Theme: Balancing Polarity

In today's world, marked by increasing division and conflict, finding ways to bridge these gaps is more important than ever.

Our TEDx event, "Balancing Polarity," aims to explore the various polarisations in our society from multiple perspectives. We seek to inspire our audience to engage in self-reflection, embrace openness, and discover how to connect opposing viewpoints. By examining how seemingly irreconcilable differences can be harmonized, we aim to foster understanding and unity in a divided world.

Join us as we explore innovative solutions and insights, shedding light on paths toward equilibrium and harmony. Together, let's uncover how we can bridge divides and create a more connected and balanced society!

Das Kurhaus
Stadtgraben 17
Hall in Tirol, Tirol, 6060
Austria

Alex Steffen

Brand Strategist & CEO Authority Advisor

Driven by the belief that positive change stems from inspiring thought leaders, Alex recognized a common challenge: many brilliant experts struggle to have their message heard in a way that creates lasting impact. This realization fueled his mission to help leaders craft compelling stories and brands that make their ideas soar. Alex's personal resilience is his signature. Having triumphed over cancer as a child, he frequently reframes life’s challenges as exciting opportunities—whether that’s piloting the 20,000 km Mongol Rally from Prague to Lake Baikal, DJing at Burning Man, or turning around a crisis on an oil rig in the Amazon rainforest. Stay tuned for more of Alex’s captivating insights in his TEDx talk, "Why Thought Leaders – Not Activists – Will Change the World."

Alícia Trepat Pont

Distributed Leadership & Ecosystem Building

Alícia is a designer and facilitator of distributed leadership and ecosystem building. In addition to practicing these in her own communities and collectives, she has co-authored research on these topics and is currently undertaking a PhD with the Tallinn University of Technology under the Cosmolocalism project led by the P2P lab. Her research is focused on emotions in self-organised settings. This builds the foundation of her work on how self-organised teams and communities can be places for personal growth and seeds to transform our socioeconomic system. Her approach to the topic Balancing Polarity is about how being and working in power-with settings (instead of power-over), we can build new organisations that are based on incentives (principles) like togetherness and healthy systems. Her motivation comes from having spent the past ten years diving into the world of collaborative networks and communities, which for her, have been incredible spaces for personal growth and healing.

Christian Welzel

Chair in Political Culture Research | Leuphana Universität Lüneburg

Christian Welzel is a renowned social scientist deeply invested in understanding the evolution of human values. His work revolves around how societies progressively move toward more liberal and inclusive moral perspectives. Christian emphasizes the importance of peaceful coexistence amidst cultural differences. He believes that the key to a functioning democracy lies in liberal tolerance—acknowledging and respecting differing values without viewing them as sources of conflict. Rather than striving for cultural homogeneity, he advocates for open communication and the ability to agree to disagree. This is the essence of democracy, allowing societies to navigate polarization through understanding and dialogue. Christian envisions a perfect world not as a destination, but as an ongoing process of improvement. His hope is to inspire others to recognize this long-term moral evolution and to actively engage in shaping a world that values inclusivity, tolerance, and mutual respect.

Clint Leahr

Senior Lecturer | Management Center Innsbruck

Clint Leahr is a Senior Lecturer at the Management Center Innsbruck with a rich academic career spanning across renowned institutions such as Lauder Business School in Vienna and the International School of Management in Germany. In his TEDx talk, Clint brings a unique perspective as an African American living in Innsbruck, a city with a relatively homogeneous population. He speaks about how his cultural heritage often contrasts with the local environment, leading to curiosity, stereotyping, and sometimes isolation. Clint’s mission is to inspire others by sharing his life’s journey, guided by his daily motto, “Make this your best day.” His belief in the power of dialogue shines through, as he hopes to offer his audience a fresh perspective on cultural differences, personal identity, and the role of open communication.

