Jonathan Alver - Director of the Apec CEO Summit 2021. Photo / Brett Phibbs
New Zealand is ready to produce its own version of The Greatest Show on Earth next week when it hosts the fully-virtual Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation CEO Summit that will stream to thousands of delegates in 21 countries.
Business executives from around the Asia-Pacific region dialling into the summit next Thursday and Friday will first come across an immersive and interactive, New Zealand-themed stage set up in the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre at Auckland's Aotea Centre.
From there they will be able to watch a series of high-powered keynote speeches, panel discussions and addresses from world leaders — as well as connect and chat with other delegates.
The speeches will be interspersed with inspirational business stories, on high-density video, from New Zealand and around the region.
It's all being conducted online through Microsoft Cloud, and the delegates will feel like they are there in person. The summit will be streamed live from 8am NZ time and 2pm Washington DC (EST) but will be repeated for all time zones — and it will also be available on demand.
On stage will be the live hosts TV3's Oriini Kaipara, Ngāi Tahu's Julian Wilcox, NewstalkZB's Jack Tame and Māia, one of Soul Machines' digital people. Māia will be involved in introducing keynote speakers, outlining upcoming sessions and providing feedback and questions from delegates through the chat function. It is showcasing the best of New Zealand technology. Since the summit is online, the organisers are expecting registrations right up to the last minute and they are planning for up to 10,000 delegates to tune in.
The summit production is the brainchild of event management specialist Jonathan Alver, executive director of the Apec CEO Summit, last held in New Zealand in 1999.
"We wanted to have something very special as well as ensuring that security was very good, and ended up working with Microsoft. They developed a custom-made platform that will provide an experience for participants in 21 countries," Alver said.
It takes digital diplomacy and interaction to a new level — and it's a first for Microsoft in terms of scale. The platform included marrying up Apec's event management system with Microsoft Teams, the video conferencing tool for online meetings. Microsoft had earlier delivered a digital platform for the big Consumer Electronics Show in January.
Alver said "I guess in a lot of ways the summit is staged like a television show — it's somewhere between a live festival and live broadcast but everything is online. The interaction will change the way we do business for a long time — for a country that is so removed from the rest of the world, we can be connected all the time."
After the delegates have registered and provided a photo and business biography, they can start networking by clicking onto the Connection Zone. There they can search by Apec economy and industry, book an appointment on the Microsoft Calendar and using the chat function meet and talk with the selected person.
Registration and networking began at the start of the month and will continue for a month after the summit. In between the sessions and speeches, delegates can step into the lounge and meet someone they weren't expecting, providing an opportunity to develop new contacts. It's a new form of networking.
"It's been a roller coaster ride but we are putting together a big virtual world event on a scale that no-one could imagine. We are showing New Zealand's enthusiasm for technology," said Alver.
He has directed Shortland Street, co-produced the West End musical Jailhouse Rock, created the opening ceremony in Christchurch for 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, shaped the 2017 visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, and put his creative touches to the New Zealand Country and Trade Pavilions at the Shanghai China International Import Expo.
But in some ways Alver has had to fly by the seat of his pants to create the CEO Summit for the 33rd Apec Leaders' Week. It's been a winding journey over two years.
"I was meant to observe the Apec Leaders Week in Santiago in November 2019 but that was cancelled a week out because of riots," he said. "We planned to host the summit in the new SkyCity International Convention Centre — but you know what happened there, a fire.
"I had one trip to the Apec Business Advisory Council in Sydney in January last year — they have four meetings a year — but Covid started doing its thing and I've never got on a plane since.
"Malaysia was the host last year and the meetings were quite disruptive. The summit turned into CEO dialogues through Zoom conversations. We were left with a decision — do we continue with the dialogues or re-establish the summit, though it would be hybrid. The decision to go virtual was made early and we wanted to film in a venue that had the look and feel of being live," Alver said.
Vanessa Sorenson, Microsoft NZ managing director, said throughout this year, New Zealand successfully reinvented digital diplomacy in this time of disruption. "We were very humbled to be part of this journey, and it's exciting to now see a truly transformational virtual CEO Summit coming to life."
