December 3rd, 2011 Athens, Greece

Speakers

Joe Trippi

Heralded on the cover of The New Republic as the man who “reinvented campaigning,” Joe Trippi has been at the forefront of movement politics for nearly 30 years. Trippi began his political career working on Edward M. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1980 and has worked on numerous presidential, gubernatorial, senate, and congressional campaigns ever since.

Most recently, Trippi was a senior strategist and media consultant in Jerry Brown’s successful run for California Governor. The campaign’s ads were described as “clever” and “amazing,” and they were widely considered some of best of 2010. TIME magazine named one ad, “Echo,” the best ad of 2010, and the Brown ads received four “Pollie” awards for excellence in political media.

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Glenn D. Lowry

Glenn D. Lowry became the sixth director of The Museum of Modern Art in 1995.  He leads a staff of 750 and directs an active program of exhibitions, acquisitions, and publications.  His major initiatives over the past 14 years include guiding MoMA’s $900 million capital campaign for the renovation and expansion, of the Museum, and building its endowment, reinvigorating MoMA’s contemporary art program, and challenging conventional thinking about modern art.

A strong advocate of contemporary art, Mr. Lowry conceived and initiated the Museum’s successful merger with P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in 1999.  He has lectured and written extensively in support of contemporary art and artists and the role of museums in society, among other topics.

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Rory Sutherland

Born in Usk, Monmouthshire in 1965, Rory read Classics at Christ’s College, Cambridge, before joining Ogilvy as a Graduate Trainee in 1988. After 18 months spent as the world’s worst account handler (as a desperate remedial measure he was once booked onto a time management course, but got the date wrong) Rory became a copywriter in June 1990.

He has worked on Amex, BT, Compaq, Microsoft, IBM, BUPA, easyJet, Unilever, winning a few awards along the way. He was appointed Creative Director of OgilvyOne in 1997 and ECD in 1998. In 2005 he was appointed Vice Chairman on the Ogilvy Group in the UK in recognition of his improved timekeeping.

By an amazing stroke of luck (his brother is an academic) Rory first used the Internet in 1987. Hence he had the advantage in 1994 of knowing what it was and what it might do a few years ahead of many colleagues. Most people would have combined this knowledge of marketing and technology to make a fortune; not Rory. Instead he became the first Briton to have his credit card details stolen online, thereby losing £22.45.

In his spare time, Rory collects self-aggrandising job titles. He was President of the Direct Jury at Cannes in 2007, and was elected President of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising in 2009 for two years. He is also the Technology Correspondent of the Spectator, the world’s oldest English language magazine. You can visit his blog at  http://snipr.com/da9bq

Rory is married with twin daughters of 9 (Hetty and Millie) and lives in the former home of Napoleon III in Brasted in Kent. Unfortunately in the attic.

Juliano Tubino

Juliano Tubino is the Worldwide Director for Innovation and Emerging Business at Microsoft. He is responsible for leading the company’s Local Software Economy initiative, aiming to accelerate the software industry development and innovation by helping entrepreneurs to build software skills, solutions and businesses. In addition, his team oversees the 110 Microsoft Innovation Centers around the world.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Tubino’s professional background included responsibilities in several areas in the business, from technical to Marketing in companies like Compaq and HP, and as a CEO in the music industry and bio-technology company.

Konstantinos Daskalakis

Konstantinos Daskalakis is the X-Consortium Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. Constantinos grew up in Athens where he received a Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens. In 2004 he moved to UC Berkeley, California, to pursue Ph.D. studies in Computer Science; after that he was a postdoctoral researcher in Microsoft Research, and since 2009 he has been at the faculty of MIT. His research interests lie in Algorithmic Game Theory and Applied Probability, in particular computational aspects of markets and the Internet, social networks, and computational problems in Biology.

Daskalakis has been honored with several awards and scholarship during his studies, from sources including the Greek State Scholarships foundation (IKY), the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE), the National Technical University of Athens, and the Regents of the University of California. More recently, Daskalakis has been honored with the 2007 Microsoft Graduate Research Fellowship, the 2008 Game Theory and Computer Science Prize from the Game Theory Society (for his work on the computational complexity of the Nash equilibrium), the 2008 Association of Computing Machinery Doctoral Dissertation Award (for the best PhD dissertation in Computer Science written that year), the National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Career Development Award, the 2010 Sloan Foundation Fellowship in Computer Science, the 2011 Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Outstanding Paper Prize, and the MIT Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Hasan Elahi

Hasan Elahi is an interdisciplinary artist whose work examines issues of surveillance, simulated time, transport systems, borders and frontiers. His work has been presented in numerous exhibitions at venues such as SITE Santa Fe, Centre Georges Pompidou, Sundance Film Festival, Kassel Kulturbahnhof, The Hermitage, and at the Venice Biennale.

