Theme: 'Evolve'

Themed “Evolve,” as we explore the transformative power of innovation and reinvention. Inspired by Joseph Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction, this event celebrates how individuals, industries, and societies adapt and thrive in a changing world.

Discover visionary ideas and stories that highlight the interplay of technology, sustainability, culture, and creativity. Together, we'll uncover the sparks of innovation driving progress and shaping the future.

Fotografiska Berlin
Oranienburger Str. 54
Berlin, Berlin, 101117
Germany

Aimée Goos

Aimee Goos, 17, is completing her Abitur in Berlin after growing up in Munich and Amsterdam. Moving to Berlin sparked her passion for medicine and space exploration. She has represented German youth at the excitingEDU conference, discussed the future of AI in education, and participated in the POCACITO podcast, raising awareness of climate change’s impact on the Global South. Aimee has participated in BERMUN I, BERMUN II, and BOLMUN, expanding her knowledge of diplomacy and passion for solving global issues. She was a BioOlympiade finalist, and to gain hands-on experience she completed an internship at the Deutsche Luft- und Raumfahrt, as well as joining ProTechnikale and TUMO, learning Python and exploring STEM fields. As a class representative and student council member, she advocates for her peers. Fluent in German and English, Aimee is learning Latin and Spanish, driven by curiosity for both human and cosmic systems.

Arikia Millikan

Arikia Millikan is a journalist, technologist, and founder of CTRL+X, a blockchain-based publishing system designed to empower authors to preserve, distribute, and monetize their digital assets. Her career spans information architecture, editorial strategy and tech journalism; she was an editor at WIRED, where she managed Haiti Rewired, a platform documenting earthquake recovery efforts that served thousands of citizen journalists before being lost to platform failure. This experience sparked her mission to build resilient digital infrastructure using blockchain technology. Millikan has spoken at conferences including DEFCON and re:publica about digital memory preservation and the future of decentralized media. She studied engineering and psychology before transitioning to journalism, giving her a unique perspective on both the technical and editorial challenges facing modern publishing.

Christopher O.H. Williams

Christopher O.H. Williams is an international keynote speaker, board director, and author who advises leaders and organizations on courageous growth and transformation. A former Fortune 500 executive at adidas, Nike, VF Corporation, and Gap, he is also the first President of African Leadership University and founder of the consulting firm Custament Partners. In his upcoming book, C.O.U.R.A.G.E.: 7 Choices for Living a Life Without Regret (Fall 2025), Christopher offers a bold roadmap for living more authentically. A U.S. citizen based in Europe, Christopher holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from Morehouse College. For more about Christopher and his work, visit https://www.christopherowilliams.com/

Dave Troy

Dave Troy is an investigative journalist covering the intersection of technology and democracy. With a background as both a tech entrepreneur and historian, he brings a unique perspective to analysis of geopolitics, information warfare, and other current events. He is the publisher and editor of America 2.0, and also writes a monthly column, The Wide Angle for The Washington Spectator. He is the host of the podcast Dave Troy Presents.

Dimitris Dimitriadis

Dimitris Dimitriadis is a futurist, keynote speaker, and author of 2049: A Hopeful Perspective on the Futures of Humanity. As the founder of TheFutureCats, a future-first consultancy, he advises institutions like the European Commission and leading brands on foresight and exponential technologies. Blending strategy with imagination, he empowers people to reframe uncertainty not as a problem, but as a tool for transformation. Diagnosed with Asperger’s and ADHD, he brings a unique, lived perspective on the power of thinking differently.

Felix Oldenburg

Felix Oldenburg has transformed social entrepreneurship and philanthropy in Germany as the former CEO of Ashoka and the Association of German Foundations. Growing up on a small island and studying philosophy, he gained insight into real-world injustices through social startups, impact investors, and major donors. With his startup bcause, he aims to unlock private wealth to fund solutions before societal problems become too costly. He speaks and writes about a vision of everyone being a philanthropist.

Frauke Zeller

Frauke is Chair and Professor in Design Informatics at Edinburgh College of Art, at The University of Edinburgh, and Co-Director of the Institute for Design Informatics. With expertise in human-computer interaction, human-robot interaction, AI, ethics, and digital methods, she brings a wealth of knowledge to the stage. Before moving to Scotland, she was an Associate Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, The Creative School, in Canada, where she held multiple research-related positions, including director of the Centre for Communicating Knowledge and director of The Creative School Audience Lab. Frauke has been involved in numerous international research projects and has received research grants in Canada, Germany, and across the EU. She is also the co-creator of hitchBOT, Canada’s first hitchhiking robot , a project that captured worldwide attention and sparked conversations about robotics, AI, and human-technology interaction.

