Last November 13 and 14 the forum Brilliant Minds 2014 was held, at which on behalf of INDRA I had the honor of co-moderating the Technology debate along with Manuel Campo Vidal (undoubtedly one of the finest communicators and journalists this country has ever seen). It's years since I enjoyed an event of this type so much, having grown tired of the typical format where a speaker gives a keynote presentation lasting X minutes, usually for a professional audience, and every one applauds. Here things were different, starting with the venue itself, which was a circus, the Circo Price in Madrid, and being circular it enveloped the entire audience. Next, the target was different, ranging from businessmen and women, executives and academics to schools and anyone interested in innovation and disruptive/critical thinking. Then finally, the speakers and the format were different.

All the speakers had a great story to tell. They hadn't come to expound theories but to explain their own experiences, a fact, an invention... The format was very fresh as well: they only had 21 minutes to deliver their piece, and then the floor was opened to questions and a very interactive and highly illuminating discussion, with the audience taking the lead.

But more than anything else, I can finally say, after more than 20 years taking part in and organizing these forums of debate, that every last detail oozed care and affection, from the violin performance by Paco Montalvo (the youngest violinist to make a 21st-century debut in the main hall of Carnegie Hall in New York) accompanied by a fantastic flamenco trio, which took place before the morning coffee break, to the impromptu closure by Gabriela Montero, who gave a piano recital and then an impassioned speech about the situation in her native country, Venezuela.

Focusing on the Technology debate that I moderated, I had the chance to meet or deepen my acquaintance with five people who are all extraordinary in their field:

1. Carlos Fernández: The creator, planner and head of the Communication, Citizen Services, Security Training and Awareness Program for the Spanish police, "Police 2.0", Carlos surprised us with the fact that he has achieved the largest number of followers on Twitter in the world for a security force: the Spanish Police. With more than 1.2 million followers (which is more than the FBI has), the program has become a world-famous success story about citizen engagement with a security force, helping to shed light on and clear up thousands of crimes in our country.

2. Chris Dancy: Chris describes himself as the most connected guy in the world. He has turned tracking his body and daily habits into a way of life: scores of different systems record in real time practically every single movement he makes during the day. He uses several wearables, including Google Glass, a Fitbit wristband and a Pebble smartwatch. All the electrical appliances in his house, like the weighing scales, lighting system and fridge, are smart. On his bed is a mattress with sensors that log his movements while he sleeps. Even his dog wears a localizer that records everything he does. Thanks to this lifestyle, Chris has managed to shed 40 kilos and is currently able to predict his own demise (statistically speaking).

3. James Tagg: Before founding Truphone (www.truphone.com), James developed the first touchscreens for cell phones at Moonstone Technology and was CEO of FastMobile for Europe. The Truphone network is unique, like the SIM technology he has patented, for which customers can use multiple international numbers, as well as the local number for their own country, and make calls at local rates.

4. Andrés Contreras: An entrepreneur since he was 12 years old, Andrés is the co-founder and CTO of SocialTech LLC, a web platform that allows companies to manage and control their presence in social media. He also co-founded Datacean, a company specializing in creating big data. But above all, Andrés, now 19 years old, is a visionary, a person who wants to change the "status quo" of things and who is very critical of the Spanish education system and the business establishment that asphyxiates entrepreneurs.

5. Juan Ignacio Cirac: A Spanish physicist, Juan Ignacio has been involved in research projects at the universities of Harvard, Hamburg, Santa Barbara, Oxford, Hannover, Bristol, Paris, the Saclay Center for Nuclear Studies, the École Normale Supérieure of Paris, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His special focus is on quantum information theory and he has developed a computing system based on quantum mechanics which aims to make algorithm design much faster in the future. Since 2001 he has been director of the Theoretical Division of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Germany. He predicts that in 10 years' time the speed of computing will be infinitely greater, making the capacity to process data and manage information very powerful and fast as well as enabling us to change and automate many human mechanisms.

I would summarize the discussion that Manuel Campo Vidal and I had with them into the following points, all of which point to megatrends:

• The Spanish education system is obsolete, as are its academics. A complete overhaul is required.
• There is a generation of highly skilled young Spaniards who are "dying" to become entrepreneurs but who are held back by the brick wall of bureaucracy and, more than anything else, the business establishment.
• Human beings tend to be increasingly connected and to control their habits. In other words, we are becoming more and more automated.
• Citizens working on the net will become the strongest arm of the police force.
• Quantum computing will give rise to scientific and business solutions that are unimaginable today.
• Mobile communications will be much cheaper than they are today, and there is a growing tendency to create the sensation of being "local" in any country in the world.

I would like to end this article by encouraging all my readers to take an active part in events of this type where civil society and innovation come together to imagine and paint a better world.