Robert Klapisch (PhD), a French physicist, was Director of Research at CERN (1981-1987) and adviser to the Director General Carlo Rubbia, in charge of Communication Policy (1989 to 1993). He co-authored with Rubbia the proposal for the Energy Amplifier (a.k.a. “Rubbiatron”) a new approach at nuclear energy (1993-1997).

As President of the French Association for the Advancement of Science (2000 to 2003), he advocated a North-South Scientific Dialogue as a privileged means to avoid the infamous “Clash of Civilisations”. This led him to set up in 2006 a dedicated “Sharing Knowledge Foundation” which he chairs. Fighting against the Digital Divide is one of the principal goals of the Foundation.

President Sarkozy promoted him Officier de la Legion d’Honneur in 2007.

More about Robert Klapisch at partager-le-savoir.org

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As you may or may not know, at least 25% of a TEDx event must consist of TED Talks screenings. Choosing which ones to present is a very difficult task, but we want to make the most out of it and find out which Talks our audience want to see. So we’d like to ask you to “vote” for your favorite TED Talk.

Since you are reading this, you probably spent some time on TED.com watching videos, and you surely remember that one special speaker who touched you more deeply than any others. Please let us know which one you’d like to share with the other TEDx Geneva attendees, and post it in the comments below. And of course, feel free to vote for a Talk which was submitted by someone else too.

Thanks.

Watch the video of Xavier Rosset’s talk here.

Xavier Rosset is a 33 years old Swiss adventurer. To find him, you usually need to leave the cities and go to the edge of a lake, the middle of a desert, or on a mountain. This modern adventurer has produced documentaries from more than twenty countries.

In his latest project “A Glance on the World”, Xavier brings a reflection on our way of life and our respect for the environment by surviving on an island without human interference and without polluting. During this 10 months solo mission on an uninhabited island of about 64km2, Xavier made a fascinating return to basics, equipped only with a machete and a Swiss knife.

More about Xavier Rosset at xavierrosset.ch

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Watch the video of Claude Marshall’s talk here.

Photo © UNHCR

As a volunteer consultant to the UNHCR (the UN refugee agency), Claude Marshall helps develop and find support for sports projects for refugee youth, mainly in mass refugee camps or settlements around the world. He, as well, seeks financial support from individuals and corporations for refugee assistance in education, healthcare and housing.

Mr. Marshall joined the UNHCR in 1993, after retiring as executive vice president Europe for Young & Rubicam’s public relations division, Burson-Marsteller. His work with UNHCR is on a bénévole basis.

More about Claude Marshall at unhcr.org

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Watch the video of Frederic Kaplan’s talk here.

Frederic Kaplan, engineer and specialist of artificial intelligence and new interfaces, worked ten years for Sony, before joining the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. He is co-founder with the designer Martino d’Esposito of OZWE, a company that produces and commercializes the objects they invent together. His research has led to about a hundred scientific publications and his prototypes have been on display in international museums such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris or Museum of Modern Art in New York. He wrote several popular science books in French including “The metamorphosis of objects” (Fyp editions) that will be published in November 2009.

More about Frederic Kaplan at fkaplan.com

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UPDATE: As Suren Erkman had to participate to the opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, he was “replaced” by Guillaume Massard.

Suren Erkman is an international consultant for UNIDO, UNEP, UNDP, GEF, for Swiss and foreign government agencies, media, foundations, NGOs and various private companies. His main field of expertise is industrial ecology.

In the mid-nineties he founded the Institute for Communication and Analysis of Science and Technology (ICAST), whose mission is to provide information in a readily accessible form on scientific and technological issues, including environment and sustainable development issues, with a focus on the emerging field of industrial ecology.

As head of the industrial ecology group at the IPTEH Institute of the University of Lausanne, he develops a research program at the interface between natural and social sciences, in the perspective of industrial ecology.

More about Suren Erkman at epfl.ch

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Watch the video of Louis Palmer’s talk here.

“When the whole world talks about energy and climate crisis, it is time to show the solutions!”

In 2004 Louis Palmer started the solartaxi project. Since his childhood he wanted to go around the world without polluting and destroying planet Earth with fossil fuels. With the help of four different Swiss universities he managed to build the car, find supporters and sponsors and take off for a 18 month tour across 38 countries. He wanted to show to the world: Yes, we can change from fossil fuels to renewable energies! These new technologies are affordable, reliable and ecological!

More about Louis Palmer at louis-palmer.ch

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Watch the video of Jan-Mathieu Donnier’s talk here.

Jan-Mathieu Donnier is beneficiary of a master degree in international relations and an other in communication and media science. He is co-founder of GlobalVision Communication sàrl, a pioneer business in the field of 360° imagery.

At TEDxGeneva he will briefly outline the evolution of photorealistic immersion technology in the past years and talk about forthcoming projects and evolutions toward 360° immersive video motion.

More about Jan-Mathieu Donnier at virtualvisit.tv

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