Theme: Terra Incognita

The surface of the Earth has been fully documented by cartographers by the early 19th century. Still, there are unexplored spaces – stars and planets, bottom of the ocean, the middle of the Earth – depends on what you are searching for.
We do not have to look far to find new spaces to discover and learn about. People (maybe even your neighbours) do powerful things every day – brave, charitable, innovative, unusual, even controversial to some. They are our terra incognita – unexplored territories full of promise, potential and excitement. Unknown, sometimes intimidating, but always intriguing.
In November 2018 TEDxKaunas will bring together Experts – those creating, building, living and working in the yet undiscovered fields of knowledge – to be our hosts; and the enthusiastic, curious and open Explorers, seeking to fill their individual terra incognita maps with shapes, colours and ideas. Because taking a smaller side road and stepping through an unknown threshold can bring more knowledge, understanding, inspiration, collaboration and freedom. Stay curious.

— TEDxKaunas 2018 Team

VDU main hall
S. Daukanto street 28
Kaunas, Kauno Apskritis, 44248
Lithuania

Adomas Lukenskas

Nuclear fusion engineer

Vilnius University Nuclear Energy Physics graduate, Adomas Lukenskas, was invited to join one of the most recognized research and engineering institutions in the world – Imperial College London where he earned an MSc in Nuclear Engineering. Good academic results and broad knowledge in his field enabled Adomas to follow his long-time dream of working at the forefront of nuclear fusion energy research. He secured an engineering position with UK Atomic Energy Authority – a world leader in the field and a home to the world’s largest operational nuclear fusion research reactor. Currently Adomas Lukenskas is a manufacturing supervisor of High Heat Flux components that are capable of taking heat flux 10 times greater than that of a shuttle spacecraft re-entering the atmosphere. Components such as these will be absolutely necessary for future Nuclear Fusion Power Plants, and one day will help to harness the power equivalent to that of the sun, by confining it in a magnetic vessel.

Alice Way

Singer

Alice Way is a stage pseudonym of a singer-songwriter Vaida Kalkauskaitė. Her voice is able to change from innocent and soft to dramatic and edgy between her breaths. After performing at countless acoustic “girl and her guitar” type of shows, she decided to take it to the next level in 2012 with a new stage name and a new ambition. In 2017, the singer has released her debut album “Roots”. Alice Way is also an actress who had roles in several national TV series’, theatre productions and a French film “La voie”. An author of her personal blog “Letters from Wonderland”, Alice Way builds a close relationship with her audience, explaining: “I just love to create. Whatever it is: songs, lyrics, poetry, novels, a character on stage or on screen. In a World that gets messy and confusing, we all need a little inspiration to get through the things that make us cry and give us those sleepless nights”.

Edvinas Eimontas

Sports industry expert

Throughout the professional career, Edvinas Eimontas, an economist by training, occupied several different roles at the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) between 2001 and 2016 – he started as a project manager, deepened his knowledge of sports by following a study programme at the the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and later was elected as President of LFF. Currently Edvinas Eimontas lectures about sports industry at the Lithuanian Sports University, is a Partner in Sports Policy Institute, and holds other positions in organisations, dealing with sports industry in Lithuania. Even though Edvinas Eimontas may seem as an example of a passionate football enthusiast alone, he has challenged himself to broaden his scope of interests in eSports – a different area, but not that distant from the essence of sports. According to the specialist, “Instead of fighting eSports, we have to embrace it!”

Elena Vegelytė

Expert of tax law

Lecturer at Mykolas Romeris University, Head of Tax at Vinted. She has more than nine years of experience advising on a wide range of regulatory and taxation matters, including crypto currency transactions and digital business taxation. Born in the family of artists, Elena Vėgėlytė likes drawing; she has also held positions as the President of several Non-Governmental Organizations, member of startup regulation think-tank groups, some time ago has challenged herself by owning a food truck. According this specialist, she feels surprised that her clients value her wide range of skills (not only in law): “It gave me non-standard abilities to get caught up in the newly emerging legal niches as well”.

