Countdown 2025

Julien Crevaels Novad is a Belgian visual artist whose work explores light, transformation, and contemporary mythologies. His works blend faces, vegetation, and urban energy in a vibrant aesthetic of fluorescent colors and luminous contrasts. He conceives mural painting as a universal language capable of connecting humans to their environment. Author of the monumental fresco "The Future is Europe" in Brussels, Novad is currently pursuing his research around the notions of transition, harmony, and collective consciousness through projects combining art, ecology, and innovation. Invited by TEDx Brussels for Countdown 2025, he is creating a symbolic fresco celebrating change and the hope for a common future.

An engineer turned EU advisor, Sevim Aktas works in Commissioner Micallef's cabinet, coordinating communication on youth, culture, and sport. A climate policy expert through experience, she founded Inside EU: Climate & Careers to make the complexity of Europe accessible. She holds degrees in energy engineering from Oxford and Twente.

Alexandre Helson embodies seven generations of Maison Dandoy, founded in 1829. After experiences in marketing and impact projects, he returned to pursue a mission: to regenerate soils, ecosystems, and communities while keeping the joy of pastry alive. Now co-CEO, he unites tradition, ecology, and poetic imagination, guiding Dandoy towards a future where biscuits are acts of love shared across generations.

Andrea Stürmer is a climate resilience strategist and insurance industry leader dedicated to transforming the industry for a changing world. With over 17 years of leadership experience in Europe and the United States, she has guided insurance companies through the increasing financial impacts of extreme weather events. Andrea brings together in-depth expertise in risk management, sustainability and organizational transformation to help businesses and communities adapt and thrive in the face of climate change.

Jonathan M. Feldman is an associate professor in the Department of Economic History and International Relations at Stockholm University. He specializes in organizational transitions related to green technologies, cybersecurity, economic conversion, passenger rail transport, and the role of universities in sustainable development. He organized the first Green New Deal conference in Sweden in 2009 and supports a similar initiative in Nigeria.

Silvia Ainio is a climate economist, transforming financial systems into powerful allies against climate change. With over 7 years of experience at the European Commission and in multilateral institutions across six countries, she currently leads the work on climate finance at the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance during the Italian G7 Presidency. Former head of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Brussels Hub, she teaches climate negotiation at Sciences Po Paris and co-authored "Stories of Human Resilience in a Changing Climate."

Nikki Trott is a brand strategist, CEO advisor, and pioneering author of the Sacred Business concept, where businesses thrive in harmony with all life. With strategic clarity for over 100 brands, she integrates business acceleration with personal transformation to help founders and CEOs achieve revolutionary growth. Host of the podcast in the top 2% worldwide "Going Conscious," Nikki is also Founding Partner of Barefoot Ventures and author of "Sacred Business: Nine principles to transform yourself, redesign business & impact the world," guiding leaders towards creating regenerative businesses.

Joost Declercq holds a double master's degree in civil engineering, architecture, and urban planning. He is Director of Research at archipelago architects, a scientific researcher at the Faculty of Engineering Science at KU Leuven, and a guest professor at the University of Hasselt. His work bridges academic research and practice, challenging traditional approaches to built environment design. He was closely involved in the development of the new innovative Belgian framework for building sustainability, GRO 2025.

Albinas Zananavičius is a Lithuanian diplomat and senior executive with expertise in international trade, European affairs and energy policy. As Deputy Minister of Energy, he led Lithuania's role in the Baltic Synchronization Program integrating the Baltic power grids with Europe. He also served as Deputy Minister for European Affairs and Ambassador to COREPER I, helping to shape key European policies. He advocates sustainable, pragmatic policies that serve the public interest.

Speaker of the pre-session "The Foreign Desk"

Speaker of the pre-session "The Foreign Desk"

Speaker of the pre-session "The Foreign Desk"