Critical Optimism – the core talk
Is good news just a feel-good story? No. Just beneath the surface of today's crises runs a powerful current of progress: industrial breakthroughs, major health advances, overlooked climate action, and an energy transition moving much faster than most people realise.
That progress rarely makes headlines. And that matters – because you can't build what you can't imagine, and you can't repeat a success you don't know exists.
For a decade I've made it my job to find these stories, connect the dots and present them in a way that shifts what a room believes is possible. Not to downplay what's hard. To make the scale of what's already working visible.
What to expect
Inspiring examples of progress, innovation and green acceleration that you've never heard of before. An entertaining reality check that cuts through the noise and makes room for agency grounded in evidence and critical optimism.
Every talk is built for the specific client: A conference opening, a strategy day, a town hall and a leadership kickoff need different things. Tell me who's in the audience and what you want to achieve – we'll find the angle together.
Selected clients
UNESCO · McDonald's · Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre · Atlas Copco · Ørsted · Coloplast · Demant · Technical University of Denmark · Danmarks Radio · Rigshospitalet · Hafslund · REDKEN · Danske Commodities · &Co.
Denis's talk delivers a powerful infusion of energy, converting despair into hope. His format quickly created a sense of unity among the audience and a shared belief that we will prevail! – Anne Carstensen, Vejle Kommune
Booking
[email protected]
About Denis Rivin
Denis Rivin is a critical optimist, an art historian and a futurist – a mixed profile with a mixed worldview. He's the founder of the Danish media outlet #ActualNews, TED speaker, author of the world's first children's book on the topic of technological unemployment and host of several podcasts, e.g.: Okay! Hør Her!, Klub 2027 and 2049.
Watch Denis Rivin in action
2026: Atlas Copco Group Summit
2022: REDKEN Power Event
2019: Copenhagen TEDx