Evgeny Apostolov

Sustainable mobility expert

Evgeny Apostolov is “MaRCo” (Mobility and Responsible Consumption) initiative Coordinator, Chairman of the Bulgarian Cycling Association, promoting cycling as a sustainable mean of transport, and a passionate cyclist who sees the potential for a global change. In the beginning of a professional career, Evgeny Apostolov was focused in trading, then moved to consulting of UN projects in Northern Africa in the field of ecology, and later transformed his hobby of cycling into professional activities. According to Mr. Apostolov, “The more responsible is our consumption, the more sustainable and climate friendly is our mobility”. His project “Bike2Work”, which conceptually merges consumption and mobility, aims to change consumer perceptions before changing the individual behaviour and preferences for sustainable transport.

Inga Galinytė

Performance artist

Performance artist Inga Galinytė is a representation of the generation of young talents across Lithuania. Her performances, dedicated towards individual meditation, spiritual quests and temporary human nature, help her to realise and feel out the universal experience of being a human and convey this message to her audience. The performer’s biography includes performances in Creature Live Art Festival in Kaunas city, motion art training courses in Tel Aviv (Israel), a summer programme at The Watermill Center (USA) – a laboratory of inspiration and performance, and many more projects. In 2017, Inga participated in a social performance “Mirštu, kaip noriu gyventi” (“Dying for Life”) – later rated as one of best of the year in the Baltic States – and spent 24 hours standing still in a metaphorical queue at the Railway station in Vilnius city in order to raise awareness towards organ donation in Lithuania.

Karolina Kazlauskaitė

Volunteer mentor

Six years ago, Karolina Kazlauskaitė decided to become a volunteer for the Lithuanian emotional support hotline “Jaunimo Linija”. According to Karolina herself, “At that point in time, nine out ten people in my social circle would have told you that I was probably the last person you could expect emotional support from”. Time passed and Karolina became involved in even more volunteering activities. Today, Karolina is Head of the Psychiatry Club at the Student Scientific Society of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, a member of the Junior Psychiatrists’ Association, and a long-time volunteer, coordinator and volunteer trainer of her very first volunteering experience, the emotional support hotline “Jaunimo linija”. Karolina Kazlauskaitė admits that one of the personal benefits of volunteering is that it can help to improve one’s personality.

Parranda Polar

Music band

Four years ago, a group of Lithuanians brought back to their native country the Latin American cultural music rhythms of Cumbia genre. To this day, Jonas Narbutas, Adomas Koreniukas and Vytautas Puidokas – three energetic performers – have already entered the hearts of thousands of Lithuanians and continue their journey by successfully spreading the positivity and good vibes both in their homeland and abroad. With the help of authentic songs, written by themselves in Spanish language and based on Colombian folklore motives, young artists seek to express a positive emotion – a pure, sincere and soul-pleasing feeling accompanied by a smile. According to the only performers of Cumbia genre in Lithuania, each song has its own story, and the most common among them involves a passionate love for a woman.

Rasa Murauskaitė

Event presenter

Rimas Norvaiša

Mathematician

Rimas Norvaiša is the Head Scientist of the Vilnius University Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, a professor, passing further his knowledge for future mathematicians in Lithuania, and an active writer of his personal website (norvaisa.lt) about mathematics, science and education. Fulbright scholarship recipient, President of the Lithuanian Scientific Society (2010-2012), so far Rimas Norvaiša has written 50 research papers and deepened his knowledge in professional trainings in universities across 7 different countries in 2 different continents in the world. “Mathematics is the mother of all sciences” – a popular saying known by a great amount of experts and those choosing to dive deeper into mathematics

Vidas Raudonis

Assoc. professor at department of automation, KTU

Dr. Vidas Raudonis is a Chief Researcher of a scientific team “Smart Automation Control Systems”, Associate Professor, and a CEO of “Power of Eye”. Dr. Vidas Raudonis works in the field of image processing and artificial intelligence, he is interested in creating equipment that facilitates the lives of people with disabilities. Together with the team of researchers from Israel, he has has been developing a complex device that allows a person to control the computer screen with a glance, and – with the additional equipment – to independently ride a wheelchair. The researcher has also worked with the devices that are able to recognize the color of certain surfaces and identify it with a human voice, as well as the “Baby check” – a temperature sensor gadget which informs the caretaker in case a child is dressed too heavily.