Calling all idealists -

The other day I was driving down McCaul Street in Toronto,gazing up at The Ontario College Of Art & Design's newbuilding. The structure always injects me with its spirit of whimsyand I, in turn, am passing that feeling on to you as I reveal ournext six presenters in true game show fashion. The answers can befound at the end of this newsletter, so read on. Next time, whoknows, perhaps a crossword puzzle?

1. I may already have given away the first "new"presenter for this newsletter but he deserves more of an intro thanthat! Once dubbed "Mr. Blobby", this prominent UK architect'sstriking work explores the latent beauty of unusual forms. He turnsconventions on their head with his approach to design - closer tofine art practice than architectural orthodoxy. With structureslike his government offices in Marseilles and the Peckham Libraryand Media Centre in London, he has liberated society from theboredom he believes most buildings so perfectly embody. Pods,blobs, bright colours are among his trademarks and he is guided bythe principle that architecture is both a vehicle and a symbol ofsocial change and renewal. In recognition of his achievements, hewas awarded the Stirling Prize in 2000.
Who is .............?

2. The next presenter is a "group" of the finestfiddle and violin virtuosi ever assembled on one stage. In additionto their concert schedule, Cineplex Entertainment screened theirlive concert in 56 theatres across Canada and they recentlyperformed at Sir Sean Connery's Charity Benefit Fashion Show,Dressed To Kilt at Club M2 in New York City. Among them, they holddegrees from Juilliard, world step-dance championships, a NorthAmerican fiddling championship or two, at least one Juno award, andtop prizes in prestigious international violin competitions inFrance, Italy and Spain.
Who is .............?

3. Virtual Kitchen, The Booze Cruise, TheEnterprise Game and Minty Science are only a few of the "serious"games produced by this Director of Research at the University ofCoventry's Serious Games Institute. Her goal is to harness thetechnology used for entertainment to enhance education, businesspractice, medical training, disaster management and other areas ofhealth and safety. The Booze Cruise, for example, is a seriousvideogame where participants get an insider's feel of how difficultit is to drive while drunk. This game won the Student and People'sChoice awards at the FuturePlay 2007 game competition. Withexpertise in Artificial Intelligence and games, visualization,mixed reality, augmented reality and location aware technologies,she works closely with international industrial and academicresearch and development partners.
Who is .............?

4. William Burroughs called this bestsellingauthor "a fellow writer of exploration literature." His book TheThird Man Factor: The Secret to Survival in Extreme Environments,is a riveting combination of popular science and adventure thatexplores the human capacity to survive and transcend perilousconditions. The book is an extraordinary account of how people atthe very edge of death - 9/11 survivors, mountaineers, divers,polar explorers, prisoners of war, sailors, aviators, andastronauts - often sense an incorporeal being beside them whoencourages them to make one final effort to survive. His otherbooks include Frozen In Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition.He is Editorial Board Editor at The Globe and Mail, and a SeniorFellow at Massey College, University of Toronto and a Governor ofthe Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
Who is .............?

5. In 2004, this young Canadian nurse decided thatshe wanted to learn about the world outside North America. She soldall her things, bought a backpack and boarded a plane. She was inThailand when the tsunami struck and subsequently flew to India toset up a make shift clinic on a beach near a village that had beenbadly ravaged. In 2005, she returned to Canada to apply to DoctorsWithout Borders. In March 2009, she made international news aftershe and two other foreign workers were taken by gunpoint at amedical clinic in strife-torn Northern Darfur. It was her fourthAfrican mission. After four days in captivity, she was releasedunharmed. She is also a painter, using her art to tell the storiesof the fear and suffering of those she encountered.
Who is .............?

6. From Austria to Ontario and back again ...Lured away from the University of Toronto to direct the AustrianAcademy of Sciences' Institute of Molecular Biotechnology inVienna, he likens cellular parts to Lego pieces and is celebratedboth in the laboratory and by popular media. How often does EsquireMagazine cover a molecular geneticist and call him, "the greatestscientist of our time"? On April 3, he was presented with the "2009ESCI Award for Excellence in Biomedical Investigation", a prizebestowed annually upon an outstanding investigator younger than 45who has made exceptional contributions to biomedical science inEurope. He always dreamed of playing in the World Cup. ideaCitycomes close, no?
Who is .............?

So, how did you fare? It would not surprise me that you werefamiliar with a few of our presenters since, in this our 10thAnniversary year, we are checking in with some of our alumni"Greats"; as well as offering other speakers who are completelynew. As we have always maintained, we are proud to present theworld's most interesting and innovative speakers that you haven'theard of, yet.

We are almost at 50 speakers by the way, and then the realcountdown begins. With just under 60 days to go, we encourage youto register now and save $300 off the door price. For $3,700, a fraction ofthe price of other similar conferences (compare: TED @ $6,000 US or$7,200 CDN plus), you can experience our esteemed roster ofspeakers (and 3 fabulous parties), all of whom you can read aboutat www.ideacityonline.com. I hope you will join us.

Answers:
1. Who is Will Alsop?
2. Who is Bowfire?
3. Who is Sara de Freitas?
4. Who is John Geiger?
5. Who is Laura Archer?
6. Who is Josef Penninger?