Guillaume Massard is an environmental engineer graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and a specialist in the field of industrial ecology and resource management.

Since 2006, he collaborates with the industrial ecology group at the IPTEH Institute of the University of Lausanne to develop methodologies and networks for ressource efficiency within the industry. In 2008, he co-founded SOFIES Sàrl, a consulting company specialized in industrial ecology applications. Active in Switzerland, Europe, Africa and Asia, SOFIES studies and anticipates the transition from a hyper-industrial economy to an industrial ecosystem.

More about Guillaume Massard at unil.ch

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Watch the video of Michael Doser’s 2010 talk here.

Watch the video of Michael Doser’s 2009 talk here.

2010: “The Return Of Antimatter”
2009: “If Apples Fall Down, Do Anti-Apples Fall Up?”

Michael Doser is a particle physicist working at CERN. He has been working with antimatter since 1983, using it both as a tool and as an object of study, with the goal of understanding the first moments of the Universe. In 2002, he was part of the team that made cold atoms of antihydrogen for the first time, and – after bringing together its international and interdisciplinary team – currently leads the AEGIS experiment that will measure how antimatter falls.

More about Michael Doser at aegis.web.cern.ch and cern.ch

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François-Xavier Tanguy and Arnaud Dubois, 35 and 32 years old, a former financial auditor and a consultant in information systems, decided in 2005 to leave behind their well-established lives and begin a new adventure: 7 months, 25,000 km through 20 countries, from Phnom Penh Cambodia to Paris on their motorcycles, to gather over 300 people’s dreams.

Back to France in 2007, they publish a book: “Des rêves plein le monde” (“A World All About Dreams”) about their encounters, and they start weaving a network to arouse and facilitate the completion of small and ambitious projects. A year later they launch DreamShake, a social network platform that boosts real material help, such as skills to share, and users who connect through very specific fields : entrepreneurship, culture, arts, humanitarian work, sustainable development, professional change, travel…

More about François-Xavier Tanguy and Arnaud Dubois at dreamshake.com

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Photo © ICRC

François Bugnion, Master of Arts and Doctor of Political Science (Public International Law), is an independent consultant in humanitarian law and humanitarian action.

He joined the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1970 and served as a delegate in Israel and the occupied territories (1970-1972), Bangladesh (1973-1974), Turkey and Cyprus (1974), and then as head of mission in Chad (1978), Vietnam and Cambodia (1979).

From 1989 to 1996, he was Deputy Director for Principles and Law at the ICRC; from 1996 to 1998 General Delegate for Eastern Europe and Central Asia; from 1998 to 1999, Diplomatic Adviser of the Directorate and from January 2000 to June 2006, Director for International Law and Cooperation within the Movement at the ICRC as well as a member of the Standing Commission of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent.

He published more than fifty articles on international humanitarian law or Red Cross history and a reference work on the ICRC: The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Protection of War Victims, MacMillan, Oxford, 2003, lxviii & 1161 pages (original French : Le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge et la protection des victimes de la guerre, second edition, ICRC, Geneva, 2000, LV & 1444 pages).

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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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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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