Keynotes & Moderation … because the room is part of the work
A keynote on resilience for a leadership programme. A panel on AI and the workplace at a sectoral conference. A morning of provocations to open a strategy retreat. A moderated dialogue between policymakers and civic actors at a public forum.
These are the kinds of moments where the way the future is framed, held and concluded determines whether the audience leaves changed or merely entertained.
- What if a keynote could open a question rather than close one?
- What if a panel could surface what the panellists really think — and what the audience came to find out?
At PANTOPICON, we speak and moderate at conferences, leadership programmes, cultural events, public forums and academic gatherings. And sometimes a talk on its own isn’t enough. Drawing on our design practice, we bring tangible artefacts, scenarios and immersive elements onto the stage — turning a keynote or panel into something the audience can step inside and react to, not just listen to.
WHO
A Pantopicon keynote or moderated session is intended for:
- Conferences and summits programming around future topics, trends, scenarios, visions, challenges and opportunities, as well as methodologies to explore and act upon them
- Leadership programmes and educational contexts
- Cultural institutions, festivals and academic gatherings
- Organisations hosting their own internal events, leadership retreats or strategic moments
- Public-sector convenings, intergovernmental gatherings and policy forums
WHAT
Our talks and moderation activities tend to fall in two key lanes:
1. Future-oriented topics — talks and moderated sessions on specific subjects we engage with through our practice: from emerging technologies and societal shifts, across climate change and shock resilience, to future value creation, infrastructures and more, grounded in knowledge, brought to life through imagination, enhancing strategic capacity. We design each session around the audience and the event, not from a standing slide deck.
2. Foresight and futures methodology — talks and moderated sessions on how to think about the future: what foresight actually is, how speculative design works as a tool for collective sensemaking, how organisations can build futures literacy, and how to make uncertainty productive rather than paralysing.
Sometimes the most useful contribution combines the two — a framing talk on a topic, a panel that develops it, and a closing reflection that distils what emerged.
HOW
Pricing: Upon request. Fees vary depending on format, audience, preparation and travel.
Tell us about your event, your audience, and what you’d like the room to leave with.