The Alternative School for Creative Thinking

31/07/2026

I’m not a big fan of long stories on Instagram, but I suggest you take a seat, grab some snacks, and listen to the most ultra-over-extra-overwhelming-amazing-none-to-compare experience of my life.

Nine to nine, every day. Speakers with decades of experience talking about things I’d been thinking about for years but couldn’t quite put into words. A brief to crack with four strangers from Venezuela, Estonia, China and Ireland. Creative blocks, feedback lost in translation, moments where we genuinely couldn’t find common ground. And a presentation at the end that we were actually proud of.

I got the contact of a guy from UNICEF and I’m going to use it to try and make something good in the world. Lots of learnings. Lots of work. More learnings. More work.

At the cultural exchange, while everyone brought sweets from home, I brought Romanian creativity. 30 postcards, 30 creatives. The work of Teona Toderel , DAIA, Iulia Ignat, Lucian Prună and many others ended up in 30 countries that week. No translation needed.

Then the awards shows. Sitting in that theatre watching the best work in the world being recognized. I cried. Not gonna lie. The kind of emotion you don’t expect until it hits you.

The end? Not really. There’s no end in advertising, just the next big thing. For me? I hope next time I’m on the stage instead of sitting in the audience. Fingers crossed.

24/07/2026

Fresh back from the Cannes pressure cooker, Andrian Brinovanu brought home raw truth, high adrenaline, and total creative conviction.

Straight off the Young Lions stage, he traded comfortable sleep for intense momentum, sharp judgment, and battle-tested instincts. Swipe through his personal debrief, from standout campaigns and key talks to the exact friction that turns ex*****on into culture.

Beyond competing under extreme deadlines, he carried physical Romanian artwork straight into global jury rooms, expanding opportunity for our whole creative community back home.

As 2026 Young Lions ambassadors of Romanian creativity, supported by , this „Lobby for Romanian Talent" initiative turned individual access into collective leverage. Handing raw physical artwork straight to global jurors shifted the room atmosphere instantly, spotlighting exceptional craft by Irina , Alexandra Caravan , and Adelina Butnaru .
Talent lobbying for talent multiplies opportunities for our whole community.
Explore his raw festival notes and let these lessons elevate your own craft.

20/07/2026

Dacian, the art voice of our Young Lions team, is back with his honest Cannes take: competition rush, sharp learning, work worth remembering and a little private diplomacy for Romanian talent.

Expect insights from the talks, behind-the-scenes moments from a 27-team global competition, and the Romanian art postcards that unexpectedly lit up the Design jury room.

Featured in this carousel: Georgiana Chitac | illustrator , Margarita Bodarev Art and Lucian Prună — Dacian’s favourite contemporary artist from the 2026 cohort. More artists will follow, seen through the eyes of other Romanian delegates promoting them in a deeply personal, one-to-one way.

For now, follow Dacian’s stories - and kudos to Ursus for helping Creative MBA pay it forward for Romanian talent, in every way we can. , YoungLionsDesign

08/06/2026

As the Lions are approaching, we introduce the winning talents of the 2026 cohort. 🦁
Today’s takeover is operating Level Up: From Gaming Forums to Cannes! 🚀
Self-taught through trial and error, Dacian didn’t come from art school. He came from gaming forums, where you learn fast, fail often, and level up in public. 🎮
Bringing together over 30 speakers from around the world, TheAlternativeSchool Creative MBA offered the perfect complement to his skills. ⭐
Gaming trained his eye, reflexes, and instinct for world-building, while the Creative MBA provided the vital framework: originality is not optional, kindness in branding is a gold for strategy, train with the same intensity as your potential, build the map, and always find the next solution. 📈
Today, at Bookzone, he’s swapped forum signatures for national campaigns. 💼
When TheAlternativeSchool’s pressure cooker pushed him further, it amplified everything. The proof? Pole position in Young Lions Design, alongside Andrian Brinoveanu. 🏆
What happened after? An accelerated interest in fashion design - just see the Metrorex & Dristor collections. 💥
Next stop: Cannes, propelled by Ursus and ! ✨
RoCreativity

29/05/2026

Hello, world, meet Sonya Dang, new media personality and our next-gen speaker at “BRANDS TALK. IDENTITY & CULTURE. ASIAN CREATIVITY”, TheAlternativeSchool CREATIVE MBA’s hottest event, happening on June 17.

