is a Senior TED Fellow and Teaching Fellow at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. Recently described as a polymath (and a fairy) by Tom Reilly, TED’s Community Director, at TEDGlobal Oxford, Rachel’s extensive interdisciplinary practice engages with a fundamental driving principle – the fundamental creativity of science. Her work uses all manner of media to engage audiences and bring them into contact with the latest advances in science and their real potential through the inventive applications of technology, to address some of the biggest problems facing the world today.
is a Distinguished University Professor at Northeastern University, where he directs the Center for Complex Network Research, and holds appointments in the Departments of Physics, Computer Science and Biology, as well as in the Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women Hospital, and is a member of the Center for Cancer Systems Biology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. His acclaimed book is Linked: The New Science of Networks. His work lead to the discovery of scale-free networks in 1999, and proposed the Barabasi-Albert model to explain their widespread emergence in natural, technological and social systems.
photojournalist. After working for the leading Hungarian daily and for the largest international news agency, in 2003 he chose to work as an independent photographer focusing on people, who are socially marginalized or victimized by armed conflicts and natural disasters. His photos have won numerous prestigious professional awards and are regularly published in international magazines. For the past few years he has been documenting the harbingers and consequences of the global water crisis. He publishes the outcomes through his own project website: facingwatercrisis.org
works as an architect and a graphic designer, and he is also a founding member of the architect studio Sporaarchitects and of KÉK(Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre) . Sporaarchitects is a studio in Budapest brought to life by broad minded, young architects, designers and thinkers coming from a variety of fields, who created one creative platform for the fields of architecture, urban advancement, research and development.
graduated from ELTE (Eötvös Lóránd University) with a bachelor’s degree in physics and astronomy in 2003 and received his PhD in astrophysics in 2008. He has been lecturer at ELTE since 2003. His special field is cosmology and applied mathematical statistics in physics. Since 2007 he is also a member of a progressive research workshop for sustainable life and resource consumption. His group successfully forecasted oil production figures for the period between 2007 and 2009.
is a science philosopher and a translator of Darwin’s works, a Head of Department at ELTE, however, he mainly focusses on computer modelling in the context of evolution, dynamic networks and complex systems. He is the leader and a participant of several various international projects and he is also the Hungarian director of the Budapest Semester in Cognitive Science.
started his career as M&A consultant, but soon created his own company specialized in trouble shooting and renovation of natural stone. Besides running a successful company, he invested in real estate and wrote “Fortune de Briques”. Through these multiple activities, he invented a new time management approach based on “The Values of Time” and developed trainings on personal and corporate development. A keynote speaker, consultant and trainer, he created the think tank UHDR (Universal Human Development Research) and “UniverseCity”, developing a unique Sustainable Human Development curriculum and research.
singer, songwriter, started her career as an actress. Music has always been important for her. As she writes: - Running away, escaping adult life… that was the point in the theatre, too. We were looking for the authentic language. We were 'collecting'- songs of many different and distant folk cultures, folk music (Eskimo, Pigmy). With these melodies we have confronted and reinterpreted the Hungarian lyrics. From the late 90’s I started to collect my ideas - I improvised rhythm fragments for percussions or far away songs on my own language. With founding Kiss Erzsi Music and Panchan this 'musicality without language' has reached a unique form, yet it develops even further.
a Jesuit father was born in Berlin where his parents lived as Hungarian diplomats. In 1956 they returned to Hungary; however, after a decade, he found himself in Germany again. In Leuven he received his bachelor degree in economics. In 1968, he took part in the Chartres Pilgrimage where he got his priestly calling; however, it took him twenty years to commit for good. Till then he worked as top manager positions in the cosmetic industry in Paris. After a novitiate in Canada, he studied philosophy in Leuven and theology and communication in Rome. Today he lectures at Pázmány Péter Catholic University and Zsigmond Király College; on Sundays he sermonizes in the Jézus Szíve Church.
