Alain Bindels is a health tech venture builder, digital transformation leader, startup mentor, and Founder & Managing Partner of Basel Investor Forum. With over 17 years of experience across pharma, healthcare technology, and venture capital, he supports startups, investors, and corporates in scaling innovative solutions, securing investment, and building impactful ecosystems in health tech, AI, and digital transformation.

Marco Orler is an internationally recognized art collector, art dealer, and founder of Marco Orler International Gallery. With a family legacy rooted in art and collecting, he selects museum-level works by modern and contemporary masters, building connections between artists, collectors, galleries, and international cultural audiences.

CTO & Cofounder of a family-run holding company, growing 8-figure businesses that last. Before starting my tech career, I was a magician, and took the lessons of that unique art into every venture that followed, allowing me to pierce the “magic” for what it is, and not what it appears to be. In today’s world, the magic that’s taking over the world is AI. My view, is that if you understand the “AI magic”, you can be its operator behind it, and not just the audience. That distinction is what will separate the artists & builders of the future, from the consumers.

Mariia Plekhova is an abstract and immersive artist, and art-tech innovator. She develops her projects across Italy, Portugal, Russia, Finland, Malaysia, France, Singapore, and Cyprus. She has participated in more than 20 international exhibitions, and her works are held in prestigious public and private collections alongside masters such as Picasso, Modigliani, and Chagall.

She presented a collective VR installation during the World Economic Forum 2026 through the Basel Investor Forum and has also been invited to present her VR installation during Art Basel 2026. Mariia was twice awarded at the Italia Media Art Festival. Her AI-generated short film was presented within the framework of the parallel program of the 60th Venice Biennale.

She is the founder of Cyprus Art Week, an international cultural and ecological festival developed with the support of the Government of Cyprus, bringing together more than 100 artists. She also represented the Lazio Region at Maker Faire Rome and developed a limited-edition furniture collecеction.

An experienced design-thinking facilitator known for transforming complex challenges into human-centred, innovative solutions. Driven by empathy and a deep understanding of customer needs, they create impactful strategies that improve people’s lives. Combining the analytical mindset of a scientist with the leadership and organizational skills of a project manager, they excel at guiding cross-functional and international teams. Passionate about collaboration, innovation, and knowledge sharing, they foster meaningful connections across diverse networks to drive sustainable transformation and growth.

Olexandr Shalakhin is a technology entrepreneur, software architect, and Founder & CEO of BARVA.TECH, a Tel Aviv–based full-cycle development company operating at the intersection of fintech, Web3, blockchain, and artificial intelligence.
With over eight years of experience, he has built and launched complex digital products from initial architecture to market-ready solutions. Olexandr works with founders, CTOs, and product teams, helping them turn ambitious ideas into scalable, secure, and high-performing technology products.
Under his leadership, BARVA.TECH has become a strategic technology partner for companies seeking not just development expertise, but a team that thinks like an owner. His work combines deep technical vision, product strategy, and a practical focus on building solutions that perform in the real world.

As CEO of Xiamen Vista International Trade Co., Ltd., I focus on expanding market access by facilitating the trade of solar mounting components, hardware, and photovoltaic equipment. Our company is committed to providing tailored agent services for marketing, selling, and purchasing, while supporting domestic manufacturers with professional resources and practical market channels.

At Vista PV Rack, I lead efforts to deliver reliable and durable solar mounting construction systems, supporting renewable energy projects. I prioritize collaboration and innovation, aiming to develop long-term partnerships and efficient global trade solutions. My core competencies include team leadership, team building, and social media marketing.

Saša Ranković is the CEO of SOBA EXPORT IMPORT DOO and a business professional with strong experience in banking, risk management, market analysis, recruitment, and international trade.
He spent seven years in the Serbian banking sector as a credit risk manager and portfolio analyst, working across credit, liquidity, market, foreign exchange, interest rate, and operational risk. His background also includes accounting, market research, HR and recruitment, as well as operational coordination for major domestic and international football matches.
Combining financial expertise, analytical thinking, and hands-on business experience, Saša founded his own company focused on international trade and cross-border business development.

