Hosted By Pete Tong and Jaguar, Blond:Ish will be in conversation with Dr Gabrielle Walker to discuss the environment and sustainability.

International Music Summit (IMS), the leading voice for industry, culture and education in electronic music, today announce details of the second in a ten-part series for their newly launched discussion and debate initiative ‘The Big Questions’, in partnership with Pioneer DJ, Beatport, shesaid.so, and the Association for Electronic Music (AFEM).

Hosted by IMS Co-Founder and BBC Radio 1 Broadcaster Pete Tong and fellow BBC Radio 1 broadcaster, journalist, curator, DJ and tastemaker Jaguar, the online series will be live streamed via Beatport’s streaming channels across Twitch, Facebook and YouTube, presenting a series of powerful and timely conversations between industry visionaries, artists and thought leaders, co-curated by shesaid.so, a global independent community of women and gender minorities in the music industry.

With a key topic under the spotlight each month, The Big Questions series aims to highlight and examine the important value issues around the electronic music industry and inspire the community with intelligent conversation and debate. Each month two new influential thought leaders will be united in an intimate conversation on one of ten topics, followed by expert analysis from industry experts presented by AFEM, highlighting key learnings, action points and potential for best practice for the wider industry.

This month the focus is ‘Environment and Sustainability’, an urgent topic not just for the electronic music industry but for the whole world as we face a global emergency in climate change, one that goes beyond national borders and requires global coordinated solutions and action. Tackling this topic will be DJ, producer, promoter, record label head, Bye Bye Plastic founder and environmental activist BLOND:ISH, in conversation with climate change expert Dr Gabrielle Walker, who holds a PHD from Cambridge University and has been at the forefront of climate challenge research and strategy for decades. Providing further insight and analysis will be Claire O’Neill (A Greener Festival, Founder), Mitchell van Dooijeweerd (DGTL Festival/Revolution Foundation, Sustainability Manager) and Ornella Vallana, Communications Manager for La Feriain Santiago, Chile, which has announced that it is the first club in the world to operate on clean energy and is 100% solar powered. All in a conversation and moderated by DJ, Presenter and AFEM Diversity & Inclusion Working Group co-chair Kikelomo.

Climate change is undoubtedly the biggest threat that humanity faces, with scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stating that humans are “unequivocally” to blame, destroying entire ecosystems, diminishing life and causing irreversible damage to the Earth. It is clear that without a workable roadmap to sustainable living we will head towards irreversible environmental catastrophe. This episode aims to outline what steps the electronic music industry can and must take to ensure that our touring, performing, creation and enjoyment of the music we love is done with minimal impact to the world around us, protecting it for future generations and halting any further severe damage to the fragile ecosystem we all share.

During this 10-part series, the global electronic music community is invited to nominate which speakers they wish to hear discuss these vital topics. Suggestions can be made via IMS social media platforms and the IMS website, with feedback used to help shape the curatorial approach of the series. A balanced and diverse line-up of speakers will then be selected to reflect upon and analyse the most important issues and challenges presented in a post COVID world, providing a framework for future change.

The Big Questions is free to view and accessible to all online via Beatport’s Twitch, Facebook and YouTube pages and on the IMS Facebook and YouTube, running monthly until April 2022. Visit the IMS website to watch the first episode, ‘Co-Existing with Covid’, featuring music pioneer, producer, label owner and ‘King of Ibiza’ Carl Cox in conversation with DJ, producer, label owner and promoter Yousef.

Watch on Facebook HERE
Watch on Twitch HERE
Watch on Youtube HERE