
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