Carolina is a Swiss-based Canadian strategist and former management consultant helping organizations transform for a fast-changing, AI-driven world. With experience across foundations, education, healthcare, banking, startups, and global corporations, she specializes in modernizing systems, simplifying complexity, and creating stronger, smarter customer connectivity.
Her background combines business strategy, electrical engineering, architecture, mindfulness, and organizational design — giving her a rare ability to bring structure, clarity, and beauty into complex environments.
Curious, adaptable, and deeply practical, Carolina helps organizations move from outdated systems to future-ready ways of working, where technology becomes not just efficient, but meaningful, human, and beautifully designed.

Prof. Giuseppe Spoto is an Associate Professor at the Department of Law of Roma Tre University, specializing in legal studies and contemporary issues in jurisprudence. Recognized for his academic expertise and commitment to legal education, he contributes to the advancement of legal research, teaching, and institutional development.
In addition to his academic role, Prof. Spoto serves as a member of the University's Disciplinary Board and the Academic Center for Teacher Training, playing an active role in shaping educational standards and academic governance.
Through his research, teaching, and institutional leadership, he continues to contribute to the development of legal scholarship and the next generation of legal professionals in Italy.

Oksana Mas is a Ukrainian-born contemporary artist, philosopher, art theorist, urbanist, and founder of the multidisciplinary creative platform Mas Studio. Internationally recognized for her large-scale conceptual projects, she explores collective memory, cultural transformation, spirituality, and the evolving relationship between humanity and technology.
Often described by critics as an “architect of meanings” and a “master of cultural citation,” Mas has developed a distinctive artistic language that combines archetypal symbols, sacred traditions, and contemporary technologies. Her work gained international acclaim through Altar of the Nations (Altar of the 21st Century), presented at the Ukrainian Pavilion of the 54th Venice Biennale. Since then, her artworks have been exhibited in major museums, galleries, and cultural institutions across Europe, North America, and Asia.
As the founder of the New Renaissance movement, Oksana Mas promotes collaborative artistic creation, inviting thousands of participants to become co-authors of large-scale works of art. Her projects have engaged more than 250,000 people worldwide, transforming art into a platform for dialogue, participation, and collective reflection.
Beyond her artistic practice, Mas regularly lectures and participates in international discussions on contemporary art, philosophy, cultural heritage, technology, and collective memory. Her interdisciplinary approach positions her among the most influential voices in contemporary Eastern European art.
Today, Oksana Mas continues to develop ambitious international projects that unite artistic innovation, cultural identity, and social engagement, creating new models of collaboration between artists, communities, and institutions.

Paula Marcondes is a Brazilian visual artist, researcher, executive coach, and founder of ACT Human, working between Singapore, Montana, and São Paulo. Her practice explores consciousness, creativity, leadership, and human transformation, bridging the worlds of art, business, psychology, and innovation.
With over 25 years of international experience, Paula has worked with Fortune 500 companies, CEOs, government agencies, and global organizations across banking, finance, technology, manufacturing, education, and pharmaceuticals. As a senior consultant, facilitator, and accredited executive coach, she specializes in leadership development, communication, negotiation, presentation, and human-centered growth.
Driven by the question, “What does it mean to be conscious?”, Paula creates artistic and transformational experiences that invite deeper awareness, connection, and purpose — positioning art as a catalyst for personal, organizational, and collective evolution.

Kate Wolek is a marketing and PR strategist and consultant, working since 2018 across brand, growth, and business development. Her clients span the full spectrum: from owners of some of the world’s top 1,000 businesses to small, boutique, family-run companies — and she brings the same conviction to both. As Chief Family-Oriented Officer, she leads projects where vision, culture, and meaning come first. Because she believes work isn’t just about work. It’s about connection, inspiration, and belief — and isn’t that all art?

Kamil Grund is the Founder of Davos Club and Davos Events, international platforms designed to connect visionary entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, and global leaders through high-level business and networking experiences.
A visionary entrepreneur, speaker, advisor, and author of Earth 2.0 Genesis, Kamil works at the intersection of business, sustainability, innovation, and human potential. As Founder of EcoShuMi and Board Member of Grund i Synowie, he supports ambitious projects worldwide, creating bridges between ideas, people, and opportunities that shape the future.

