Who Attends and Why

A selected and diverse audience of 600 international decision makers in politics, business, science, media and culture have decided to convene in Berlin from 75 nations to see what walls will fall next in our society.

95% of the new attendees wish to come back the following year.

We asked them why.

Top Class
academic excellence and groundbreaking studies

“I attend over 50 conferences a year – Falling Walls was the best one!”
Peter Seeberger
Max Planck Institute Potsdam

“It is very good to see so many bright minds on the ninth of November to talk about today’s wall and how to bring them down”.
Angela Merkel – German Chancellor

“The place to be for science”
Jürgen Zöllner
Berlin Senator for Education, Science and Research

Inspiring
an empowering and constructive way to celebrate a historic date

“The diversity of presentations and the speakers’ contagious enthusiasm gave me a real boost for my own scientific work!”
Kirsten Hoetting
Universität Hamburg

“There were people speaking who I hope to have a collaborative research relationship with that comes out of the conference.”
Dalton Conley
New York University

“It’s a huge message of hope.”
Olga Holtz
UC Berkeley, Technische Universität Berlin

“Inspiring thoughts about things I don’t know anything about!”
Daniël Vanmaekelbergh
Universiteit Utrecht

“This is what Berlin really needs. I am impressed.”
Mathias Döpfner
Axel Springer

“The Falling Walls Conference shows that knowledge and education have to be the driving forces behind the solution of problems from all disciplines.”
Tessen von Heydebreck
Deutsche Bank Foundation

“So much input in one day!”
Thomas Herrmanns
Comedian

Cross-Boundary
interdisciplinary breakthroughs, speakers and attendants from the most diverse fields of research and professional backgrounds

“The possibility to meet people from completely different ‘worlds’”
Sergio Valencia Molina
Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy

“This is the first conference covering so many disciplines – more disciplines than I have ever experienced.”
Sabine Schmidtke
Freie Universität Berlin

“This is a place to tear down the walls between science and politics!”
Christian Wulff
President of the Federal Republic of Germany

Experimental
lectures rigorously under 15 minutes, for a total of 20 speakers in one day

“Magnificently orchestrated event with a TED-like format”
Doug Guthrie
George Washington University School of Business

“What I like about Falling Walls: within fifteen minutes people have to state the breakthroughs in their scientific disciplines and what future perspectives will be. That is quite a challenge.”
Jürgen Mlynek
Helmholtz Association

“The innovative concept of Falling Walls leads scientific conferences to a new dimension, it is well marketed, perfectly organised and it reaches its goal of bringing people together from various backgrounds.”
Volker Meyer-Guckel
Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft

“Excellent conference format”
Heike Catherina Mertens
Ernst Schering Foundation