Conceptual artist Tavares Strachan creates the kinds of projects that make you stop in your tracks, like a 4.5-ton block of Arctic ice he brought back to his birthplace in the Bahamas or a gold, Egyptian-inspired sculpture he launched into orbit around the Earth. Now he presents his latest creation, the Encyclopedia of Invisibility: a 3,000-page tome filled with more than 17,000 entries on people, places and events often left out of the history books — and encourages us all to unearth hidden stories before they disappear to the passage of time.

Are you super devoted to a sports team, superhero or perhaps “Star Wars”? You’re part of a fandom, just like storyteller Jordan Dinwiddie. She shares 10 lessons she’s learned nerding out on all kinds of things and unpacks the joy, creativity and community that comes from being a fan. (Note: This talk contains graphic language.)

Have you considered freelancing but are unsure where to start — or if it can be a viable long term career option? Tech entrepreneur Shahar Erez shares five steps to help you build a fulfilling (and financially stable) freelance career that puts you in the driver’s seat of your own future.

With birth rates falling, the worldwide human population is getting older and smaller. According to traditional thinking, this spells a future of labor shortages, bankrupt social security systems and overall economic collapse. Before you panic about the end of life as we know it, political demographer Jennifer D. Sciubba has a thoughtful playbook for managing the new normal – including ideas on the future of work and migration – and a reminder that a resilient future relies on present-day action.

Fifteen years ago, Uruguay was experiencing an energy crisis brought on by its reliance on fossil fuels; today, the nation produces 98 percent of its electricity from renewable sources (and even exports extra energy to neighboring countries). How did they turn things around so quickly? Uruguay’s former secretary of energy, Ramón Méndez Galain, explains how they pulled off this unprecedented shift — and shares how any other country can do the same.