Our theme for the sixth edition of the C2 Montréal international business conference is Ecosystems. Throughout this new leg in our journey at the confluence of commerce and creativity, we will contemplate the complex networks and interconnected systems we are part of, and embark on an in-depth exploration of the trends and transformations that are having a growing impact on business and on our hyperconnected world. In particular, we will be diving into five intertwined networks of content: Talent, Marketing, Entertainment, Cities and Moonshots.

Here are a few ideas and reading (and watching) suggestions to get the conversation started about Moonshots.

Where will the next moonshot come from? What are the next leaps for mankind?

After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, President Kennedy announced that the U.S. was going to go to the Moon and back in under a decade. He had no idea how at the time, but that didn’t matter. This “moonshot” created and mobilized entire ecosystems – industries, institutions, academia, government and private individuals all wanted to be a part of it, and the colossal efforts it took to realize this seemingly unattainable idea resulted in a plethora of technology advances that we still benefit from today. Today, projects like Hyperloop, colonizing Mars, solar-powered Internet drones and mitigating climate change are opening new competitive industries. What will be the next idea to mobilize entire ecosystems? What great social and economic advances will they bring to humanity?

At C2 Montréal 2017, we will seek to find out what kinds of big problems, radical solutions and breakthrough technologies qualify as moonshots, and how they will emerge. We’ll examine the kinds of companies that foster the type of talent that can come up with these ideas, the environments where ideas like these are dreamed up and worked on, and the leaders who help create a playground of forward looking “moonshotters.”

The four ambitious things Bill Gates thinks the U.S. should tackle in the next decade: Accelerating innovation with leadership – Gates Notes
Private efforts towards colonizing Mars: Elon Musk’s Mars colonization plans: what we know so far – The Verge
Public efforts towards colonizing Mars: Barack Obama revives call to put humans on Mars by the 2030s – The Guardian
Addressing climate change: Watch Before the Flood, a new National Geographic documentary starring Leonardo Di Caprio
Good round-up of technology trends: People first: The primacy of people in a digital age – Accenture
How one businessman spearheaded the private spaceflight industry:
How to Make a Spaceship, by Julian Guthrie, Penguin House

Why transformative innovation requires a shake-up of our value chains: The problem with legacy ecosystems – Harvard Business Review
On the importance of basic research: The future postponed: Why declining investment in basic research threatens a U.S. innovation deficit – MIT
The exquisitely complete companion book to Mars, a National Geographic Channel series: Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet
An enlightening literature review about the current Mars initiatives: Project Exodus: What’s behind the dream of colonizing Mars – The New Yorker
A podcast on the potential of computational biology: Move fast but don’t break things (when it comes to computational biology)
On funding breakthrough technology: At a time of plenty, some technologies are shut out – MIT Technology Review
On open innovation: All our patent are belong to you (sic) – by Elon Musk, Tesla

From the Minutes

Here are a few insights from previous C2 speakers on aiming far and beyond:

The nature of reversing climate change – David Suzuki, Broadcaster, Author and Co-Founder of the David Suzuki Foundation & Stephen Bronfman, Philanthropist and Executive Chairman, Claridge, Inc.
Competition can change the world – Jordan Brown, Senior Director of Visioneering at XPRIZE Foundation
Using adventure, and the force of nature, to change the world – Bertrand Piccard, Initiator, Chairman and Pilot, Solar Impulse
The next 3 billion: the biggest opportunity for change we’ve ever seen – Rangu Salgame, CEO of Tata Communications Growth Ventures and Service Provider Group

These reflections will evolve in the next weeks and months. As we share them with you today, they are destined to take on a life of their own. What have we missed? How would you like this conversation to unfold? Who absolutely needs to be a part of it?

Let us know on Twitter and Facebook. We are just getting started.