Born in 1961 in Alabama (United States), Carl Lewis is considered one of the greatest athletes of all time. The “Son of the Wind” excelled in sprinting and long jump events, combining flawless technique with extraordinary mental strength.

Ami Vitale is an American photographer and filmmaker, and a National Geographic ambassador.She captures hopeful, inspiring stories about nature—and our connection to it. With multiple awards and a global following of over one million on Instagram, she is a leading voice in visual storytelling for sustainability.

Historian Josephine Quinn is the first woman to lead the Ancient History department at the University of Cambridge. She is also an honorary member of Wadham College and an emeritus fellow at Worcester College, both at the University of Oxford. Quinn is a well-known expert on the ancient Mediterranean, and her work questions many traditional ideas about identity, culture, and civilization.

The first time neuroscientist Nicole Vignola held a brain in her hands, she thought that within it lay an entire person’s life. This moment sparked a cascade of questions: What makes us who we are? How much do our beliefs shape our lives? Can we rewire our brains to change our habits and improve our well-being?

In the 1980s, a young admirer of Einstein with a passion for science had a dream: to create an artificial scientist capable of solving the mysteries of the universe. At the time, everyone thought he was crazy.

Robin Sharma is a writer and speaker, known for his humanitarian work. He is considered one of the top experts in leadership and personal growth. Best known for ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’, he has written over a dozen books over the past 20 years.

Esther Duflo is an economist known for her pioneering work in the field of the economics of development and the fight against poverty. In 2019, she received the Nobel Prize in Economics, making her the second woman in history to win this prestigious award, and the youngest to date.

A recognized thought leader, scholar and presenter, Noreena Hertz was cited by The Observer as "one of the world's leading young thinkers" and by Vogue as "one of the world's most inspiring women".

Philippa Perry trained as a psychotherapist and has been working in the field of mental health for over 20 years. In 2010, she published a graphic novel, Couch Fiction, which depicts the process of psychotherapy.

As a young boy, like any child, William had his own dream: to start a school. But he was born in a place where dreams rarely came true.

Architect of the theory of the Third Industrial Revolution, in which he thoroughly analyzes the economic, environmental, social and cultural impact of new technologies on the global economy, Rifkin is one of the most renowned contemporary communicators.

Andrea Wulf is a historian and writer. She was born in New Delhi, India, before relocating to Germany as a child. She completed her studies in History of Design and teaches this subject at The Royal College of Art in London.

A professor at Brown University and founder of the Unified Growth Theory, Oded Galord has pioneered the exploration of the impact of evolutionary processes, population diversity and human development inequality. His research links these examples to economics.

A graduate in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with a PhD in Fine Arts from Tsukuba, Japan, John Maeda is a founder of the Aesthetics and Computing Group at MIT Media Lab.

Sara Kuburic is a Serbian-Canadian therapist, researcher and writer, also popularly known as the online millennial therapist. Over the past few years, Sara has grown exponentially in popularity and recognition as a high-level therapist with expertise in psychology. Now, Kuburic is a columnist at USA Today, where she shares tips and ideas about personal life and well-being.

Judit Polgár is a retired Hungarian chess player. She is considered the best female chess player in history. In 1991 she won the International Grand Master title at the age of 15 years and four months, thus becoming the youngest person to obtain that title at the time and breaking the record previously held by former World Champion Bobby Fischer.

On June 24, 1995, Johannesburg's Ellis Park stadium witnessed “one of the most glorious moments in politics and sport of the 20th century”. South African President Nelson Mandela, elected a year earlier in his country's first democratic elections, donned the jersey of the captain of the national rugby team, Francois Pienaar, and walked onto the pitch to greet each member of the team, which was playing in the World Cup final that day. The gesture could have cost Madiba dearly - rugby was the sport of the Afrikaners. ‘Invictus’, a film based on John Carlin's book “The Human Factor”, tells the story.

Alison Gopnik is an American Professor of Psychology and Affiliate Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley.

One day, during a talk, she conducted a simple experiment: she asked a group of scholars to close their eyes and point south-eastwards. There were fingers pointed in every posible direction. However, Lera Boroditsky knew that if she asked the same question to a girl from an Aboriginal community in Australia she would point her finger in the right direction.

Canadian experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, linguist, writer and professor at Harvard College, Steven Pinker is known for his vigorous and far-reaching advocacy of evolutionary psychology and computational theory of the mind.

Doug Lemov is the founder of Uncommon Schools. Rare are the elementary schools that use their own teaching methodology based on values such as respect, hard work and kindness so that students love school from the beginning.

James M. Lang is a Professor of English and the Director of the D’Amour Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption College in Worcester, MA. He is the author of six books, the most recent of which are Distracted: Why Students Can't Focus and What You Can Do About It, Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning, Cheating Lessons: Learning from Academic Dishonesty, and On Course: A Week-by-Week Guide to Your First Semester of College Teaching.

Vinton Cerf is considered by many as the father of the Internet. He was the founding president of the Internet Society. With the Internet, Vinton Cerf completely revolutionized information transmission processes, allowing the unrestricted flow of information around the world.

Siri Hustvedt has published works of fiction, essays, poetry and academic articles. Her work is underpinned by feminism, art, and science.

Susan Cain is a U.S writer and author of the best seller, ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.’ Her work revolutionized our concept about personality, that argues that modern, Western culture misinterprets and undervalues the skills and traits of introverts.

Lisa Damour is an american psychologist and writer specializing in the development of adolescent and young women. Her first New York Times best seller, Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood focuses on the seven distinct developmental stages that girls go through as they grow into adults.