A Romanian-Vietnamese new media personality, model and Gen Z public voice, Sonya brings the perspective of a generation for whom identity is no longer a single passport, but a living construct shaped by languages, aesthetics, communities and digital platforms.

Her story sits at the very intersection this event wants to illuminate: Romanian upbringing, Vietnamese heritage, European education and a global-native sense of self.

With Young Lady, the new chapter of the LadiesFirst series, launched at TheFutureOfBeauty to promote exceptional female talent abroad and now calling for applications from brilliant voices under 35, selecting Sonya Dang as guest speaker is no coincidence.

We invite you to explore the carousel and follow her stories on identity, brains & beauty, her life as a model, law student and future diplomat, and her citizen-of-the-world kind of life.

For those interested in attending the event, drop a line at [email protected]

07/05/2026

So, what about ?
Four unpredictable keys decorticated it, layer by layer.
Peroni blue seemed to echo spontaneously throughout The Great Hill’s expressive private art collection, as if everything had been aligned to the pixel.
“Before creating beauty, one must first become a voracious consumer of culture.” Said Alex Duarte, in “Beauty as Structure.”
“I knew I would always be a photographer when I chose to leave the 6633 Arctic Ultra, although the hardest part was already behind me, for I wanted to capture the celestial light show, even though taking pictures at -30°C meant excruciating pain in my fingers”, confessed Adi Bulboacă in his talk “On Inaccessible Beauty”
“Chanand was born from a personal insight: the beauty market was saturated with products built mostly on marketing claims. For us, with California Prop 65 standards at its core, beauty means health and science. Conceived as a time-saving ritual, it restores confidence, with an impeccable complexion as natural consequence,” shared Cristina Scomoroscenco, in her “Brains Behind Beauty” story.
“When beauty is part of national identity, private diplomacy can rewrite the narrative, adding brains to it and proving the claim. For the past decade, Ladies First has done exactly that: lobbying for Romania on the “See It Be It” map and challenging clichés about Romanian women beyond London, Paris, Rome to Tashkent, Cairo, Colombo and Pattaya. That mission now continues through Young Lady, our newest platform empowering exceptional local talent under 35.”, shared Tedi Migdalovici.
A few snippets from the afterglow, in the words of our influential audience, are in the comments & more at the link in bio.
Pictures: MEALCHEMY / Iulian Ratescu
Peroni TheGreatHill

21/04/2026

A chemist, an exploratist, a nomadic researcher, and a private diplomat walk into a bar…

It sounds like the beginning of a joke. In fact, it’s the beginning of a very real conversation.

This Thursday, they will meet not in a bar, but at the Great Hill bistro-art gallery, to unpack the colossal elephant in the room called beauty - that magnetic force linked to prosperity, attention, desire, and perception. Less a decorative attribute than a cerebral inside job, beauty remains one of the most powerful currencies of our time.

Joining us for this edition of initiated by TheAlternativeSchool CreativeMBA:

Cristina Scomoroșcenco - our secret speaker, now revealed; scientist and co-founder of CHANAND

Adi Bulboacă - acclaimed photographer and athlete of extreme conditions

Alex Duarte - lecturer, surfer, researcher, and speaker extraordinaire

Teodora Migdalovici - private diplomat, creativity educator, Ladies First founder, and proud wearer of multiple hats

These four contemporary nomads will go beyond scratching the surface of this endlessly fascinating phenomenon to reveal useful truths that may seem obvious, yet often go unnoticed. Expect, as always, a generous dose of exclusive insights and previously unreleased content.

A special thank you to Peroni for fueling this research-meets-learning-meets-high-style-networking encounter for bright minds and to for being such a fabulous host.

RomanianTalent LadiesFirst YoungLady

21/04/2026