Theme: About Time

Throughout our existence, time is of the essence. When feeling good, we have the time of our lives, while particular challenges give us a rough time. At times our part- and full-time jobs make us feel like we live on borrowed time. Perhaps time to call it a day? And after each timeout we start again, one step at a time, staying focused on that one idea for the time being. But we as a whole are in a race against time and time is running out for solving some of our most pressing challenges.

It’s about time we took action and conjured up timely ideas for solutions to those challenges in the nick of time. And while some ideas might be ahead of their time, the best ones will surely stand the test of time.

MuseumsQuartier Halle E+G
Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Wien
Vienna, Wien, 1050
Austria

Abdi Latif Dahir

Journalist

Abdi Latif Dahir is a journalist covering eastern Africa for Quartz, a New York-headquartered digital media outlet that’s a guide to the new global economy. Abdi was born in Kenya but grew up in Mogadishu during the formative years of his life. He will use the experience of living and studying in a war-torn city to take about how people cultivate resilience and create happy times.

Albert Frantz

Pianist

Albert Frantz began piano studies at the unusual age of 17. The winner of local, state and national piano competitions, Albert became a Fulbright Scholar, Bösendorfer Artist and Ironman triath- lete. As an inspirational speaker, he is among the most frequent contributors to the TEDx platform. A documentary about his life and work was released by dreama.tv in 2015. In October 2016, Albert was the cover story for Toastmaster Magazine in 142 countries. As a keynote speaker and activist, he has spoken worldwide in venues ranging from Vienna's City Hall to the United Nations in Geneva.

Alexander Leitner

Filmmaker

Alexander Leitner is currently studying Communication Science and Business Administration at the University of Vienna. He also is a hobby-filmmaker having 10 years of experience with creating stop-motion animated short films. With his movies, he and his team have won several awards and he also co-organized and hosted film festivals. Additionally, he has held workshops for children and teenagers to teach them how to make stop-motion movies.

Cameron Hepburn

Environmental Economist

Cameron Hepburn is Professor of Environmental Economics at the University of Oxford, and Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. He also serves as the Director of the Economics of Sustainability Programme, based at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School. Cameron has published widely on energy, resources and environmental challenges across disciplines including engineering, biology, philosophy, economics, public policy and law, drawing on degrees in law and engineering (Melbourne University) and masters and doctorate in economics (Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar). He has co-founded three successful businesses and provides advice on energy and environmental policy to government ministers (e.g. China, India, UK and Australia) and international institutions (e.g. OECD, UN).

Chase Masterson

Actress, Singer and Activist

Chase is an actress, singer, and activist. Known best for her role on Star Trek, she currently serves as the founder and CEO of Pop Culture Hero Coalition, working to end bullying, racism, misogyny, LGBTQI+bullying, cyberbullying, and other forms of injustice. The Coalition's work centers around innovative ways to teach empathy, toward creating systemic change - and it's definitely time to do that!

Elif Duygu

Poetry Slammer

Elif Duygu was born in Istanbul and grew up in Vienna. She started to participate in poetry slams in June 2018. Elif became immediately a part of the local poetry slam scene and had multiple performances not only in Vienna but all across Austria. All of Elif's poetry slam texts are in German. When she was asked if she wants to participate at this years TEDx event she knew that it was 'about time' to finally write something in English.

Franziska Marhold

Climate Activist

On behalf of the Fridays for Future movement, Franziska will be talking about how there should not be a Fridays for Future movement, since political leaders could have minimized the threat of the climate crisis 30 years ago. However, it is clear that we need this movement now more than ever. Right now, we still have hope that we can limit the fatal consequences of this crisis, but we need everyone. We need everyone to realize the gravity of this issue and act accordingly, by putting pressure on decisionmakers to take climate action now. Join us.

Gillian Coughlan

Neuroscientist

Gillian Coughlan completed a Bachelor’s in Psychology (Hons) (2009-2013) and a Masters in Clinical Psychology at Trinity College Dublin (2013-2014). She became fascinated with cognitive neuroscience during her studies of cognitive ageing at Trinity Institute of Neuroscience (2014-2016). Gillian then went on to work as a visiting researcher at the Psychology Department of the University of Cambridge (2016) until she started a PhD at Norwich Medical School in UEA (July 2016) under the supervision of Prof Michael Hornberger. She currently investigates spatial navigation as a novel diagnostic marker for preclinical Alzheimer’s disease.

Jak Wilmot

Content Creator

Jak Wilmot is an online content creator & co-founder of Atlanta-based studio, Disrupt. His experimental documentaries explore the relationship between human psychology and technology.

Janet Saad-Cook

Artist

The Artist combines ancient sun marking techniques with 21st century technology to create solar sculptures that reflect transformational images of sunlight, attuning viewers to the cosmos while revealing glimpses of the grand order of the universe. She draws upon the certainty of the sun's daily and seasonal return to create hope in our lives, focusing the connection of all humanity through the cycle of the sun.

Joe Hanson

Youtube Creator

Joe Hanson, Ph.D., is a science writer, biologist, video producer, and educator based in Austin, TX. His quest is to explore ways that digital storytelling can help people think more deeply about the universe they live in. He’s the creator and host of It’s Okay To Be Smart, an award-winning science education YouTube show from PBS Digital Studios that celebrates curiosity and the pleasure of finding things out.

Jürgen Berlakovich

Soundartist

Author, musician and soundartist. He uses sonified DNA-sequences and linguistic micro particles in combination with guitar, bass, and electronics for compositions and improvisations. Basically he's making music out of DNA. Performances and releases also under Juergen Berlakovich, J.S. Berlakovich, JSB und Takamovsky.

