by Hannah Withey, Marketing & Engagement Manager at Brighton Chamber

Brighton Summit brings together a wealth of experiences, sessions and ways to learn every year. The programme is curated to surprise you, inspire you, and give you new (and importantly, fun) ways to network and learn with each other.  

We split the day into keynotes, workshops, hours and speakers so there’s a diverse range of content and ways to connect.  

So, what’s the difference? And what can you expect from these different parts of the day?  

Here’s a one-minute run down of what each session is, what you can expect, and why should be getting excited already. 

Keynotes  

The big one. Everyone gathers in the main auditorium to hear from a keynote speaker. They’ll bring their stories of business, or their personal stories, and how they relate to our theme – this year, it’s Think Differently.  

We’ll open the day with Thom Elliot, co-founder of Pizza Pilgrims, sharing the ideas, decisions and lessons behind building a business by doing things differently. Our closing keynote is journalist, broadcaster and author Ash Sarkar, who will explore what happens when our increasingly personalised online worlds collide with real life. 

At other Summits we’ve heard from the likes of Simon Woolley, Floella Benjamin, Gina Miller, Kamal Ahmed and Sam Roddick. Prepare to be wowed, laugh, hear stories from different perspectives and maybe shed a tear or two.  

Workshops  

These are your chance to learn new skills from an expert. It might help your personal development, your professional development, get you thinking about new ways to tackle challenges in your business, or just thinking differently.  

This year, learn how to use AI more strategically, make better decisions in a world of too much information, explore the power of your human story or build more curiosity into the way you (and your team) work. 

Speakers  

Your afternoon speaker sessions are a chance to get a bit more up-close and personal with thought-provoking, interesting humans, all doing brilliant things in Brighton and beyond.  

At this year’s Summit, you’ll hear from Anil Qasemi on rebuilding his life and creating award-winning business Hatopia, Holos co-founder Naomi Partridge on balancing purpose and profit, Derrick Mason on mindset and self-belief, and Julia Cove-Smith and Sam Parfitt on what business can learn from the world of sport.  

Listen to an engaging talk hearing someone’s business journey, that you’ll want to dissect and discuss with people afterwards. 

Hours  

Hours are (you guessed it), an hour doing something different. The Summit is a full, jam-packed day, but it’s not static moving from chair to chair.  

Expect to get moving, learn a new skill, and have fun during our Hours. This year you could write a soap opera with an EastEnders writer, head out on a Brighton food tour, get creative with a ping pong ball, taste local wine, experience a sound bath or hear live music from The Gulls. 

Hours are wacky, surprising, unexpected, and a whole load of fun. You might even fit some networking in. 

Find the full schedule for Brighton Summit: Think Differently here.