Elahi was recently invited to speak about his work at the Tate Modern, Einstein Forum, the American Association of Artificial Intelligence, and at TED Global. His awards include grants from the Creative Capital Foundation, Art Matters, a Ford Foundation/Phillip Morris National Fellowship, and an artist grant from the Asociacion Artetik Berrikuntzara in Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain.

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George Kourounis

George Kourounis is one of the world’s most active storm chasers, a renowned global adventurer, explorer and television presenter. Based in Toronto, his efforts to document nature’s worst weather conditions have taken him all over the globe, into places most normal people are fleeing from. Whether it’s a tornado outbreak in Kansas, a monster hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, forest fires in British Columbia, or even an erupting volcano, he’s usually in the middle of the action with his camera rolling. His efforts have been seen around the world on the Discovery Channel, National Geographic Explorer, BBC-TV, CNN and of course, his own adventure TV program Angry Planet which has been broadcast in over 100 countries. The program airs on OLN, City TV, The Travel Channel, The Weather Channel, Halogen TV & others.

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Matt Webb

Matt Webb is CEO and Principal at BERG, and co-founded the studio in 2005. BERG designs products for the near future: “Mag+”, the magazine concept for tablet computers in 2009 with Bonnier AB, went on to become the first digital magazine platform on the iPad. And, with Dentsu London, the “Suwappu” project is inventing a new kind of digital storytelling with cute, augmented reality toys. The studio also works in its own new product invention, notably “Here & There”, a new map projection of Manhattan (now exhibited in the New York Museum of Modern Art), and SVK with Warren Ellis, a comic book printed with invisible ink.

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Clemens Oellinger Guptara

Clemens Guptara (born October 1995) is a young speaker, writer, columnist and commentator on a wide range of topics to do with globalisation,global development and other social, political and economic issues.

He is a living example of youth leadership and likes to challenge and encourage other youngsters to live up to their potential. Clemens has been invited to numerous countries to give speeches, including an address to the United Nations in New York in 2010. He is a member of the World Youth Parliament. He has written for, among other publications, Der Standard and the “Austrian Parliamentary Correspondence” News Agency.

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Ricardo Sousa

Ricardo Sousa is a passion-driven 19-year-old entrepreneur and consultant. Currently he’s the Brand Evangelist at Berlin-based 6Wunderkinder and the Curator & Producer of SWITCH Conference that he founded back in 2009. Ricardo is also the initiator of the Movement for Change in Education, a global movement of people worldwide committed on taking action to change the current education model.

He’s a former Microsoft Student Partner and a ungrad at ISEG university. Ricardo is a frequent speaker and blogger on themes such as teen entrepreneurship or the 21st century education, having spoken in front of international audiences of thousands. In the past, Ricardo’ entrepreneurial endeavors (and speaking engagements) got him featured in top portuguese newspapers, TVs and radios but also in international press such as TheNextWeb, France24, SmashingMagazine or The Economist. He likes to dream, project and execute ideas as well as meet new and inspiring people. His hobbies include watching american TV series, viewing and discussing interesting conferences’ talks, reading, meeting people and traveling.

In the future he hopes to keep executing his ongoing projects. The main goal is to make a difference through his work, while helping others to archive their potential.”

Chris Colwell

What is happening in the world around us is a Human Being issue. It is not the responsibility of the Governments, and it’s Laws, The Kings, and their Rules, The Schools, and it’s Teachers, or the Religions, and it’s Followers to Balance, Manage, or Maintain our daily Lives. Each human being is Responsible for his own actions. When we can see this clearly, Change will Happen.

Chris is a C5-C6 Quadriplegic who became paralyzed during a skydive on April, 23 2003. He now shares his life experiences openly on the internet for the world to see. His wish is to set man free from the every day disruptions that burden the mind, and prevent us from living. You can learn more about him at  www.youtube.com/llewlocsirhc or Google / Chris Colwell.

Sebastian Lindstrom

Sebastian Lindstrom is the founder of two non-profits; one based in Ghana assisting HIV positive children and raising awareness of the disease, and the second a nomadic filmmaking organization, provocatively named, What Took You So Long. WTYSL films untold stories and unsung heroes in less-traveled regions, the most recent documentary project focusing on the business of camel milk around the world, which took the team to 20 countries over the course of one year. Sebastian is part of the Sandbox Network, supporting the community of entrepreneurs and leaders in their field under 30, as co-founder and ambassador to the first Africa hub, Sandbox Nairobi. Ex Swedish Special Forces, Sebastian was educated in Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore. He speaks Swedish, English, Mandarin, and fairly good German with a beer in his hand.

