Raed Alsaleh
Head of The White Helmets
Before the Syrian uprising, Raed was a businessman selling electrical equipment.
When the Syrian Army entered his town in June 2011, he was forced to go into hiding in Turkey like many other Syrians. However, at the end of 2012, Raed returned to Idlib to provide humanitarian support to refugees and displaced persons.
He attended and excelled at the first Civil Defense skills training course held for Idlibd in June 2013, and was elected by his team mates as their representative. He went on to set up a further 22 teams in Idlib over the next 18 months. In 2014, while responsible for 600 volunteers in Idlib, Raed was elected as head of Syria Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets. He now leads an organization of over 3,000 volunteers.
Raed has been honored internationally, and has received multiple awards for his national and international peace and humanitarian contributions. Among others, he was named on TIME magazine's 100 most influential people in 2017. Now, Raed is here to share his soul-stirring story of hope and uplifting message of peace with us.
Dave Hakkens
Founder of Phonebloks and
Precious Plastics
Named as one of MIT Technology Review´s Innovators Under 35 Europe 2017, Dave Hakkens is a designer from Netherlands who is changing the global landscape for using and recycling resources more sustainably - and in very cool ways!
Trained as an industrial designer at the Design Academy in Eindhoven, Dave loves to solve global problems with creative solutions and maker skills, resulting in the founding of Phonebloks to reduce e-waste with modular phones, as well as developing the Precious Plastics open platform for anyone to build machines to boost plastic recycling.
Dave’s mission of protecting the environment through intelligent design is not to be carried out alone - he believes in the power of like-minded people from all over the world coming together to make this happen. A catalyst for change across communities and industries, Dave is inspiring everyone - from companies to citizens - to do things differently. Come hear his empowering message of making the world a better place together, and join the global movement!