Falling Walls Conference

The Falling Walls conference, first held in 2009 on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, was initiated to celebrate this historic day by looking into the future and getting an understanding of the world of tomorrow. The conference is set to inspire people all over the world to come together and break down the walls that we face today.

The initial conference was hosted by Berlin's newly established scientific Einstein Foundation and supported by a wide variety of academic institutions. Ninety per cent of the participants of the premier conference indicated in a survey, that they would return in case the conference becomes an annual occasion to meet.

This positive response encouraged to establish an annual convention. For this purpose an independent organising committee was established that is open to all academic institutions that wish to contribute to this conference. The Falling Walls Foundation is a non-profit charity that is dedicated to the support of science and humanities.

Five ERC Grantees will present their research and breakthroughs at the event:

• Jean-Luc Lehners, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Germany (StG-2010, PE9)
• Nick Barton, Institute of Science and Technology, Austria (AsG-2009, LS8)
• Mary Kaldor, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK (AdG-2010, SH2)
• Cassidy Rebecca, Goldsmiths' college London, UK (StG-2010, SH2)
• Ferenc Krausz, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen, Germany (AdG-2009, PE2)