Garnet Dupuis

Garnet Dupuis is a Canadian innovator and creator of neuroVIZR, a light and sound technology designed to support brain wellness and enhance creativity. Garnet brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to the field of consciousness exploration, neurological science, neuroplasticity, and brain signal variability. Driven by insatiable curiosity and a profound respect for both science and nature, Garnet’s work bridges ancient wisdom and modern technology. As a visionary thinker and wellness pioneer, Garnet continues to challenge conventional boundaries, inspiring others to explore new ways of understanding and optimizing the human brain.

Helin Turhan

Lori Baldwin

Lori Baldwin is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist, creative director and strategist with over a decade of experience leading creative projects. She designs immersive experiences that challenge perceptions, provoke critical thinking, and invite meaningful audience engagement. She is the co-founder of Atmosphere Creative Agency, bringing live art and aesthetic experiences into new, unexpected contexts. Lori holds an MA in International Performance Research from the University of Warwick and University of Amsterdam, and a BA in International Studies and Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Luna Fast

Luna Fast and Helin Turhan are both seniors at the Berlin Cosmopolitan School. Growing up in an international environment, they developed a multicultural perspective that sparked their interest in cultural, social, and political issues. Their passion for politics led them to participate in Model United Nations (MUN), where they honed their public speaking skills and deepened their understanding of international relations. After graduation, Helin plans to study business at Hult International Business School in London, while Luna will begin a voluntary social year (FSJ), volunteering at food banks in New York City and supporting a community center on the coast of Ecuador.

Meri Bertram

Meri Bertram, 17, is a final-year international school student in Berlin, currently completing her Abitur. Raised in a trilingual Finnish-German household, she has developed a deep interest in languages, cultures, and environmental issues. At school, she is actively involved as a class representative on the student council and takes part in a wide range of extracurricular activities. She also engages in educational trips, internships, and social initiatives that broaden her perspective beyond academics. After graduation, she plans to take a gap year to travel, volunteer, and gain hands-on experience before beginning her university studies. While still exploring potential fields of study, she is driven by curiosity, a love of learning, and ambitious goals.

Moves Johnson

Moves Johnson, a Canadian-born songwriter, singer, performer, composer, and visual artist, has been making waves in both the music and digital art scenes since 2003. With a career spanning over two decades, he has released 16 Studio albums with various bands in Canada before making Berlin his home in 2017, where his creative journey took a new direction. In Berlin, Moves continues to push the boundaries of his artistry. He has released music in genres from rock to funk to folk to hip-hop. His 2024 full-length album, The Life and Times of Douglas Robinson, features orchestral arrangements set to interviews with his grandfather - a World War 2 survivor - and explores the everyday struggles that victims of war must endure.

Olaf Grawert

Olaf Grawert plans, writes, and speaks about architecture—not just as a profession, but as a cultural-economic and political force. As founding partner of b+ (bplus.xyz) and co-initiator of HouseEurope! (houseeurope.eu), he addresses the big questions of how we adapt buildings and the systems behind them. From campaigns to classrooms, buildings to books, his projects push the boundaries between theory and practice, redefining architecture as more than simply building.

Rochelle Walensky

Dr. Rochelle Walensky served as the 19th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Walensky is an infectious disease clinician whose research and over 350 publications are focused on infectious diseases and HIV/AIDS policy, including cost-effective strategies for HIV screening, treatment, and prevention, in the U.S. and around the globe. While at the CDC, Dr. Walensky led the nation - and the world - through unprecedented times, navigating the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple other infectious and non-infectious threats. Dr. Walensky received her BA from Washington University, St. Louis; her MD from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and her MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and her Infectious Disease fellowship at the Massachusetts General/Brigham and Women’s Hospital program.

Sera Kalo

Sera Kalo is a Berlin-based vocalist, songwriter, and producer known for her genre-fluid sound rooted in jazz, soul, and experimental expression. A recipient of the Female Producer Prize from Sony Music and Music Women Germany and a nominee for the 2025 German Jazz Prize in the Vocal category, her work explores emotion, nuance, and transformation through sound. With her projects eXante and eX.II, she crafts immersive musical moments that are both intimate and expansive — a deep dive into feeling, form, and fearless presence.

Tanya Selvaratnam

Tanya Selvaratnam is a Multimedia Storyteller and Advocate. As a filmmaker, she has received multiple Emmy nominations and Webby awards; and her projects have played on HBO, IFC, PBS, and the New Yorker, and at the Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca, and SXSW festivals. She is the author of Assume Nothing about intimate violence and The Big Lie about fertility awareness; her essays have been published in the New York Times, Vogue, ELLE, Cosmo, Glamour, Daily Beast, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. She is an Advisor to the Open Future Lab, Pop Culture Collaborative, Economic Hardship Reporting Project, Sankofa, Let It Ripple, and The DO School. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard University, where she studied Chinese language and the history of law. Born in Sri Lanka and raised in Long Beach, CA, Tanya is based in New York City and Portland, Oregon. More info at tanyaturnsup.com.

