Ideas on the Edges at Imagine Solutions

If you visit the Events page on the Imagine Solutions website, you’ll first see the words, “ideas at the edges.” Far from just a catchy tagline, this is an ethos we embrace. Consider how our speakers confirmed for the February 24, 2020 Imagine Solutions Conference embody that notion.

A return speaker for 2020 will be Mike Gunton. Mike is a BBC producer who travels the world telling essential stories of our natural world. When we connected with Gunton early in 2019, he had wrapped up a project called Dynasties. Narrated by the legendary David Attenborough, Dynasties is a series that follows clans of 5 different animal species known for forming strong familial attachments: Chimps, Emperor Penguins, Lions, Painted Wolves, and Tigers. Through breathtaking, up-close cinematography, you get a sense of these animals’ bonds and dynamics. The genius of Dynasties is the intimate connection you form with the animal families as you witness their stories unfold—in many respects, not altogether differently from our own. From the Imagine Solutions stage, Gunton will show clips from the series and give us a thrilling behind-the-scenes perspective.

If there is anyone who knows about life on and around the edges of the world, David Breashears would be that man. As a world-renowned mountaineer and explorer, Breashears has reached the summit of Mount Everest an astounding five times. Moreover, as an award-winning filmmaker and author, Breashears has witnessed the brutality of the mountain; Breashears was an expedition leader producing a documentary film about Everest when the infamous blizzard of 1996 struck, claiming eight lives. More recently, Breashears has received acclaim as the founder of GlacierWorks, a nonprofit organization dedicated to illustrating the ongoing changes to the Himalayan glaciers through art, science, and exploration. Their photographic exhibit, Rivers of Ice: Vanishing Glaciers of the Greater Himalaya, has shown around the world, starkly exposing the dramatic losses currently underway.

For those among us for whom a climb up Mount Everest will always be out of reach, but who share in a fascination with and appreciation for the world in all its eccentricities, don’t miss Dylan Thuras on the 2020 Imagine Solutions stage. Thuras is co-founder of the global phenomenon known as Atlas Obscura, described as the definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders. A compendium, largely crowd-sourced, of over 18,000 unique, curious, and unusual places and things, Atlas Obscura delves into the in-between spaces—the places we should know about but frequently miss seeing. Thuras is a compelling, energetic, and relatable speaker, and you’ll find yourself moved to journey right alongside him and his team.

Life frequently happens at the edges, and those are the ideas Imagine Solutions is committed to discovering and sharing. Learn more about our February 2020 conference, and be sure to reserve your seat. Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself a little on the edge of that seat as our speakers take you along on their stories of exploration, innovation, and creation.