CDMN moves growing 5th annual Canada 3.0 digital media forum to Toronto for 2013

Canada 3.0 co-locates with GRAND 2013 and deploys SoapBox, a Ryerson DMZ-incubated crowdsourcing platform, to gather input into fifth annual event

Save the date: May 14-16, 2013 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre

TORONTO, July 4, 2012 /CNW/ - The Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN) today announced that its annual digital media forum, CDMN Canada 3.0, will be held next year in Toronto for the first time in the conference's five-year history. Having outgrown the Stratford, Ontario venue that's traditionally housed the conference, Canada's digital media forum will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, May 14-16, 2013. The MTCC, situated in the core of downtown Toronto, can accommodate the growing conference, support a variety of conference configurations, and is easily accessible by both land and air for both domestic and international attendees. A Toronto venue will enable closer ties with the GRAND 2013 conference which will further increase industry-university networking at Canada 3.0.

"Staging CDMN Canada 3.0 2013 in downtown Toronto will provide greater capacity for attendees and will put us at the heart of Canada's largest city where there is a concentration of 'digital natives' who want to join the conversation and influence the future of digital media in Canada," said Kevin Tuer, CDMN Managing Director.

The CDMN, which has been ramping up its online engagement with industry, government and academia from across Canada and the world through its websites and social media accounts, wants prospective attendees, speakers, partners and sponsors to play an active role in shaping CDMN Canada 3.0 2013. Today is the official launch of the Canada 3.0 2013 SoapBox, the deployment of a crowdsourcing application that links into the Canada30Forum Facebook Page and can be accessed at http://ideas.canada30.ca. Created by HitSend, a startup incubated at CDMN node Ryerson Digital Media Zone, the SoapBox platform allows users to offer, gather and share ideas, which can be voted on by other users using a simple click of a thumbs up or thumbs down icon. If the idea resonates within the group, it is then forwarded to the decision makers at CDMN who can implement user ideas. CDMN is then able to respond, pushing a message back out to the community that submitted the original thought.

"HitSend has already partnered with Indigo Books & Music, The Walrus Magazine, Vitaminwater Canada and Ryerson University to help these organizations listen to their communities and implement positive change," said Valerie Fox, Executive Director, Ryerson Digital Media Zone. "This inspiring team from the DMZ is an example of Canadian digital media innovation. It's very fitting that its SoapBox tool will now be gathering the voice of the country in regards to this year's Canada 3.0 event."

Brennan McEachran, Co-Founder of HitSend adds, "The attendees of the Canada 3.0 forum include some of the greatest minds in Canadian digital media and this year, our SoapBox platform will be used to propel their ideas into tangible action. We are very excited to see our tool as the frontrunner for Canadian innovation."

Have an idea that could help to make Canada 3.0 2013 the best year yet? Get on the Canada 3.0 SoapBox and share it!

CDMN Canada 3.0 began in 2009 as a forum to discuss the state of digital media in Canada and what opportunities exist. Since then, the forum has grown to bring together 2,000 and more industry, academia, government and other influencers to set concrete actions in place to influence government policy and stimulate adoption and growth of digital media across all sectors nationally. In years past, the event has attracted some 2,000 attendees and the location change to Toronto will only serve to broaden the potential audience for the conference.

"We're grateful to the City of Stratford for having served as host city for the forum for the past four years, and congratulate Stratford on being named one of the Top 7 Intelligent Cities in the world," said Tuer. "The city has been instrumental in the development of Canada 3.0 and there will be a continued CDMN presence in Stratford through future events and initiatives."

Organizers and attendees at CDMN Canada 3.0 2013 will work together to evolve the action plan for how Canada achieves the Moonshot goal set in 2010, "anyone can do anything online in Canada by 2017." Through a variety of session formats, participants will continue to explore and expand upon the five key issues and opportunities (connectivity, productivity, content, access to capital, and talent) that served as the focus of the 2012 conference, the Canada 3.0 National Tour, and were addressed in the CDMN Canada 3.0 2012 Report, which is available for download from the CDMN Canada 3.0 website.

"This is an exciting opportunity to exchange ideas and increase connections between faculty and students, who are actively engaged in digital media research across Canada, and their counterparts in government and industry," explained Dr. Kellogg Booth, Scientific Director, GRAND-NCE " We look forward to working closely with the CDMN to build on their past success in creating a national forum for digital media."

Registration details, sponsorship opportunities and program information will be announced at a later date. Watch www.canada30.ca, follow @can3_0 and @cdmn on Twitter, like the Canada30Forum page on Facebook and join the LinkedIn Canada30Forum Group for updates.

About CDMN Canada 3.0 2013

CDMN Canada 3.0 2013 is the nation's premier digital media forum, now in its fifth year. The conference is organized by the Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN), a national network of incubators and accelerators that work to ensure Canada's tech startups and entrepreneurs get connected to the resources, programs, funding and expertise they need to be successful. The CDMN focuses on advancing Canada's position in the global digital economy, encourages job creation and increases global competitiveness by linking Canada's leading digital media centres with industry, government and academia. For more information, visit http://www.cdmn.ca and http://www.canada30.ca

About GRAND

GRAND-NCE is a Network of Centres of Excellence that addresses complex issues in digital media and transforms multidisciplinary research into user-centred solutions. GRAND explores the use and application of digital media in a variety of settings including entertainment, healthcare, education, environmental sustainability and public policy. Through technology solutions, training the next generation of talent and encouraging a robust policy environment, GRAND-NCE plays a pivotal role in supporting Canada's National Digital Economy Strategy.

Media Contact

Jessica Mott, PR Specialist, CDMN Canada 3.0 2013, [email protected], [phone].

Grace Battiston, Director of Communications, GRAND-NCE, [email protected], [phone].