CONNECT22 Thursday

With what voice should we speak in today's culture?
What does it mean to say that you are in the business of Christian communication, content making, film, media, or the arts? And what impact do you hope it will have on the world?
At CONNECT22 you will join engaging and interactive conversation sessions in-person and online as we explore these questions and more through three particular lenses: truth, goodness and beauty.
We will explore the substance of truth and seek to determine what makes something 'good' or virtuous in light of the Christian story. We will also interrogate the various expressions of this through the lenses of beauty and hope.

Phil Cooke shares his experiences in Hollywood as a Christian in a highly secular industry. While most of his work is focused on helping the Church (with a capital “C”) share the Gospel more effectively through media, he’s also done his fair share of secular media work - including producing a couple of Super Bowl commercials. He’s a long time member of the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences, and The Producers Guild of America. He’s also written for the Producers Guild of America magazine. His latest book “Ideas on a Deadline” isn’t a Christian book at all, and it’s endorsed by some of the most influential creative people in advertising and in Hollywood. He’s even been a speaker at the Sundance Film Festival.

At just 25 years, Nicola McDermott is a champion high jumper for Australia. She won bronze in the 2018 Commonwealth Games and silver at the Tokyo Olympics. At 16 years she gave her life to Jesus which changed her life’s focus. Alongside her sport she runs Everlasting Crowns whose mission is: to encourage, empower and equip athletes to transform culture through the love of Christ.

Penny Mulvey, Chief Wellbeing and Communications Officer for the Bible Society Australia, and Chair of CMAA, will interview Nicola on the intersection of faith and career in a competitive world.

Will our special guest panellists rise to the challenge of holding generous disagreement, or will this session turn into an all-out cage fight? Most likely not (sorry to disappoint), but it will be an excellent opportunity to hear views from both ends of the breadth of opinion and learn how we can best model the practice of generous disagreement.

This final session looks at the “Sound of Hope” and brings all of the elements of our discussion together. How can truth, goodness and beauty - fuelled by imagination and undergirded by hope - reshape the world through the world of Christian communication, media and arts? This is the fundamental question we all seek to answer together.