Many of the world’s most avant-garde thinkers are now arriving in Hungary for the inaugural Brain Bar Budapest “inspiration festival”, a three-day-long groundbreaking gathering organized to explore the future relationship between humanity and technology. Along with presentations by internationally acclaimed speakers and intriguing panel discussions, festival events include unpredictable artistic performances in multiple venues of Erzsébet Square. Here are some highly anticipated Brain Bar highlights – if you’re interested in participating, as of press time, tickets are still available!

The festival organizers

–

Design Terminal ,

Akvárium Klub , and

We Love Budapest – welcome the public to be part of the first-ever Brain Bar Budapest; for complete

information about the full program and ticket-purchasing options, visit the event’s website.

Ken Goldberg – Robots in the cloud. A new paradigm for machine learning.The American artist and researcher talks about future possibilities for relations between humans and robots: Ken Goldberg believes that the fate of our destiny lies in successful cooperation between mankind and machines – and the decisions that we make together.

@Akvárium Klub, Big

Hall:

Thursday, June 4th, 2pm

Niall Ferguson – The great degeneration. How do institutions decay and economies die?Born in Scotland, Niall

Ferguson is one of the best-known historians of the world today, a professor at Harvard University. His fields of research are international history and economic history. His lecture promises to be one of the most peculiar (both in terms of content and visuals): the speaker will appear in a holographic form to talk about the nature of crisis, the future of Western Civilization, the relationship between Hungary and Europe, and the tension between technology and mankind, which is palpable in Budapest and around the world.

@Akvárium Klub, Big Hall:

Thursday, June 4th, 6:15pmRichard Florida – What is success in a city? The economic power of talented people.Richard Florida is a professor at Toronto University and New York University, and Senior Editor at The Atlantic. As a renowned theoretician of creative economy, Florida believes that the presence of “creative classes” in higher proportions in metropolitan areas helps to create an open, dynamic, personal, and professional urban sphere. The recent period of changes makes this lecture all the more relevant.

@Akvárium Klub, Big Hall:

Friday, June 5th, 9am

Stephen Graham – Contesting the smart city. What does ubiquitous computing mean for our future?Just like everywhere, IT has been playing an increasingly crucial role the life of cities. On one hand, becoming a “smart city” is a desirable goal for a metropolis, but on the other hand this process increases the danger of putting too much information about locals at the disposal of the system. Stephen Graham, a professor at Newcastle University, will focus on this topic.

@Akvárium Klub, Small Hall: Friday, June 5th, 11:30amDaniel Epstein – Tech for the bottom billion. A great market or a philanthropic illusion?As one of the top-30 most influential entrepreneurs of the world, and founder and head of the Unreasonable Group, Daniel Epstein will discuss the relationship between business and philanthropy.

@Akvárium Klub, Big Hall: Friday, June 5th, 4pm

Tina Saaby – Copenhagen: a city for people. Visions and goals for becoming the world’s most liveable city.Copenhagen is one of the most liveable cities of the world –

although the city has close to 600,000 residents, its greatest problem seems to be the debate over relocation of its giraffes. Even though

residents can afford cars, most of them opt for walking or cycling. Architecture also contributes to the process, claims the chief architect of the city, Tina Saaby.

@Akvárium Klub, Big Hall:

Saturday, June 6th, 11amAndrea Edmunds – Think like a designer. How might human-centered design methods help cities be smarter?In addition to architecture, design can also help cities become smarter, explains Andrea Edmunds, head of development at Future Cities Catapult.

@Akvárium Klub, Big Hall:

Saturday, June 6th, 12:40pm

Philipp Zimbardo – How can an ordinary person like me become a hero? The Heroic Imagination Project.American psychologist Philipp Zimbardo, professor of behavioral science at Stanford University, also addresses a peculiar topic: he will focus on the nonprofit The Heroic Imagination Project, which has attracted major attention by placing everyday heroism into the foreground, emphasizing the importance of courageous leadership.

@Akvárium Klub, Big Hall: Saturday, June 6th,
4:15pmSugata Mitra – Redesigning education. Self-organizing systems and the future of learning.As an Indian-born education researcher, professor at Newcastle University, and internationally acclaimed TED Prize-winning expert on the connection of technology and learning, Sugata Mitra discusses the future of learning, self-organizing models, and the knowledge crucial to the 21st century.

@Akvárium Klub,
Big Hall:

Saturday, June 6th, 5:25pm

Anima Sound SystemThe appearance of the first Hungarian electronica-party band in this lineup might seem surprising at first glance, but the program of Brain Bar Budapest includes over 30 musical acts and audiovisual attractions. The performances are also reflections of the festival’s questions about the future. At the closing ceremony, Anima Sound System will focus on its freshest album (“Gravitiy and Grace”) of spiritual themes. The performance features an organ player and a choir that comes together for one night only.
@Akvárium Klub, Big Hall:

Saturday, June 6th,
6:15