Carbon was commissioned by Manchester’s FutureEverything festival to appoint Imran as Conference Director for the 2011 edition, bringing our knowledge of emerging technologies and adjacent cultures to one of the world’s leading idea festivals.
Carbon was tasked with programming and curating the conference element of the festival, developing narrative themes, recruiting speakers and panellists, evaluating submissions and acting as a spokesperson for the organisation. Imran’s role culminated in hosting and chairing the main strand of the conference in May 2011, before transitioning into chairing an advisory board for the 2012 edition.
Some of the more notable segments included Why Geeks Go Camping, Hacking Culture, Emotional Computing, DIYbio, a Free Culture Incubator, Global Urban Futures, Data Greater Manchester, the built architecture of data centres and a memorable closing talk from Bill Thompson.
Alongside directing the conference, Imran was asked to build partnerships in various industries and communities, develop sponsorship opportunities and conceive a FUTRx product, allowing other cities to participate in the festival remotely.
