FT Asks the Big Questions: On 16 November in London, the Financial Times will debut NextGen, described by the publisher as a one-day festival that “asks the big questions of today” around fashion, culture, business and tech. Some of the ideas they will consider include: Fashion and sustainability: can it work?; What is the future of content?; Career hacking: work and finance tips for millennials; Comedy, outrage, wokeness; Where next for feminism?; Politics in the age of protest. More information and tickets to the gathering may be found here.

See Jane Flee the NEST: The Japan Association of New Economy (JANE) embodies the idea of “kaikoku,” or opening of the country to the outside world, through their New Economy Summit (NEST) global conference. NEST represents this idea by inviting in a variety of innovative speakers from around the world to its stage. This year, NEST is entering a new phase. This year, NEST is entering a new phase. Instead of hosting one annual conference, the organization will hold a series of world-class mega-events in Tokyo and Osaka during the next several years. In 2019, for example, the NEST Summit will be held as two individual conferences. NEST TOKYO, the flagship event, concluded in June and NEST KANSAI will take place on 5 November. According to the organizers, “these two events will exploit the unique characteristics of the respective cities and bring together renowned speakers to paint a picture of what the future will be like beyond the “Third KAIKOKU” of Japan.”

Speaking Opportunity: The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) has just opened the call for presenters (CFP) for its 2020 World Conference (14 – 17 June; Chicago). They are interested in hearing from communications professionals with “insights, innovations and discoveries that can help the industry prepare for the future.” The 2020 theme is Shift: #Areyouready? This refers to the fact that communications professionals are often tasked with helping their organizations shift through the major changes that will affect them in the future. The World Conference will highlight the skills that those professionals need to do this effectively. If you’ve got expertise to share, fill out the form here before the 19 September deadline.

Lunchtime Learning: In April, the Milken Institute convened thousands of the leading minds in business, technology, government, media, philanthropy, health care, and entertainment in Beverly Hills for its 22nd Global Conference. The sessions included discussions on such diverse topics as The Chinese Economy in the Next 30 Years to How Drug Trafficking Is Fueling the Opioid Crisis to Artificial Intelligence Advances, and the Ethical Choices Ahead. For a well-rounded education into all the challenges and opportunities today’s leaders must understand, check out the videos here.

Coming Up Next Week: At eTail East (19-22 August; Boston) retail disruptors, startups, and veterans hear real-life examples from their peers, who hail from brands like LLBean, Wayfair, Walmart, and CVS Health. The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs is the place to be on 19 August if you are a CIO or other senior IT executive, with the CIO 100 Symposium running there through the 21st. In Scotland, the Edinburgh International TV Festival gets underway on the 21 August, celebrating 44 years of creativity, diversity, and inspiration in television. About 2,000 delegates from the global media industry attend this one. Also on the 21st, the Alliance of CEOs hosts a morning roundtable “Alliance Executives in Transition” in Mountain View. And lastly, the International Association for Cryptologic Research hosts its annual (and technical) Crypto conference in Santa Barbara.