Theme: Beyond Limits? Redefining what’s possible

Over the last century, we have pushed our limits and grown beyond our ancestors’ wildest dreams.

Our courage, intelligence and creativity are fueling rapid societal change, and breakthroughs in science and technology are redefining what is possible for humanity, on this earth and beyond.

At the same time we, as human beings, are seeking more simplicity and connection. We are striving for breakthroughs that enable us to understand and go beyond our internal barriers, to create more meaning, purpose and fulfilment.

We are learning that, when we understand the limits, we can transcend them.

But…where are the limits?

…who sets them?

…and where are we going next?

Octogone Pully
41 Avenue de Lavaux
Pully, Vaud (fr), 1009
Switzerland

Adriano Koch

Pianist

For Adriano Koch, the beauty of modern music lies in the marriage of styles and genres. By listening to artists from different cultures and backgrounds such as Tigran Hamasyan, Avishai Cohen, Erik Satie, Shai Maestro, Jon Hopkins and Bon Iver, he mixes his vocabulary with their colors. His inspirations draw on all styles: classical music, jazz, electronic or middle-eastern music. He creates art without barriers and without constraints; it is for this purpose that he mixes on stage the traditionally acoustic piano with electronic instruments. He comes out of musical shackles to open up to a wide audience and create a rich and visual performance. Adriano Koch uses tools such as prepared piano, analog synthesis or sampling to create new atmospheres and bring impetus to solo piano. He also extends his mode of expression by producing his own media (video, mixing, and mastering).

Alvaro Charlet

Cristina Riesen

Founder of We Are Play Lab

Cristina Riesen, Founder of We Are Play Lab, has made it her mission to tackle education and create a better future for our children through active learning environments. “Once you create a space allowing people to think differently, magic happens.” A social entrepreneur who is passionate about design, technology, education and high impact entrepreneurship, Cristina was formerly the General Manager for Evernote EMEA, she managed the launch of the Swiss EdTech Collider at EPFL and was part of the Strategic Development team at ETH Zurich. Cristina is a dreamer and a doer who believes in the power of collaboration across spatial, temporal and cultural boundaries.

Ilona Koglin

Journalist, media activist

Ilona Koglin is a journalist, media activist and project consultant for a better world. Together with her husband Marek Rohde she is in action for an eco-social change for more than 12 years. In spite of all the grievances, they are sure that ‘the chances of saving our world have never been better’, and have been experimenting with eco-social alternatives themselves in their professional and private lives for many years. They have written several books about their experiences, they blog under www.fuereinebesserewelt.info, founded the online academy https://jetztrettenwirdiewelt.de and organize the conference for a better world. They accompany eco-social projects and hold lectures as well as workshops. One of their most important concerns is that – despite all seriousness of the topic – the joy and the pleasure of life are ever present while changing the world.

Isabela Stoian

John Pellitteri

Psychologist and music therapist

John Pellitteri believes that emotions are a key to improving our society by promoting optimal human development. To support this vision, he co-founded the International Society for Emotional Intelligence to support research and intercultural collaborations that advance the field of emotional intelligence (EI) and to provide training that promotes the application of EI abilities in personal, professional and community contexts. John is a psychologist and music therapist with over 30 years of professional experience in clinical and educational settings. He has conducted research on EI, written two books on the topic and has made presentations in more than a dozen countries. As an associate professor at Queens College, City University of New York he trains graduate students in school and mental health counseling. John has practiced martial arts his whole life, has run the NYC marathon many times and enjoys music, nature, and poetry. www.emotionalintelligencesociety.org

Jonathan Drutel

Lynda Heffernan

Pauline Schopfer

Contemporary dancer

Pauline Schopfer is a young, professional classical and contemporary dancer from Lausanne, Switzerland. Trained at the Ecole Supérieure de Danse in Cannes, France, she has danced for the Igokat Dance Company, which was founded by former dancers of the Béjart Ballet Lausanne, Kathryn Bradney and Igor Piovano. She has participated at the Avignon Festival with Octavio de La Roza and traveled the world as a performing artiste with TUI Cruises. Always in pursuit of discovering new limits, Pauline continues to pursue her art, combining technology, body and dance.

Pauline Schopfer

Radmila Faizova

PhD

Radmila is a chemist currently completing her doctoral thesis at the Swiss Institute of Technology in Lausanne, EPFL. She is working towards better remediation technologies for toxic waste contamination prevention and clean up by improving our understanding of uranium chemistry. She hopes her current research, as well as the rest of her career, will have a positive impact on our global environment and public health. Through her passion for public outreach, she would like to share the latest scientific discoveries and inspire young people to pursue scientific careers.

Savvas Trichas

Professor, Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus Dr. Trichas holds a PhD in the field of Human Resources Marketing and Management. As a scholar, he has conducted a number of studies investigating psychology of communication, and he is considered as a world class expert on attention management, leadership, negotiations and body language. His research is published in top scientific journals such as the Leadership Quarterly. Dr. Trichas has collaborated with several prestigious universities and organisations such as Stanford University, the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus, and the FBI National Academy Associates Cyprus as a professional development consultant and visiting lecturer.

Thomas Crowther

Prof. Dr.

Thomas Crowther, professor of Global Ecosystem Ecology at ETH Zurich and founder of the Crowther Lab is different to most environmental scientists. While most labs in the world focus on one field of research, Crowther firmly believes that to understand the ecological processes that influence climate change, predict its progression with high accuracy, and develop nature-based solutions to address it, we need to take a holistic approach. Specialising in ecosystem ecology, Crowther is also the chief scientific advisor to the UN’s Trillion Tree Campaign.