Speakers

Joanna led the global Curation team at Twitter, which was responsible for content intelligence and uplifting credible information on the platform. The team assisted product teams with the expertise needed to solve content and context problems across the platform. This was achieved through a variety of means from "human-in-the-loop" ML, semantic annotation and manual product intervention during major breaking news events. 

In Joanna's time leading the team, she transformed it from focused on one product (Moments), to serving and positively impacting almost every product surface on Twitter. She also created the team's standards unit, which developed best-in-class frameworks to monitor and maintain accuracy and transparency, launched high-profile misinformation partnerships and unique research-backed approaches to tackling misinformation.

Before the team was disbanded, Curation provided services to over 20 markets in 9 languages. The team was located in 9 countries across 11 time zones. Invested in developing a blueprint for effective, motivated and high-performing distributed teams, Joanna initiated a number of key talent development and team-building programs that were unique to Curation. As a result, the team consistently scored higher than other Product teams in internal surveys on morale and intent to stay. 

The team's focus for 2023 was on plans to increase the team's pace of delivering ML-assisted projects across the globe.

Prior to that,  Joanna was Social & Communities Editor at The Guardian, Digital Development Editor at The Guardian, Community Editor, The Times

Martinique has worked across television broadcasting for 20 years. Programming & strategising movies & series for Sky Movies, NBC Universal, Modern Times Group, AMC Networks, Africa Mediaworks and now Apple for nearly 4 years. Born in Birmingham and now a 25 year resident of London she is passionate about endeavouring to be an agent of change for diverse voices and faces we see on our screens in entertainment. 

Iyare is responsible for supporting the commissioning teams and independent suppliers to drive change, increase representation and ensure the BBC delivers against its strategic goals and public purpose with a particular focus on the BBC’s 20% diversity target and commitment to £100m of diverse programming . His specific remit covers scripted TV content and Radio and Music.

In 2014 he cofounded S.O.U.L an organisation that advocates for Black practitioners in British film and television and in 2019 led a consortium of Black film organisations in launching a new Black British film festival, S.O.U.L. Fest. In 2022 completed its fourth annual festival.

He will be talking about his varied career to date as well as his current role as Creative Diversity Partner at the BBC, and specifically the power of diversity as a driver for creative growth.

Helga Henry is a coach and consultant in the cultural sector with clients including Coventry City of Culture, the Royal Albert Hall, Jerwood Arts and the RSC. Helga has hosted Hello Culture since its inception in 2009, Hello Culture REMIX in Manchester in February 2019 and 2020 and Bristol in January 2020.  Since Hello Culture moved online in September 2020 she has hosted the keynote “In Conversation With” speakers such as Jonty Claypole, Le Gateau Chocolat, Kris Halpin and Cold War Steve. 

Her experience includes advising a range of national arts organisations and a secondment at St Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, NY.  Increasingly she offers executive coaching online to a number of professionals in the creative industries.   A key part of her work is the development of cultural leaders from diverse backgrounds, most recently in partnership with Lara Ratnaraja on the AD:Vantage programme for d/deaf, neurodivergent and disabled artists in Coventry (funded by Coventry City Council) and previously the ASTONish programme and the highly acclaimed RE:Present programme – Transforming the Diversity of Cultural Leadership (both funded by Birmingham City Council and Arts Council England).  

With her consultant colleague Dr Andrew Bass, she is the co-author of “NetworkAbility – Building your business one relationship at a time”, published in November 2016 and available on Amazon and Troubadour publishing.

Find out more about Helga's work on her website and sign up to her newsletter at this link.