Heather Wokusch

Human Rights Advocate & Multimedia Storyteller

Heather Wokusch is a global educator and public speaker, psychotherapist and multimedia storyteller. She ist a human rights advocate, community-building strategist and the founder of MESPERO: Impact for Resilience (building mental-health capacity) and SDG2030.me (scaling innovations for the Sustainable Development Goals). The theme "Balancing Polarity" resonates in every aspect of Heather’s work. On a personal level, she is especially focused on exploring the hidden polarities and intersectionalities of war – with the aim of identifying shared paths to peace. This pursuit has led her to conduct dozens of interviews with war survivors ranging from atomic bomb witnesses to refugees from contemporary conflicts, along with military members and political decision-makers across the world. In her TEDx Talk, Heather shares an interactive matrix of her findings about wars’ unspoken areas of ‘collateral damage’ – and ideas for how each of us can impact the narrative for positive change.

Lukas Klaschinski

Psychologist, Podcaster & Bestselling Book Author

Lukas Klaschinski has always had an curiosity about people and their psychological wiring. This quest for understanding has turned him into an inquisitive child first and an outspoken psychologist later. Today he engages a wide audience as a bestselling author and podcaster, breaking down psychological insights. A life-changing accident forced Lukas to reevaluate everything, prompting him to ask: What really matters? On his quest for answers he put his life on hold. What he discovered was a great disjuncture between how most of us spend our lives and what scientific evidence tells us leads to happiness and lasting physical and mental well-being. Lukas distills his insights down to one essential element: feelings. Feelings, historically dismissed or downplayed, seem to be crucial to understanding an omnipresent mental health crisis. He explores how emotional awareness and openness, or as he puts it, "emotional readiness" can profoundly enhance the quality of our relationships.

Martyna Berenika Linartas

Political Scientist & Co-Founder ungleichheit.info

Martyna Linartas is a political scientist and co-founder of ungleichheit.info. Martyna focuses on the gap between rich and poor – one of the biggest polarities in liberal democracies. Our climate and democracies are not only under pressure because wealth inequality is skyrocketing; but also as democracies are falling back into times when birth determined life chances: welcome to the new inheritance society! History teaches us that inequality is neither a law of nature nor God-given. Inequality is a political phenomenon and as such, it can be solved politically. Regardless of its importance and alarming trajectory, debates have not reached center stage. This is precisely why Martyna launched ungleichheit.info: To bring knowledge about inequality to the wider society in a generally understandable and exciting way. If extreme inequality is finally to be tackled, we need new, radical ideas. Tax the rich alone is not enough. We also have to lift the poor – with an inheritance for all.

Shi Heng Yi

Headmaster | Shaolin Temple Europe

Shi Heng Yi is the head of the Shaolin Temple Europe. He is responsible for the physical and mental training of all students and candidates of the Shaolin Temple Europe. In his more than 36-year career in the field of Chinese martial arts, he has acquired a wealth of knowledge about cultivation and training methods within Kung Fu and the internal arts and has been sharing this with people from all over the world for three decades now. His first book entitled "Shaolin Spirit - Master your life" was recently published, in which he conveys the basics of these ancient practices in an understandable and tangible way.

Svenja Krüger

Documentary Photographer & Storyteller

Svenja is a documentary photographer and storyteller whose work explores the profound connections between life, death, and cultural traditions. After the loss of her father, Svenja founded “Stories Matter,” a platform dedicated to capturing the narratives that define our existence, especially in the face of mortality. Her work has taken her around the world, documenting death rituals such as Mexico’s Day of the Dead, Ghana’s fantasy coffins, and the sacred practices in Varanasi, India. Svenja’s TED Talk, “Reimagining Life Through the Lens of Death,” delves into how facing mortality can inspire us to live with greater intention, using examples from her photography of stillborn children and her own pre-planned funeral as acts of legacy and celebration. Through her lens, Svenja invites us to see death not as an end, but as a profound influence that enriches the way we live our lives.