TEDxNewy
The University of Newcastle is excited to be a major sponsor of the inaugural TEDxNewy event which is being held on November 12 of this year. This sponsorship is an initiative of Community Partnerships - a division of The Office of External Relations.
TEDxNewy is a platform designed to bring the experience of the global phenomenon known as ‘TED’ to our region.
The annual TED conference (TED = Technology, Entertainment & Design) was launched in the US in 1984. It brings together the world’s leading thinkers and doers to share ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’. Past TED speakers have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Bono and Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Al Gore’s Oscar-winning movie, An Inconvenient Truth, grew out of an appearance at TED.
TEDx is a platform designed to deliver TED-like experiences at the local level. TEDx events are organised by volunteers without a commercial agenda.
Through our staff and alumni, the University has ready access to many of Newcastle and the Hunter’s foremost thinkers and doers, making our involvement with TEDxNewy a perfect synergy. In line with Community Partnerships’ mission to ‘build relationships, connect people and to build capacity’ we are proud to be a part of TEDxNewy.
University-connected speakers at the event include the following staff members:
| Bernie Curran | UoN alumnus and all-round academic, Bernie will explore the imbalance between sport and the arts in our society and looks to 5th Century BC Athens for inspiration. |
| Dr. Peter Saul | With a long connection to UoN, as both a conjoint and member of the University’s Clinical Unit in Ethics and Health Law, Peter has witnessed over 3,000 people die in his role as Senior Intensive Care Specialist at John Hunter Hospital. He will be talking about ethical dilemmas hospitals face around dying and how everyone can help prepare for a dignified death. |
| Dr John Aitken | Laureate professor specialising in reproductive biology. |
| Dr David Lubans | Researcher promoting healthy resilience and nutrition amongst adolescent girls. |
| Sarita Koushik | Speech pathologist and PhD student, Sarita will present her 3-minute thesis on therapies for stuttering children. |
| Gerry Bobsien | Qualified librarian, blacksmith, novelist, surfer, beekeeper, gallery director and ballet mum, Gerry will speak about the importance of always being a novice. |
University alumni will also be represented by:
| Conor Ashleigh | Connor is a 25-year old documentary photographer who reports from overseas on stories that get little, if any, media coverage. Most recently he has been on assignment in South Sudan for UNICEF. |
| Mark Jackson | Since 2009 Mark Jackson has established six ukulele orchestras in the Lower Hunter. His Ukastle Ukestra will perform, fresh from the Annual Ukelele Festival in Hawaii. |
| Tim Silverwood | Tim is an environmentalist fresh from a visit to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. |
Along with speakers and entertainers from the local community, they will inform, delight, entertain and inspire an audience at The Civic Theatre Playhouse. There will also be an overflow venue at the Mulubinba Room in City Hall, King Street from 8:45. With live-streaming online and uploading to YouTube post-event, TEDxNewy has the potential to reach a global audience in the hundreds of thousands – even millions.
The University of Newcastle is a place where there are countless ‘ideas worth spreading’ - TEDxNewy will see some of them taken to the world.
Visit the TEDxNewy site and see the teaser created by UoN Communications student, Ross McSpedden here.