Monika Bielskyte Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerMonika Bielskyte

Futurist in Residence – Nike, Founder – Protopia Futures | From SciFi to reality, prototyping science-informed, life-centric, embodied & joyful visions of tomorrow

Her work is firmly anchored in contextual, complex realities on the ground, rather than one-size-fits-all techno-solutionism, prone to short-term hype cycles and rapid obsolescence. With expertise in information technologies and immersive media (generative AI, spatial computation, VR/XR, UI, UX), Monika examines both the promises and perils of innovation as the... Read more

Biography

Her work is firmly anchored in contextual, complex realities on the ground, rather than one-size-fits-all techno-solutionism, prone to short-term hype cycles and rapid obsolescence. With expertise in information technologies and immersive media (generative AI, spatial computation, VR/XR, UI, UX), Monika examines both the promises and perils of innovation as the blurring boundaries between the digital and physical worlds become increasingly weaponized through strategies of hybrid warfare.

Monika is passionate about the value of inclusive embodiment considerations to innovation processes & “invisible” disability & neurodivergence inclusion in all future considerations: from tech, to policy, to built environment, in order to design a more compassionate world for most of humanity.

As a speculative designer, Monika prototypes culturally expansive, socially and environmentally engaged future world designs that take lessons from visually and narratively captivating Science Fiction entertainment and apply them to make real-world future literacy more compelling.

Her career in Hollywood includes futurist consultancy for Disney / Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Monika has done speaking and advisory work for BBC, DreamWorks, Google, Huawei, IDEO, L’Oreal, McKinsey, Mexico City, Meta, Microsoft, MTN, Nike, SKY, TATA, Technicolor, Telefonica, UAE, Unesco, Universal, Warner Media, World Economic Forum, among others.

Monika has given lectures at academic and scientific institutions including: CERN, Rockefeller University, Royal Society, Royal College of Art, Indian Institute of Technology, OCAD among others.

"Monika's energy, experience, vision, creativity, soul and impact made her week of meetings, speeches and panels across the BBC one of the highlights of my time driving innovation there. She challenged, guided, inspired, entertained and educated a huge range of people from different teams. We see the world differently as a result. Our storytelling and world building will have more magik as a result. An immense achievement." Masterclass Inc
"Monika Bielskyte is NOT a person. Monika Bielskyte is an extraordinary and inspirational force of nature. In the twin realms of technology and creativity, she is a swirling mass of information, innovation, insight and connections - one of the leading voices in future tech. If you want to dance along the bleeding edge of art and creativity, Monika is the jedi you're looking for." theAudience
"Monika Bielskyte has a rare capacity to cross correlate and unify design thinking across diverse media forms and platforms. Old "transmedia" paradigms have been faltering and falling away for a number of years now. The reason for this has to much to do with the disconnection of origin creative logic(and spirit) not carrying over from the first expression of a creative idea into related or supposedly connected expressions made separately. Monika is able to break that broken paradigm and consider the permutations of original concept into new forms while the first form is still being created. In this way, she is an early pioneer of "Deep Media" and is currently demonstrating how to take that progressive strategy for design into experiential forms and formats to come." LucasFilm
"Mx. Bielskyte is a VR visionary, a unique and important thinker and industry motivator. She possesses a special combination of skills: design sensibility, drive for excellence, and a rapidly expanding network that is a virtual "who's who" of the VR and AR industries." Playstation

Popular Talks by Monika Bielskyte

  • What Seems vs What is Futuristic

    Science Fiction Bias in Technological Development & Scientific Research

  • Embodied Futures

    Biology is the Real Future Frontier, not Rockets or Silicon

  • Future of (Dis)Information vs Knowledge

    Spatial Computing, Avatars, GenAI, XR

  • Artificial vs Human Intelligence

    Myths vs Reality & who has Agency in Shaping the Future

  • Protopia Futures

    Antidote to Politics of Fear

  • Edutainment

    Future of Entertainment + Education

  • Disability & Neurodivergence

    Innovation Engines