We are proud to announce this year’s hosts – Emma Estborn and David de Léon!
– We’re both experienced workshop facilitators and fans of re-thinking how to do things, says Emma Estborn.
We have found these stars within the organization. Business Manager Emma Estborn and UX Director David de Léon. Both have special skills for this mission. Emma has organized the Conference in Malmö for many years and – is a natural on stage, as well as David. He has done many things in front of an audience, giving key notes, being a host and he also performs as a user experience illusionist!
What part of the conference do you look forward to the most?
David:
– I am genuinely thrilled about this year's theme and the line-up of speakers. I’m hoping to be moved and to have my ideas challenged.
Emma:
– Also, I look forward to connecting to the ideas and people attending and presenting.
What are your roles as hosts? How will you approach this year’s theme of engagement?
Emma:
– We want to make this event special and engaging for everyone attending, including all of our speakers. Too many conferences are like going to the movies: you sit next to someone that you don’t interact with, there are lots of ads, and then, when the movie finally starts, is just like the last one you saw. That is not experience we are aiming for. This one will be more engaged and engaging, for everyone.
David:
– In previous years we have had a journalist and a comedian host the event. One thing that is different this year is that the two of us are both deeply involved and engaged in the craft and business of service design and user experience. We hope to apply our experience in ways that help our fellow attendees get the most out of the talks.
How would you describe your hosting style? What will your collaboration look like?
David:
– We don’t know yet. That is something that we are trying to work out at this very moment. One thing that we are currently discussing is what benefits having two hosts bring, and how to quickly and clearly communicate our different roles and perspectives. In other words, we are in the middle of a design process, seeing how we might contribute to experience as a whole.
Emma:
– With that said, we’re both experienced workshop facilitators and fans of re-thinking how to do things. So I guess you can already see us more as engaged curators of your conference experience than your ordinary conference stage hosts.