Kacey Wong

Art Citizen

Kacey Wong's experimental art project investigates the relationship between men, their social and political environment, and living space. He uses diverse methodologies including sculpture, installation, photography, performance, and social interventions. Kacey's permanent outdoor sculptures dedicated to Chinese revolutionist Yeung Ku-wan and in memory of the “Four Great Outlaws” are installed along Dr Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail in Hong Kong. He was the recipient of Best Artist Award in 2010, Rising Artist Award and Outstanding Arts Education Award given by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2003.

Katrin Schuhen

Ecological Chemist

Kathi Schuhen left the field of polymer chemistry after her PhD and several years of work in this industry only to re-enter it a short time later – with a radically changed perspective and a vision to clean our water from microplastics and other micropollutants. Since then, she has been on a mission to develop solutions that enable industry or wastewater treatment plants to eliminate micropollutants from the water before they enter our ecosystems and bodies.

Martin Kusch

Professor of Philosophy

Kusch's wide-ranging contributions to philosophy reflect both systematic and historical interests and cut across traditional disciplinary divides. He has published in the philosophy of the social sciences, epistemology, philosophy of language and mind, philosophy of the natural sciences, philosophy of technology, and the history of German and Austrian philosophy.

Matthias Scheutz

Professor of Computer Science

Matthias Scheutz is a professor of cognitive and computer science, and director of the Human-Robot Interaction Laboratory at Tufts University.

Meia Lua Inteira

Capoeira Group

Capoeira is a mix of dance, fight and acrobatics coming along with live music on traditional instruments. Its roots are going back to African slaves and their fight for freedom in Brasil in the 19th century. Capoeira still preserves a lot of traditional elements (movements, rhythms, songs, etc) coming from Afro-Brasilian culture, but continually develops further and includes nowadays elements of other martial arts and contemporary training methods (mobility training, animal moves, fascia training, etc). Meia Lua Inteira is a capoeira group that has its roots in Recife, Brasil and works for more than 25 years now in Vienna. Capoeira is for everyone and it's a lot of fun! If you want to understand a bit more what it is, watch our show and join us for our next training (www.capoeiravienna.at)!

Oded Rechavi

Radical Science Researcher

Prof. Oded Rechavi’s mission is to challenge fundamental long-held dogmas. He found an exception to the original “Cell Theory”, provided the first direct evidence that an acquired trait can be inherited (via small RNA molecules, not via DNA changes), discovered a mechanism that allows nematodes’ brains to control the behavior of their progeny, and demonstrated that parasites can be genetically engineered to deliver drugs to the nervous system.

Sarah Funke Butler

Archivist

Sarah Funke Butler has been working with archives and rare books for over two decades, specializing in 20th-century literature and feminism. An exhibition curator, private librarian, and author, she has created public exhibitions for remarkable private collections, catalogued archives held at major institutions, and handled thousands of unique literary artifacts.

Sarah E. Hill

Research Psychologist

Sarah Hill is a research psychologist who studies women, psychology, and health using the theoretical tools made available from the evolutionary sciences. She has published dozens of papers on topics like eating, sexual behavior, inflammation, and romantic relationships. Recently, she has turned her expertise to uncovering what we know and don’t know about the impact of the birth control pill on the brain.

Sheyna Gifford

Simulated Astronaut

Dr. Sheyna Gifford is a rehabilitation physician, aerospace researcher, journalist, STEM advocate, and NASA simulated astronaut. She was the health and safety officer and crew journalist for the longest US space simulation to date: 366 contiguous days in a Mars analog on Mauna Kea. She has four graduate degrees - business, biotechnology, journalism, and medicine - and hundreds of published articles. She's appeared on the History Channel's History Now Series, Vice, StarTalk, Beyond The Horizon, James Cameron's history of science fiction, and more. Her TEDx talk in how space needs everyone is the subject of her upcoming book.

Tim Schleiser

Beatboxer

Slizzer is a beatboxing Artist from Luxemburg living in Vienna. For over a decade now he has been innovating human noise and beatboxing techniques internationally and developed an unique style that made him travel the world. Everything you hear is created on spot with the human voice, giving the listener an insight into the possibilities of organic music.

Tim Slizzer

Slizzer is a beatboxing Artist from Luxemburg living in Vienna. For over a decade now he has been innovating human noise and beatboxing techniques internationally and developed an unique style that made him travel the world. Everything you hear is created on spot with the human voice, giving the listener an insight into the possibilities of organic music.

V.O.I.C.E Choir

Choir

V.O.I.C.E is Vienna's new and innovative plattform for Pop & Jazz choral music. It's goal is to revolutionize the traditional choir image and combine Pop and Jazz a-cappella arrangements with outstanding beatboxing. V.O.I.C.E creates a new fascinating sound and captivates the audience with the singers' energy and enthusiasm for vocal music.

Vera da Silva Sinha

Anthropologist

Vera da Silva Sinha has worked for many years as an anthropologist and linguist researching indigenous cultures in Brazil. She works closely with other researchers, including some who are native speakers of the languages. She will explain how time based on events in the natural and social environment governs life in three Amazonian communities. Time is not tracked by using clocks and calendars that divide time into months, hours and minutes. Instead, time is thought and talked about in terms of events and their completion. Vera will also show how in these cultures PAST and FUTURE are thought about and spoken about, using metaphors such as “the past is in my heart” and “the future is in front of my eyes”.

Wesley Larson

Wildlife Biologist

As a wildlife biologist, his focus has been on bear species and he has primarily worked with polar and black bears for the past 8 years. During that time Wes also has been able to assist on a number of other wildlife conservation efforts for species such as African wild dogs, American alligators, golden eagles, spotted eagle rays, northern elephant seals, American kestrels, etc. His work has taken him everywhere from the Arctic to Africa, and he believes that wildlife conservation is not only essential for the preservation of the world's animals, but also for the continuation of the human spirit.