Theo Anagnostopoulos

Theo Anagnostopoulos is a science communicator, social entrepreneur, and National Geographic Explorer who has travelled to 112 countries across six continents. He is the co-founder and general manager of SciCo, an international non-profit that promotes science education and public engagement with science. His work focuses on combating scientific illiteracy and empowering educators and students through large-scale STEM programs, particularly in under-resourced communities across Greece, Cyprus, the Eastern Balkans, Tanzania, and Nepal. Theo holds a Ph.D. in medical genetics from King’s College London and is an Ashoka Fellow. His impact has been recognized with awards from the British Council, Newcastle University, and the European Network of Science Centers and Museums. In 2022, The Explorers Club of New York named him one of the “50 People Changing the World”.

Thomas Harbaum

Dr. Thomas Harbaum is a German General (OF-6) in the Medical Corps of the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr). He serves as the Medical Director and Commander of the Military Hospital in Hamburg since April 2022. He joined the Bundeswehr in 1984, studied medicine at the University of Münster and specialized in general medicine and tropical medicine. Harbaum has held various leadership roles, including positions in NATO and the Ministry of Defense in Berlin. He participated in various missions, amongst them deployments to Indonesia, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He holds an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (University of London). His special focus is on how to improve performance in teams and how to apply leadership principles that support effectiveness and efficiency to reach common goals. “Leaders encourage to take over responsibility and enable the whole team to be prepared for that. The baseline is not to work with one another but for one another. We learned that military missions will be only successful when this simple principle is applied consistently.” In various discussions with the C-level of civilian companies the General noticed that military and civilian leadership culture need to adhere to the same principles to achieve success in operations.

Tim Schleicher

Tim Schleicher is a leading voice on AI in Europe. As the founder and CEO of One Thousand, Tim spearheads a large breakthrough squad on a mission to build 1,000 real-world AI solutions – taking on declining productivity, demographic shifts, and the continent’s innovation gap head-on. Known for blending deep tech expertise with sharp business strategy, Tim turns AI from buzzword to bottom-line. With 10+ years in AI, Tim has worked with DAX-listed heavyweights, the hidden champions powering Germany’s economy, and brought AI to the public sector and global NGOs alike. He’s a trained data scientist, with academic roots at institutions including Columbia University and Zeppelin University. He’s also a Senior Fellow at Humanity in Action and an Inspirer at Hacker School, working to shape a more inclusive Age of AI.

Uta Pippig

A two-time Olympian, Uta was the world record holder in the half marathon and ranked #1 women marathon runner in the world in 1994 and 1995. She won the Boston Marathon for three consecutive years, the New York City Marathon in her only attempt, and three Berlin Marathons, including the 1990 “Reunification Marathon,” as it is often referred to, after President Reagan’s famed “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” speech resulted in a united and democratic East and West Germany. Uta was regarded as the “people’s champion” running with fist and smiles over finishes lines. Born in Leipzig in 1965, she was introduced to competitive athletics at the age of 13 and later became a member of the sports club “ASK Potsdam.” Uta studied medicine at the Humboldt University in East Germany, and after the fall of the Berlin Wall continued her studies at the Freie Universität Berlin where she passed her final exams as a medical student. Since her childhood Uta’s desire for freedom and movement developed into a unique understanding that the fitness she enjoyed gave her more freedom in life, a paradigm she started sharing with others in her public speaking series “Take The Magic Step™ to Lifelong Fitness and the Extra Mile to Success,” and “Running To Freedom™.” Uta uses her personal and athletic journey overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles to help others achieve their goals and dreams. Besides her running journey, Uta is practicing yoga and meditation for more than 20 years and became a Kripalu yoga, Āyurveda yoga, and meditation teacher studying with the prestigious Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Massachusetts. Uta is working as a public speaker and meditation teacher sharing her mental approach which has evolved since she started as a young athlete. Her seminars and sessions include Mindful Walking, Yoga and Running, and Loving/Kindness Meditation complementing her overall approach to fitness and health. Uta is columnist for WeLT Sport and is currently writing her book with the working title, Running To Freedom™. In 2008, Uta and her partner Michael Reger created the Take The Magic Step Foundation™. The organization works with charitable groups in the U.S. and Germany to improve the lives of underprivileged children and youth. As part of the curatorium of Children for a better World e.V., her recent program Run for Children brought the Berlin Marathon and Children for a better World together to help particularly children in Berlin. --- --- --- Winner of the Berlin Marathon (’90,’92,’95), Boston Marathon (’94,’95,’96), and New York City Marathon (’93). Founder of Take The Magic Step Foundation and LLC Website: www.TakeTheMagicStep.com Instagram: www.Instagram.com/UtaPippig Website: https://www.linkedin.com/UtaPippig