Asialink

Megan Elliott


Megan Elliott
    


Director

 X|Media|Lab
  1. How did you come to be living and working in Beijing?
    After starting at the Sydney Opera House in 2003 we now hold X|Media|Lab in 11 different countries and 15 different cities around the world. We never started out thinking about living in China, but we were certainly adamant about the necessity of Australia’s engagement with Asia. We moved to Singapore in 2006 and over time found ourselves spending most of our time in Shanghai, opening an office there in 2008.

    Last year we were invited to meet the Head of Animation Industries, Ministry of Culture, People’s Republic of China whom had heard about our events in Shanghai and Suzhou and she advised us to move X|Media|Lab to Beijing – we weren’t going to argue with such sage advice!
     
  2. What are some of your daily work activities?
    It depends on where I am in the world.  I “live” in Beijing in that that is where our office is based and that is where I return to – but truly we are digital nomads.

    In Beijing we constantly meet people, share our international perspective and how this is mutually beneficial to the development of China.  We meet government officials, university professors, digital media entrepreneurs, animators, game designers, broadcasters – people engaged in the creative industries. 

    We do this everywhere – we are always researching and exploring how we and our network can add value to China, to Malaysia, to Sweden, to Australia – wherever we are engaged with holding X|Media|Lab.

    The rest of the time we are online, working our way through our never ending to-do lists, or actually producing the events.

    Whenever we hold a X|Media|Lab – we are not just staging an event for entrepreneurs, but also showcasing the city and culture itself – so that the International Mentors, project teams, delegates, leave with a sense of having actually experienced the place they were in.  This means I am also constantly exploring fantastic places to eat, iconic venues, experiences that you can’t get elsewhere… immersing myself in the city’s culture.
       
  3. In your role, what are the highlights of working with different cultures?
    Through listening and learning from other cultures one realizes the deficiencies and differences of one’s own culture, hence one learns to be rid of unnecessarily superior attitudes.  I am continually amazed at the propaganda of the Western Media and how anti-Asia, anti-Islam, anti-China it is.

    The great privilege of being involved with X|Media|Lab is learning from different cultures.  We are actively engaged in the shifts taking place across media, technology, cultures and economies.  I’m interested in the intersection of these things – what kinds of stories, games, platforms, media experiences can we create together in this new multi-polar world?  How can we learn from each other?  What can X|Media|Lab do to help bring these new media experiences into being?

  4. How do you manage the cultural differences?
    We accept cultural differences and feel no need to manage them!

  5. What do you enjoy most about living in Beijing?
    Beijing is one of the world’s greatest cities.  Whether you seek power or art or cuisine or culture; Beijing is the centre of the 21st century.  We are privileged to be working here.  And we welcome like-minded friends.
     
  6. How can Australia make a stronger contribution towards building positive relations with the Asian region?
    Instead of just shipping minerals to Asia, Australia needs to engage in a partnership with Asia across the broad canvas of the creative industries.  Whether it’s joint R&D initiatives in greentech, bio tech, or medicine, animation co-productions, angel investment or incorporating more Asian content onto Australian screens or in Australian cultural festivals – this broader engagement will lead to a much deeper connection between cultures.  But this needs to be done in a shared way – one which is genuinely based on co-operation and mutual benefit.