Nikolaos Zafranas

Nikolaos Zafranas was born in Thessaloniki. He received his BA and MA in Piano Performance from the University of Music, Graz, Austria, and his PhD in Music Education from Brunel University, London, UK. He is author of several articles on various music education topics and of the book “Effects of music instruction on cognitive abilities of young children”, Lambert Academic Publishing, 2010. As an artist, he is the recipient of several distinctions and awards in Greece and elsewhere. His performances include recitals and chamber music concerts in many European countries and in North America. He has recorded for the television and radio and can be heard in solo and chamber music works on 2 CDs. He is a founding member of the “Piandaemonium” ensemble and of the “Transcription Ensemble”. Besides piano performance, research interests include cognitive development and music education as well as preschool music education. He is currently Lecturer of Music Education at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Charis Tsevis

Charis Tsevis is a visual designer. He studied in Milan and Athens. Based in the Greek capital he offers visual communication services to clients from all over the globe. His client list includes companies like Nike, IKEA and Toyota, media like TIME, Fortune and Wired and advertising agencies like TBWA\Chiat\Day, Leo Burnet Hong Kong and ΒΒΗ Sao Paolo.

Charis Tsevis is teaching visual communication at AKTO College. He is writing articles about design, cyberculture and history of computing in media like RAM and +design. He has been awarded for his work in the US, Europe and Greece.

 

Matina Stevis

Matina is a journalist with Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal in Brussels, where she covers economics and competition. She has written for the Economist, where she won the 2010 Marjorie Deane financial journalism award, and the Guardian. She is a regular European economy and crisis analyst on all BBC and BBC World outlets, AlJazeera English, Sky News and RTE (Ireland). Before working with international media, she was editor in chief of Greek newspapers City Press and Free Sunday, and subsequently London correspondent for Eleftherotypia.

Matina read Modern History and Politics at the Queen’s College, Oxford and has an MPA in Public Policy and Management from the London School of Economics. She was born and raised in Athens.

Three Athletes of Greece women’s national water polo team

We are very happy to have with us 3 members of the Greece women’s national water polo team.

Alexandra Asimanki was born in 1988. She is 23 years old and she studies in the law school. Since 2001 she has been playing water polo in Vouliagmeni team with one year break where she played abroad. Her first experience with the Greek Women National Water Polo Team was in 2005 in the World League in Russia where the team won the gold medal. She has also participated in the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008.
Alexandra participated for the first time in a World Championship with the Women National Water polo team in Rome in 2009 where the team won the 4th place. Read more…

Georgianna Hiliadaki and Nikos Roussos

Chefs Georgianna Hiliadaki and Nikos Roussos were born and raised in Athens. Coming from different backgrounds and studies, Georgianna studied European Studies at Reading University in England and Nikos Economics at Deree College of Greece, they met in cooking school ‘The Institute of Culinary Education’, in Manhattan New York, where they both studied and graduated with honors in the degree of Culinary Arts.

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Dr. Nikolaos Mavridis

Architecting Intelligent Systems! Dr. Nikolaos Mavridis, PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has taught, written about, researched, and built Intelligent Systems and Robots, having been active in the area since his early youth. Currently he is serving as Ass. Professor at New York University in Abu Dhabi.

He is the founder of IRML (the Interactive Robots and Media Lab), which achieved wide publicity for “Ibn Sina”, the world’s first Arabic-Language Android Robot, as well as “FaceBots”, Microsoft-award-recipient Social Robots which access info and publish on FaceBook. His past work includes “Ripley”, a language-learning robot with abilities comparable to those assessed by the token test, a test administered to 3-year-old children.

His dream is to help bring forth a world where humans, robots, and other novel intelligent entities will co-exist in harmony, transcending the individual and achieving a wider self-actualization.

Paris Mexis

Paris Mexis

Paris Mexis is a director, designer and writer. He was born in Athens and studied scenography in London at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (MA Scenography, BA Theatre: Design for Performance) and Prague at Divadelni fakulta Akademie Muzickych Umeni [DAMU] (Opera Design), interior design at the Athenian Artistic and Technological Group (AKTO) and at Middlesex University (BA Interior Design, Prize for Outstanding Performance in 1998 and 1999) and music at the Exemplary Experimental Conservatory.

He has designed and directed productions for theatre, opera, dance, cinema and television all over the world, while also planning and designing shows and exhibitions and working as an interior designer for a selected clientele. He works as a director and production designer for various advertising companies. He teaches at the Athenian Artistic and Technological Group (www.akto.gr) and at private acting schools. His essays and articles on scenography and semiotics in media have been published in specialist magazines and web sites and he is a member of the “Greek National Prize for Dance” board, a founding member of the Greek Theatre Designers Association and a member of the International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT).

