Born into a family of renowned Japanese textile designers with a four-century tradition and trained under the expert eyes of his father and grandfather, Jin Tatsumura chose to weave in a totally different medium: film. After working for NHK and gaining recognition as an innovative director, he went independent. His first theatrical documentary film, Carol, is now a cult favorite in Japan. Since then, Jin has made numerous award-winning theatrical and television documentary features, including The Fantastic Journey of the Silk Road, The Starship and the Canoe, and the six-part (and counting) Gaia Symphony series. He has won the Galaxy Award—Japans most prestigious prize for documentary filmmaking and presented to the best television program in Japan—four times. His Gaia series profiles various wise individuals across the globe with extraordinary insights on the future of the living organism that is our planet. Below is a link to he gave at TEDx Tokyo.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
