Category: Talks
The anatomy of a great YouTube video | Alan Melikdjanian
Audiovisual production tools and a potential global audience are available to anyone with a web-connected device. But many creators still struggle with presenting their content effectively, especially on YouTube. Alan Melikdjanian proposes a way of thinking about video projects that...
Entrance to the Universe | Platons Buravickis – Performance
Everything is text. But text comprehension and its impact are the result of many different wavelengths and signals passing by. In this piece, Entrance to the Universe, composer Platons Buravickis plays with electrical signals. The piece is created for an...
Insect protein – our best bet to sustainably feed the earth | Ilga Gedrovica
Protein and its amino acids are a vital source to our human existence. But our reliance on animal proteins has strained their earth. In short – it isn’t sustainable in the long run. But how far are you willing to...
From zero waste to less waste – for the environment and your sanity | Laura Arnicāne
Zero waste activist Laura Arnicāne was a chronic perfectionist whose quest for leading a truly zero waste lifestyle led to wasting away herself. Since then, she has found that striving for a less waste lifestyle, on the grand scale of...
Opposing forces | Rihards Plešanovs – Piano performance
Pianist Rihards Plešanovs highlights the juxtaposition between the aggressive and the fragile, two opposing forces that weave themselves through daily life. One end of the spectrum is personified through an etude by György Ligeti, “L’escalier du diable” (The Devil’s Staircase)...
The shadow economy: it’s not all black and white | Arnis Sauka
Arnis Sauka has spent years researching the shadow economy and determining its impact. Having developed a methodology, fostered relationships with both business leaders and government officials and measured the impact over time, Arnis may be the first to tell you...
See the forest for the trees (and birds) | Indriķis Krams
Living in the comforts of modern civilization, most of us are far removed from the natural world and take for granted its existence. But biologist Indriķis Krams, who spends most of his time studying birds in old growth forests, has...
Finding the balance between money and meaning | Jānis Kreilis
For many of us, finding the balance between doing something that provides meaning and something that pays the bills seems out of reach. Whether it’s expectations about what is an acceptable career path, the desire to strike it rich or...
What brain development teaches us about the future of our societies | Ņikita Bezborodovs
The biological development of the brain shows that children’s brains are much more malleable and open to change earlier on in life. This phenomenon of brain plasticity makes children able to adapt to the challenges of the environment they grow...
The triumph of the human spirit – repairing bonds in a broken world | Mark Rittenberg
The most beautiful outcome is the triumph of the human spirit. This is something that Mark Rittenberg has witnessed over his lifetime in difficult situations, from the assassination of a president to the mediation of the Middle East peace process....