Born in Rome in 1996, Duccio Bombardini is an artist, founder, and community builder active in the Italian and international contemporary art scene.
His painting combines intense color, expressive gesture, and a strong material quality, drawing on Impressionist influences and Expressionist energy reinterpreted in a contemporary way. Using a palette knife, he creates dynamic, textured works that invite the viewer into the pictorial space.
Alongside his artistic practice, he is the founder of DADA Group, one of Rome’s most dynamic art communities, active internationally. The group promotes collaborations, exhibitions, and events, and operates an exhibition space on Via Margutta, Rome’s historic “street of artists.”

Mia Shaly is an international visual artist based in Cyprus and the creator of Shalysm, a distinctive artistic style known for its vibrant colors, emotional depth, and uplifting energy. With a background in architecture and a lifelong passion for painting, she creates works that explore joy, love, human connection, and the beauty of everyday life.
A prominent voice in the Cypriot contemporary art scene, Mia Shaly actively organizes exhibitions, supports emerging artists, and contributes to public art initiatives, including large-scale murals in Paphos.
Selected and presented by Cyprus Art Week, Mia Shaly represents Cyprus at The Art of Connection, bringing the creative spirit and contemporary artistic vision of the island to an international audience.

Danila Trofimov is a digital artist working across film, games, and immersive 3D. The work spans half his life — first short films with increasingly complex CGI, then 3D worlds and interactive experiences, most of it dark and narrative-driven. Now based in Austria, he has presented at the Vienna Game Dev Meetup, sharing his projects with the local professional game development scene.

Art Critic, Artist & Lecturer Based in Rome
Maria Francesca Bonifazi is a Rome-based art critic, artist, and lecturer whose work bridges artistic practice, critical research, and cultural dialogue. Through her writing, teaching, and curatorial engagement, she contributes to contemporary discussions on art, aesthetics, and visual culture.
Combining academic expertise with creative practice, Bonifazi is dedicated to fostering deeper understanding of contemporary art and its role in society. Her work is characterized by a thoughtful exploration of artistic expression, cultural heritage, and the evolving relationship between artists, audiences, and institutions.
As both an educator and practitioner, she actively supports emerging artistic voices while contributing to the broader cultural landscape of Rome and the international art community.

Marina Shchelokova is a writer, editor and researcher whose work focuses on the relationship between narrative, medium, and audience reception. She explores how literary narratives are transformed through audio and visual media, and how these shifts influence interpretation, engagement, and meaning-making. A graduate of the Faculty of Journalism at Lomonosov Moscow State University and currently completing an MA at Université Lumière Lyon 2, she has worked across radio, television, print, and digital media. Her research focuses on education through literature in the Enlightenment period, with particular attention to reader-response theory and the role of reception in teaching and learning. She currently works in audiobook production, specializing in audio storytelling. In 2026, she will begin a master’s degree in Publishing and Multiplatform Writing at Sorbonne University.

Iuliia Nagibneva is a Rome-based visual artist working with analog photography and hand-marked interventions. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from Politecnico di Milano and has worked as a junior architect in Rome. Her architectural background shapes her sensitivity to space, scale, light, and the way human presence inhabits the built and natural environment. Through black-and-white film photography, she explores quiet moments, memory, silence, and fragile connections between people and places. For The Art of Connection, she introduces Braille-inspired tactile markings, transforming photographs into poetic maps of inner light, attention, and invisible emotional traces.

Alan Kipkeev is a Germany-based entrepreneur and co-founder of Miligrant Consulting — a business services firm built around one core idea: that language and cultural barriers should never stand between a person and the business they want to build.
Operating out of Düsseldorf, Alan leads the operational architecture of a company that serves migrant entrepreneurs across Germany — handling accounting, payroll, secretarial services, and company formation entirely in their native language, while managing all interaction with German authorities on their behalf.
He believes that the most meaningful businesses are built not just on systems and processes, but on trust — the kind that only grows when people genuinely feel understood.

Mia Marcondes Browning is a London-based filmmaker currently studying BA (Hons) Film and Television at the University of the Arts London. Raised internationally across Singapore, Korea, Jersey, and with Brazilian heritage, her perspective is shaped by a rich blend of cultures and lived experiences. She is drawn to emotion, memory, and the quiet details of everyday life, with a particular interest in how small, often overlooked moments can reveal deeper human truths. She explores the relationship between observation and storytelling, and how film can challenge perception and invite reflection. She hopes to create meaningful conversations and craft stories that resonate across cultural boundaries, connecting audiences through shared human experience..