is a neurosurgeon and spine specialist. During his three-decade carrier, he gained comprehensive experience – among others – in the National Scientific Institute of Neurosurgery and later as senior executive doctor of the Neurosurgery in Nyíregyháza. He is an internationally recognized authority in the field of spine surgery and therapy; he is known for his innovative methods and solutions, and human focused approach.
has worked in strategic marketing and marketing communication for more than a decade. His former positions included senior consultant for the Garrison Group and strategic director for Arcus Interactive dealing with clients such as OTP, IKEA, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, BMW, the Hungarian Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, the Palace of Arts in Budapest and the state owned Hungarian National Tourist Office. His latest book, ‘Instead of Advertising’ was published in April 2009 both in English and in Hungarian. He is cofounder and strategic director of 21idea marketing agency and one of the organizers for TEDx Danubia.
economist and a PhD in international relations – has been working on EU matters for more than a decade in Brussels. He is also professor of world economics, geopolitics and European affairs and author of half a dozen books. His latest book discusses how China and America sees Europe. His next volume (Europe's Destiny) is being published in the US by the Johns Hopkins University and the Wilson Center (Washington D.C.).
original profession is mathematics, however later on he did his PhD in technical sciences (in artificial intelligence). At present, he is the professor of the Professional Team of Economic Psychology at ELTE. He is the founder and the professor of the Business Coach Training at KÜRT Academy. He had been running a software development company for twenty years that was later bought by Walt Disney Co. Ever since, he helps other companies as an advisorand as a business coach. His books (Habits of Mind, Everybody is Uniform Differently, Evolution of Money) have been published in 8 languages; the second one won the prize “The Scientific Book of the Year in Germany in 1998”
started his career working for the Business Software Alliance. In 2000, he founded Ormós Law Firm, the first one in Hungary to specialize in legal consulting in informatics and telecommunication through which he accumulated considerable theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the legal practice of information technology, telecommunication and copyright. His firm has grown to play a prominent role in these areas.
has nearly 15 years of experience in leadership development, consultancy and training – in Hungary and abroad (Switzerland, England and Germany). He set up and was the senior educational consultant at Bryanston Square, a London-based educational consultancy. He worked on the PPP redevelopment of almost 200 primary and secondary schools in the UK, shifting the mindset of local authorities, architects, builders, schools and communities. After joining Common Purpose as the development director for Germany, he moved to Budapest in 2006 to launch and lead Common Purpose Hungary. Married, proud father of a 2-year old girl.
has been dealing with organizational development, network research, executive selection and corporate training for more than a decade. He is a member of the Board at the Mérei Sociometry Workshop Association and at the Hungarian Psychodrama Association. He coordinates numerous network research projects for financial, manufacturing, telecommunications and IT companies, and also works with projects in the public sector. He holds a Master's Degree in Psychology at the Eötvös Lóránd University, with a Specialization in Work-Related and Organizational Psychology. He is currently completing his PhD at the University of Debrecen.
was raised in a small village in one of Italy's more notable wine regions. In 1988 she joined her family upon their return to Hungary where her father got to work restoring the family business, producing the definitive Hungarian spirit, Unicum. As head of the Zwack Unicum Wines Division, Izabella's focus has been on discovering small producers making 'big' wines for her brand Izabella Zwack Wine Selections. She is also an active advocate of the Hungarian wine industry, which she feels is rapidly moving in the right direction.
returned to Hungary in 1987 and founded a joint venture company under the name: Zwack Unicum Budapest Ltd. In 1990, he was appointed as Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary in Washington. He received the George Washington Prize for his helping the 1956-Hungarian emigration. In 1994, he was elected representative of the Hungarian Parliament, in a unique way of the history of the Hungarian parliamentary system, as a concerted nominee of four parties. He was the only one originally independent representative of that term. He was the chairman of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hungary; since 1999, he has been its honorary chairman. In 1999 he became Cavalier of the Legion of Honor of the Republic of Italy.
names, photos and profiles will be uploaded soon. We are still in the process of receiving, translating and resending the texts for approval. We will be continuosly updating this page with new information. The program of the first TEDx Danubia conference is almost complete, so please visit the program page and return to this page in a few days for more speakers' profiles. Thank you.