Irene Douka and Greggy K. [Performance]

Irene Douka (ex-singer of C-Real Group) and Greggy K. have joined their different musical backgrounds and their favorite common influences creating new compositions for a Greek and foreign music project. Greggy’s K. explosive presence on stage and experience in the rock productions as well as Irini’s voice, more mature and free than ever, travel back in the 60’s with classical and rock n’ roll melodies.

Word of Mouth [Performance]

WORD OF MOUTH is the successful Greek beatbox cooperation of Bitman and EL Pap Chico. For the last five years they produce together rhythms, drum beats and music sounds by using only the mouth and the vocal chords.

They have also created the Beatbox Academy in Athens aiming at teaching mostly children the art of Human beatbox within a series of seminars and shows.

They have also performed in the World BEATBOX BATTLE Competition in Berlin within the frames of the Greek Festival of the Athens Concert Hall and they have opened the concerts of famous foreign hip hop artists, like SNOOP DOGG SNOOP DOGG (US), PHI-LIFE CYPHER (UK), Lords of the Underground (US) and Beat Assaillant (US). Moreover, their voice capabilities have been used in many TV and radio commercials as well as in records of other artists.

MC Yinka [Performance]

Born and raised in athens he first started MCing over drum ‘n bass tunes alongside dj Texture and they, later joined the “urban links” drum n bass crew. He later formed the hip hop group “Adiaspasti ousia” that released two songs in the “hip hop don’t stop” compilation produced and released by MBI. Now he is a member of the hip hop group “PARAGONTES” that teamed up with “FFC” and “ANAFLEXI” and formed the “ANTIKSOES PARAGOGES” hip hop collective. He is part of the ”LISTEN UP URBAN SOUND MANIFESTO” with Espeekay and they intend to promote freestyle music in athens. He collaborated with a veru talented producer named “YEGOR CERGEI” and made an underground ep called “IHOS VIOMA”. As a bass player and vocalist he is a part of the DIRECT CONNECTION electro dub band and they released in 2007 an album called “DUB INFECTION”. As a vocalist he collaborates with the wolrd music group “IMAM BAILDI”  the soul and lounging band “DR VOTKATINI”. He played in various festival, bars and clubs with bands and well known greek and foreign hip hop,reggae, drum n bass and freestyle dj’s. He collaborated with distinguised artists from the electro scene such as: dj blend, pallyria, spy f and the zakula.He was featured in two major hit songs on the  album ”OMNIA” of mainstream greek rock singer Fillipos Pliatsikas. In 2009 he released his first official  full length album “ALANA” which was critically acclaimed and formed a live band called “THE URBANIX” that presents a rich set of hip hop, reggae, afro beat, funk and drum n bass tunes. He played as a support act on shows of internationally known artists like: The Skatalites, Phi-Life cypher, the Gza, Method man, Orishas, Ghostface killah, dj Vadim, Wax Tailor and also played in the legendary “ROSKILDE FESTIVAL”. As an actor he played on the motion picture “OMIROS’ directed by Konstantinos Gianaris, on the theatrical play “FESTEN” directed by Aliki Danezi and musical theatrical play “NEKYIA” directed by Fotini Papadodima, “INDIAN SUMMER” directed by Eleni Boza and “ETERNAL PEACE” by Dimitris Zografakis.

Irene Mavrou [Performance]

Irini Mavrou was born in Athens, Greece. She received her piano diploma under the guidance of Domna Evnouchidou. The same year she was admitted at the University of Music of Graz, Austria, from where she received her Master’s degree while acquiring, at the same time, her Primary Music Education degree. She is a graduate of the Musicology Department of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki. She is a founding member of the “Piandaemonium” ensemble (6 pianos – 12 pianists). She collaborated with the National Theatre of Northern Greece in several productions as a pianist. In 2008, she was the music coach of the performance Isn’t it strange? teaching the music of Thanos Mikroutsikos. Her activities include recitals, chamber music concerts as well as recordings. She is one of the most active musicians of her generation, choosing innovative approaches and inter-artistic presentations, bringing together piano playing with acting, visual arts and literature. Her artistic activities are complemented by her dedicated transmission of pianistic values and the application of modern educational ideas in her teaching.

Camerata Junior [Performance]

Camerata Junior was founded in 2010 by the Friends of Music Society, under the presidency of C. Pylarinos, with the aim to instill team spirit and collective musical action among  pupils, mainly through periodical preparation classes at the Megaron – Athens Concert Hall and participation in art events in Greece and abroad.

Camerata Junior counts 27 youngsters aged 11-22 who comprise the Orchestra’s main body and another 16 pupils aged 6 – 12 in parallel activities. The Orchestra’s preparations started off in February 2011 leading to the first public appearance on May 5th at the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the Camerata – The Friends of Music Orchestra , that took place at the Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall. The Orchestra’s next appearance was on June 21st 2011 at the Athens Megaron and on October 29th 2011 at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall.

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