Microsoft is one of the summit's premier partners (sponsors) along with PwC, Contact Energy, Fonterra and Westpac NZ.
The Advisory Group has organised a powerful line-up for the summit, chaired by former ASB chief executive and professional director, Barbara Chapman, who was appointed by the Prime Minister.
World leaders expected to give15-minute speeches include United States President Joe Biden, China President Xi Jinping, and Russia President Vladimir Putin.
Prime Ministers Lee Hsien Loong (Singapore), Justin Trudeau (Canada) and Scott Morrison (Australia) will be dialing in, and other invitations have been sent to Indonesia President Joko Widodo and South Korea President Moon Jae-in.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will kick off proceedings with the opening address about the state of the world during and post-Covid, covering topics such as economic recovery, trade and protectionism.
Among the keynote speakers are:
● Former New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark on the Covid-19 recovery. Clark co-chaired the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response which investigated the World Health Organisation's handling of the coronavirus outbreak. She briefed the United Nations on the panel's report in May.
● Canadian Amber MacArthur (aka Amber Mac), on The Business of Technology. An award-winning podcaster and president of AmberMac Media, she is recognised as a leader and expert in digital innovation including the future of work, commerce and emerging technologies.
● Lebanese-British barrister Amal Clooney, on digital equity. Clooney specialises in international law and human rights and has defended Nobel Prize laureates Maria Ressa (peace) and Nadia Murad (peace); WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in his fight against extradition; former Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Egyptian-Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy.
● Canadian environmental champion Dr David Suzuki, on sustainability and climate change. Formerly professor of the genetics department at British Columbia University, Suzuki hosted the long-running CBC Television programme, The Nature of Things, seen in more than 40 countries.
● Nineteen-year-old Jerome Foster, will talk about his journey from campaigning for the climate outside the White House for 58 weeks, to being appointed to President Joe Biden's Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
● American public relations trailblazer Richard Edelman, on the primacy of trust. He established the Edelman Trust Barometer that annually surveys trust in business, government, media and non-government organisations
● Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes, on sustainable business leadership. He turned around AirAsia into a successful publicly-listed budget airline, and is the majority shareholder of Queens Park Rangers football club in England.
● American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, on the next focus for business. Professor of ethical leadership at New York University Stern School of Business, he is considered one of the top 25 psychologists in the world, and will answer the question: Can business become a force for good in the future? Haidt wrote the book The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom.
The summit is focusing on five themes: The state of the world with and post Covid; the digital innovation and disruption opportunity; the primary of trust including environmental, social and governance (ESG); the future of energy and transition to clean technology, renewables and hydrogen; and the sustainability imperative including climate change and sustainable food and provenance.
Alver said there are so many amazing topics at the summit.
"It will start with the state of the world and discussion about where it goes next.
"Digital disruption and using technology and innovation for improving trade and the environment will be accelerated because of what has happened in the last year or so.
"For governments and business, trust is such a hot potato and without trust how do you get business done. What is a stakeholder looking for in a company in 30 years time — the ESG discussion is not just about the financial bottom line.
"The summit will consider what the youth think and what business will look like for the next generation, and how indigenous inclusion, both culture and sustainability, can be a game-changer for the Asia-Pacific Region.
"There is a massive conversation to be had — at one of the world's premier and most influential business and government events," Alver said.
Despite all the Covid challenges and permutations, New Zealand's organisation of the 2021 Apec CEO Summit will show that the country still has a large thumbprint on world affairs and collaboration.
Apec CEO Summit Advisory Group
Barbara Chapman, Chair, Fran O'Sullivan, Roger Partridge, Rachel Taulelei, Pania Tyson-Nathan, Mark Averill (PwC), Mike Fuge (Contact), Miles Hurrell (Fonterra), Vanesa Sorensen (Microsoft), Simon Power (Westpac) and Jonathan Alver, Executive Director (CEO Summit).
OPINION: Tensions are likely to become more evident next year.